The Near Witch

“It starts with a crack, a sputter, and a spark. The match hisses to life.”

So begins the beautiful and beautifully lyrical The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab. This reader was immediately mesmerized by the intoxicating poetic prose in which this enchanting fairy tale/paranormal love story was written. Schwab’s debut novel is a fast paced charmer destined to be a classic. Her storytelling prowess, combined with her excellent ability to mash the best elements from the Gothic horror novel with those from modern YA romance and paranormal novels, and, remarkably, those from the latest wave of dystopian YA, leaves the reader hooked from page one to the end.

The town of Near seems trapped in a near trance of fear and suspicion as they live their lives deep inside a whirlwind undercurrent of fairy tales, rumours, truths and half-truths swirling around the presence of the witches on the town’s outskirts…both living and dead.

One of the best aspects of The Near Witch is the headstrong and independent main character, Lexi Harris. Lexi lives in a small secluded town dominated by its male citizens. But Lexi doesn’t accept her station in her male dominated society; and she certainly doesn’t take no for an answer. When the rest of Near gets up in arms over the arrival of a new stranger—something the isolated town doesn’t usually deal with—Lexi is the only one capable of keeping a level head. It is her determination to do the right thing that propels this story forward at such a galloping pace. And the first person present tense voice of our protagonist puts the reader right at her side, cheering her on along the way. Schwab picked the perfect voice to tell her story.

When the town’s youngest children begin to disappear, Lexi will do anything to prevent her little sister Wren from becoming one of the missing. She will also do anything to save those who are already gone. But the men of her town, led by a Council of three and her own Uncle Otto, do whatever they can to prevent her intrusions and interventions.

This story is so well written, the reader will want to devour it in one sitting. But it’s also one of those books they will want to take their time with, so they can cherish the ride. Every character is well drawn, from the stranger Cole, to the sisters Thorne (Magda & Dreska), to Lexi’s jilted paramour Tyler Ward.

This was a remarkable adrenalin spiked read. Schwab is a master storyteller with a beautiful lyrical style readers will fall in love with immediately. The Near Witch is marketed as a YA, but it is absolutely a story for all ages. I look forward to seeing the next offering from Victoria Schwab. And the next and the next. A writer who can tell such a tight fast-paced story in such a lovely voice is definitely a writer to watch.

Review published on Page Turners Blog on 8/27/2011:

I really believe that a well-loved folk or fairy tale has to have a certain level of darkness in it to be good. And The Near Witch starts with just that -- a story which scares you with its possibilities, a story that reminds you when you hear an unexpected knock, knock, knock that it just may be true.

Also, Victoria Schwab is THAT writer. You know the one that will keep you guessing, wondering and all the while you will be hypnotized by her gorgeous choice of phrasing. Here’s an example with her protagonist, Lexi, and the mysterious boy, Cole, who shows up just as the disappearances start (from page 86):

I pause a moment, leaning against a rock. The world tips dreamily.
“You’re tired,” he says.
I shrug, but linger another moment.
“I’m fine,” I say, straightening. “Tell me a story.” I yawn as we continue walking along the narrow dirt lane, the wind-blown path always to our left. “It’ll help keep me awake.”
I didn’t want just any story, I want his. I want to know the world beyond the Near and the way they speak and the stories they tell and why he is here, in his singed gray cloak, and why he is keeping his words close.
“I don’t know any,” he says. His eyes wander over the field to the grove in the distance, sitting like a knot of shadows.
“Make one up,” I say, glancing back now at the blue-black world that falls away behind us. Cole looks back, too, frowning as if he sees something different, more troublesome or alive than the simple landscape, but he says nothing, seems to grow thinner before my eyes.
“All right,” I say at last. “I’ll start, then. Any requests?”
The silence is so long that I think he hasn’t heard me. The wind around us hums. Finally he speaks.
“Tell me about the Near Witch.”

Victoria is a masterful storyteller who will amaze you with a fairy tale so visceral and real that you will want to leave the light on at night. Having said that, she will also leave you smiling with her to-die-for romantic moments. Lexi and Cole experience the kind of love that makes sense in its spontaneity.