Book Recap: The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab (ARC)

Cover Inspection:
Don't like it. It's too bland for my taste.
Could use a little more warm colors.

SUMMARY (book description based on GoodReads):
The Near Witch is only an old story told to frighten children.
If the wind calls at night, you must not listen. The wind is lonely, and always looking for company.

And there are no strangers in the town of Near. These are the truths that Lexi has heard all her life. But when an actual stranger—a boy who seems to fade like smoke—appears outside her home on the moor at night, she knows that at least one of these sayings is no longer true. The next night, the children of Near start disappearing from their beds, and the mysterious boy falls under suspicion. Still, he insists on helping Lexi search for them. Something tells her she can trust him.
As the hunt for the children intensifies, so does Lexi’s need to know—about the witch that just might be more than a bedtime story, about the wind that seems to speak through the walls at night, and about the history of this nameless boy.
Part fairy tale, part love story, Victoria Schwab’s debut novel is entirely original yet achingly familiar: a song you heard long ago, a whisper carried by the wind, and a dream you won’t soon forget.

BOOK REPORT CARD:

Cover	1.5
Plot	2.0
Writing	3.5
Characters	2.0
Ending	3.0
Overall Rating	2.5 Good  (85% - 88%) * highest rating possible is 4.0

LOCATION/SETTING:
The story is set in the town of Near. With the way the author described the town, I imagined it as a quaint little village. Imagine cottages made of stone. Green grass. Flowers here and there. Beautiful. Time setting? Hmm. Way back in history. The people in the village use candles as lighting, but they already have guns. Nevertheless, it was a village where everyone knows everyone and they’re at that point in time when the people were on the verge of forgetting mysterious and spooky legends about their town.


MAIN CHARACTERS:
Lexi is the main character. She is the narrator. She is a bit of a tomboy, much like Katniss from the Hunger Games. She is not submissive as the town would like their women to be, and has a feminist point of view. I got the feeling that she’s some sort of daddy’s girl despite her father’s death years ago. She was trained by her father to be a tracker or hunter. She wears her father’s boots, and prefers wearing them rather than girly slippers. She chops wood, and actually prefers men’s chores rather than baking with her mother. Then comes a boy, who doesn’t have a name. (So, what Lexi did was to name him Cole) Like with all YA books, there is a tortured boy, and here, that tortured boy is Cole whose secrets Lexi wants to unfold.

WHAT THE BOOK IS ABOUT:
** may contain spoilers ** So, basically the kids in the town began disappearing. And the narrow-minded residents of such town is blaming the newcomer Cole for such disappearances. However, there are two very old women, whom the town believed were witches, who implied that the kids are with the Near Witch as some sort of revenge. So what is Lexi’s role in all this, you ask? Well, while the town pours their heart out in blaming, looking for, and trying to kill Cole, Lexi goes into the woods and attempts to unfold a legend which could save the children of Near. As to the love story, there were sweet scenes between Cole and Lexi. Their romance is not really the focus of the story.

LOVE:
The writing. The author writes beautifully. It flows, especially with the witch’s rhymes in the book.

NO LOVE:
The oh so very slow pacing. There were parts where I actually found myself sleepy. There should be more action. All the characters did was walk and talk.

FAVORITE CHARACTER:
Magda and Dreska. The two good witches. I think they're the only smart ones in town.

FAVORITE LINE:

My father taught me to chop firewood. I asked him once if he wished he had a son, and he said, “Why? I’ve got a daughter just as strong.”

MUSINGS:
I liked that this book tacked prejudices. When Cole arrived in town, and the kids started disappearing, the people automatically assumed it was him. It conveys a good message, especially nowadays in the world we are living in. I love that the main character is strong and independent. So unlike Bella. But a weaker version of Katniss.

DOODLES:

AUTHOR'S WEBSITE:
Victoria Schwab

SIMILAR READS:
Red Riding Hood

CONTENT REVIEW:
profanity: none
violence: mild
sexual content: mild
mature themes: none
age recommendation: 12+

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.