The Near Witch is the debut novel of V E Schwab. I read a rerelease, it included the short story “The Ash-Born Boy”, which takes place in the same universe. It was an excellent novel, so I’ll definitely pick up more of Schwab’s books.
The Near Witch is a fairy tale-esque love story. It takes place in the village of Near on the moor, where the protagonist Lexi lives on the edge of the village with her family. One day, she catches the glimpse of a stranger on the moor through her window at night, and soon after the children of Near start to disappear from their beds with no sign of who took them. Soon the village is consumed by a frantic fever/suspicion as the search for the children doesn’t bear fruit.
It is a very atmospheric novel, and in the introduction V E Schwab calls it strange and quiet, something she delivers on. You can really feel the gloomy mood of the moor and Near, while you read. Though it isn’t a horror novel, it still manages to create a spooky feeling.
“The Ash-Born Boy” provided a backstory for the mysterious stranger, which was nice to know, but not need to know. You can easily read just The Near Witch and still have a fulfilling reading experience. I think, this YA book is targeted towards the younger part of the YA audience, because while I found it an enjoyable read, I identified more with Lexi’s mother, than Lexi herself.
If there was one thing that annoyed me about the edition I read, it was that the text on the back of the book that recommended it to fans of Neil Gaiman. First of all, I think that’s an impossible high bar to set, especially for a debut novel. Secondly, this proclamation stayed in the back of my mind for the first third of the novel, and kind of took me out of the story, because I couldn’t keep from comparing it to Neil Gaiman’s books. Thirdly, it’s true, I can definitely see things that Neil Gaiman fans would like about this book, but in this case, it unfavorably skewed my expectations of the book, I would really have preferred reading it on its own.
All in all, while it’s not a horror book, The Near Witch is a decent Halloween read, for those of us, who don’t really like reading horror books. Happy Halloween ^_^
Our Thoughts in Transit 