The Near Witch

by Victoria Schwab and V.E. Schwab

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY'S BEST YA OF THE DECADE • NEW YORK TIMES bestseller

All-new deluxe edition of an out-of-print gem, containing in-universe short story "The Ash-Born Boy" and a never-before-seen introduction from V.E. Schwab.

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.

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.

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.

• ISBN10: 1789091128
• ISBN13: 9781789091120
• Publish Date: 12 March 2019 (first published 2 August 2011)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Titan Books Ltd
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 320
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781789091120

Reviews

[Kelly]

In the quaint town of Near, the Near Witch sings the hills to slumber each night from her resting place on the moors, the children sing as they play throughout the village. Sixteen year old Lexi Harris remembers the stories her father told her as a child, of the Near Witch and village children who we welcomed to play in her garden, a centuries old fable told by generations of Near, until a boy was found in her garden and the witch was banished to the moor.

Since her father passed away, Lexi lives with her younger sister Wren and her mother on the fringe of Near, the witch whispering on the winds that swept through the moor each night as a stranger arrives in town and Near is awash with speculation. Whispers on the wind are waking children from their slumber, lured into the forest in their nightgowns and disappearing and the town suspects the stranger is stealing their children.

Centuries past, the Near Witch lived on the Near fringe, her cottage garden captivating the village children on the moor. The children of Near sing the fable of the fated witch who sings the hills to sleep at night. If you listen carefully, you can hear her calling on the winds that swept through the moors.

Near is a grudging, prejudice community, thriving on restlessness and governed with a firm hand by three archaic council members, while a vigilante group gathers to restore order. Lexi and sister Wren lost their father three years prior, their father a wonderful man who believed in the folklore of Near and taught his children consideration, independence and to appreciate the Near folklore, including Magda and Dreska Thorn.

Fear is a strange thing, he used to say. It has the power to make people close their eyes, turn away. Nothing good grows out of fear.

Magda and Dreska are the eldest residents of Near, living on the fringe of town on the moors, as the Near Witch once lived. As a young girl, Lexi and her father would visit the sisters who have been ostracised by the village community. The witch siblings are providing the stranger with refuge as the children begin to disappear during the night. Lexi suspects the Near Witch, the villagers accusing the stranger of abducting their children. Lexi is intrigued by the newcomer, his secrets and his story, the young man with the dark fathomless eyes and ashen skin. He is nameless, homeless and Lexi is determined to prove his innocence.

The villagers are positively dreadful, dishonest and vengeful, incredibly chauvinistic. At sixteen, the girls within the village and allowed to legally marry and often betrothed. Women are bakers, seamstresses or homemakers, Lexi consistently reprimanded for wearing the workboots and knife of her father who taught his daughter independence. The men of the village refusing to listen to the resolute young woman who begins skulking around the village at night in the hope to discover where the children have gone.

The trees all whisper, leaves gossiping. The stones are heavy thinkers, the sullen silent types. He used to make up stories for everything in nature, giving it all voices, lives. If the moor wind ever sings, you mustn’t listen, not with all of your ears. Use only the edges. Listen the way you’d look out the corners of your eyes. The wind is lonely, love, and always looking for company.

The Near Witch is enigmatic and enchanting, immersed in mesmerising folklore of a small village community. The lyrical prose is unequivocally captivating

[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

I found The Near Witch to be incredibly aesthetic and darling… but I can also see why Victoria did not go viral with this one. To borrow her own words, this is a small book. And loves, there’s nothing wrong with small books. They can be the sweetest, most beautiful stories. They are some of my favorite escapes. But they do not typically turn into television shows or sit on the New York Times bestseller lists for a long time, especially when that small book is a debut.

However.

That does not mean The Near Witch or other books like it are not worth your time. On the contrary, this was a wonderful read. I found myself swept away to the moor with Lexi. Schwab has this absolutely beautiful writing style that intrigues and haunts and illustrates, lingering for a moment on all the senses then wisping away as the story winds on. I love her writing style, and having now read something YA, MG, and Adult by her… I love how they are all different, and yet, all the same.

Lexi isn’t the type of badass female heroine we get used to seeing in adventure stories. She is quiet, smart, and one of the most stubborn characters I have seen. Lexi was fantastic because she was a formidable heroine without sarcasm, sword fights, or because of the romance. I loved Lexi as our protagonist because I feel like she’s such a good example of the different kinds of strong women out there. Also, because she just seemed like a normal person who got tired of being told she couldn’t do what the boys were doing, and who wouldn’t accept that she couldn’t make a difference. And she made a difference because of it.

If I were to criticize one thing, I think I would say the characters were a little undershared. I toyed around with the word “underdeveloped” in this context, but I don’t think that’s accurate. Lexi, Cole, Wren, everyone… they were full, round characters. But I feel like there were walls around so many of the characters that we say only a sliver of each and I was unsatisfied. And maybe that was part of their characterization, and that’s okay. But I want so much more from each of them.

My favorite character, for the record, was Mrs. Thatcher. I want a story about that woman, she feels like she has a story to tell.

Otherwise, the world here felt like something real. Even with the inclusion of the witches, this felt like it could be a piece of tucked away Scottish history. I cannot say how much I loved the aesthetic. I’ve seen the word “creepy” thrown around in reviews, but for me… it wasn’t creepy. It was witchy. The most perfect, foggy day, ominous wind through the trees, witchy.

If you are looking for a good read, an easy read, and something with the best aesthetics, The Near Witch is a great book. I will flat out tell you that I ordered a copy to add to my library after finishing because I know this is a book I can fall into. The audiobook was… okay. I wasn’t a huge fan of Heather Wilds, who narrated this one. I don’t feel she was a good fit for this book and she didn’t bring it to its full potential. But I have so much faith in V. E. Schwab and the story itself, I know this is one I’ll want to read again.

[leahrosereads]

This is a debut novel?!? It's fucking outstanding. Gave me some serious Gaiman vibes. It was just so dark and whimsical and fantastic. Loved it, obviously!

[emruth13]

I loved this book. The story drew me in and held me.

I did not expect a lot from this book, to be honest. I really enjoy Victoria Schwab's writing style, but somehow I was never hooked on her stories. Although I have only read A Darker Shade of Magic and The Near Witch so far.
This book would normally not be my cup of tea. I enjoyed it, but it is very obvious what is going to happen, and the characters do not have that many characteristics. Yet I loved it so much. The atmosphere that this book gives is amazing. I have never felt such an atmosphere in any book, it was honestly the best thing. I wish I loved the story itself more since I would never reread this book for the story. I will always remember exactly what happened since it just feels like a children's tale. But that atmosphere will convince me to read it again and again.
I feel very confused about this book. It was okay, and I loved it. I will definitely reread it, one day.

Can we talk about the new cover? It is so beautiful. In the beginning, I did not like it that much, but after a while, it grew on me. It fits perfectly with the story and its mystery.

[catiebug]

Took me a bit to get into it, but then I couldn't put it down.

[Stephanie]

You know those characters that get under your skin with just one sentence that makes you wish you could punch them or set them straight? This book has a few of those characters, and it made it hard for me to read at times. I had to put the book down and take a deep breath before continuing because I was getting that mad at these said characters. And that proves to me even more that this book is awesome.

I read a few reviews for this book before reading it myself, and a lot said that the writing was lyrical and beutiful, which is all very true, but when I saw those words, I got scared. When books are described as 'lyrical' I usually am very bored with them. But this was not the case. The words flowed so nicely together, I wanted to make sure that I fully comprehended every word. And Schwab keeps you on your toes throughout every scene.

I loved Lexi and Cole. Especially Cole. At first I was wary about him, along with Lexi and the other villagers, but as the story moves along I grew to enjoy every page with him and every sentence he said. And Lexi and the bond she had with her father? I was almost in tears.

This is such a beautiful tale, I would recommend it to anyone.