Witch of Blackbird Pond, the

by Elizabeth George Speare

[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

I think that there is secretly a whole stash of fantastic middle grade books out there that I missed while I was obsessively re-reading Harry Potter and anything Tamora Pierce. Like The Outsiders? That's a lot of peoples' favorite book, and I totally missed it.

The Witch of Blackbird Pond is just one such book. I thought it was fantastic. Kit was great - I thought her introspection was very insightful. The variety of minor characters was excellent was well. We had people of all ages and backgrounds weighing into the story, some of whom surprised me. At the base of it, this novel is meant to be a romance, but it didn't feel like that. It felt more like a bildungsroman... a coming of age. Kit's year in Connecticut shows her a bit of the world outside her childhood in Barbados, and helps her discover herself.

What I particular enjoyed about this book - and what took me aback - is how so many parts of this novel can be metaphoric to the troubles in our country right now. Fear and prejudice has lead people to do abhorrent things as of late, and Kit's observation and thoughts on the violent rashness of the people around her felt all too familiar.

But you have to like Kit. For her bravery and her honesty, you have to like her.

The novel is quick to read, well-written, and charming in its own ways. It's easy to get lost in the world, but you can find your way out again rightly enough. I think this book would be an excellent one to teach in school, and fits alongside stories like [b:Hatchet|50|Hatchet|Gary Paulsen|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1385297074s/50.jpg|1158125] and [b:The Secret Life of Bees|37435|The Secret Life of Bees|Sue Monk Kidd|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1473454532s/37435.jpg|3275013].