Content levels
Trigger warnings
Hero archetypes
Heroine archetypes
Protagonist archetypes
Tropes
Themes
Synopsis
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.
Is The Near Witch appropriate for my child?
Suitable for most readers 13 and up.
A atmospheric YA fantasy with mild suspense involving missing children and a mysterious stranger. No sexual content, minimal violence, and themes of courage and questioning authority make it appropriate for younger teens.
What to know going in
This book has mild violence, no sexual content, and clean language. Content notes include child harm, kidnapping, and death.
Who'll love this
Teens will enjoy the eerie small-town mystery, supernatural romance with the enigmatic boy, and a brave heroine who questions everything she's been told.