Revenge of the Witch

(reread)
I'm not sure what to rate this. The sparse writing style and the uncomplicated plot are clearly a product of the target audience, so with that in mind, it's really not bad. Thomas is annoying (a common flaw in books of this kind), but otherwise I really like the plot and worldbuilding. The drawings are a definite highlight.

Picked it up because a movie's coming out and I figured I'd read it before I (potentially) watched it. Having read it, I'll say it looks like the movie won't even be vaguely similar to the book.

Anyway: it was fine. The antagonists were not characters for the most part - more just abstract bad guys. But I did like some of the spookier writing. Not really a genre I care about, but it did give me the creeps a few times. Pretty formulaic; not a ton of world building at all - by which I mean I know next to nothing about the world they lived in. But not bad. Very quick. May pick up a sequel at some point.

This is one of the books Luke got for Christmas and which he wanted as a read-aloud book. This was a very well-written story, told in deceptively simple language. The atmosphere is very creepy and spooky. There are cool wood-cut illustrations at each chapter heading. Young Tom Ward is the protagonist, a seventh son of a seventh son, he's a natural to be apprenticed to the local Spook. The Spook is the one to go to when dealing with boggarts, witches, ghosts, and the like. This story was right on the cusp of maybe-a-little-too-creepy-for-an-8-year-old but my 8-year-old kept begging me to read more anyway. Though, on one or two occasions, had to be certain our hero wasn't going to die (he comes close). Both Luke and I really enjoyed this tale. We've already started book number 2 in the series for the next read-aloud book.

Despite the simple way this book is written, I actually found it to be quite enjoyable. It's simplicity made it a quick read, but I really enjoyed the characters and the world it is set in. I really liked the fact that it was medieval fantasy rather than the urban fantasy or sci fi that overwhelms the YA bookshelves these days and that it centred on only a few main characters instead of multitudes of them. I would say one of the better YA books I've read in a long time and a refreshing one that doesn't need some sappy love story to carry it along. Highly recommended.