Revenge of the Witch

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.