A great read for the school holidays. Goblin bombs anyone?! It starts off very well, there are exciting bits, scary bits and then mystery takes over. I loved this type of book as a kid, such an imaginative and inventive storyline founded in fantasy and grounded in real life, albeit with a talking cat and nasty little imps. Young Cassandra Morgan is a great protagonist (you can’t say heroine anymore can you?) who meets some pretty big challenges head on.

First there are uncomfortably cruel boarding school scenes but after much trauma, and a train trip, Cassie arrives in the enchanted village of Hedgely which watches over The Hedge that protects England from Faerie. Cassie has a familiar (partner) cat named Montague. She starts witch training school, a bit like Girl Guides, hoping to earn the inimitable pointy black hat. All the while preparing her secret quest to find her missing mother.

Rule One is ‘Do not walked through The Hedge alone’. Learning the magic of witchcraft, friendships blossom alongside potions, cauldrons, experiments, incantations and wonky broom riding. But the golden thread is Cassie taking risks to reunite with her mother. She sneaks into her Aunt Miranda’s study, the eponymous and cranky Hedgewitch of Heartwood Hall, searching for information. The background scene-setting is vivid, coupled with Mrs Briggs the housekeeper, Brogan the gardener, Uncle Elliot, goblins, shape-shifters and the ethereal Erl King.

As an adult I probably appreciate the setting more than an action hungry young reader might until the spooky second half of the book. I have enjoyed magical realism before, e.g. the Stella Montgomery series by Judith Rossell who illustrates her own books. The ‘Hedgewitch’ chapters and full page pen and ink artwork by illustrator Tomislav Tomic are evocative and his Hedgely map is superlative.

Chapter 20 is one of my favourites, ‘The Midsummer Fair’ would be delightful to actually visit. However, with certain chapters I had to curb my jaded adult view because of what I might find stereotyped, a new reader will not. Especially as this is reasonably removed from iconic Harry Potter’s hardship but many similarities can be conjured.

A
Book
Quote
‘Ignis Fatuus’
Chapter Seventeen
“This is a terrible idea,’ croaked Natter.
‘For once, I am in agreement with the frog,’ said Montague.
‘Toad, but look, you can’t go wandering about in there on your own.’
It was a glorious, sunny afternoon and the grassy hill that led up to The Hedge
was spotted with buttercups and daisies. The sun was warm on their backs and they were well provisioned for the journey with ham sandwiches, bottles of Mrs Brigg’s
homemade ginger beer and a packet of digestive biscuits.”
Cassie came with her broom Tantivy once owned by her mother.
Rue had her salt Goblin Bombs, just in case.

Hedgewitch
by Skye McKenna
Welbeck Publishing Group 2022

In hardcover ‘Hedgewitch’ has 403 pages double spaced and I have seen library books where turned pages seem to stop in the middle. I hope this is not the case with this story otherwise the erstwhile reader will miss out on some magical treats “By mirrored moon and shining flower, Over sea or mountain peak, Reveal to me this item’s keeper, For I would glimpse the one I seek.”

The second book ‘Woodwitch’ has hit the shelves!

♥  Gretchen Bernet-Ward