The Witch's Boy

The Witch’s Boy by Kelly Barnhill is essentially a fairy tale that combines multiple story lines, while tugging at your heart strings from the very first page.The mischievous and happy twins, Ned and Tam build a make-shift raft that will take them from the Great River to the sea. “The sea, Tam…. the sea!”Unfortunately, a raft built by 7 year-old boys can hardly be deemed sea-worthy…“The current separated the boys. The father couldn’t save them both. He kicked and swore, but as he reached one boy — the closer boy — his twin had been swept far down the length of the river and out of sight. […]‘We should have known he’d bungle it,’ they said.‘He saved the wrong one.'”And so Ned, the wrong boy, lived — while Tam, the smart one, was carried away by the current and drowned. But his mother, Sister Witch, could not bear that one of her sons had died, while the other lay struggling for his life… so she did something she shouldn’t have: she used the magic kept under her care to keep her child alive.Saving Ned’s life came at a cost to him — he barely grew, he was small and quiet, he stuttered:“Words were his enemies. They rattled in his mouth like broken teeth, or tumbled off the page like scattered dust after a sneeze.”… he also forgot how to read:“There was a time when he could read. Both he and his brother could. Before. But then everything changed. Now, whenever Ned looked at the sign (or any writing for that matter), the letters seemed to wobble, shift, and scramble themselves. They wriggled like snakes and swarmed like locusts.”The townspeople think him dim-witted… they are unkind. However, larger events come into play as the Queen comes to this little village while visiting different towns throughout her realm. Her family — the Queen’s nephew in particular — would love to see her dead. Fortunately, Sister Witch is able to save the Queen’s life… and is then invited to visit the castle. Using magic is exhausting for Sister Witch, and so she leaves the magic at home, safe within its little jar, and asks Ned to look after it. Unfortunately, the Bandit King comes along with his band of ruffians to take the magic — he is consumed by greed and power, and even threatens to kill Ned’s father to force Ned out of his home along with the jar of magic. But Ned discovers he can be brave… he cannot let his father die… he opens the jar, and the magic melds within his skin, burning, and itching, and causing so much pain. But it does not kill him. The real adventure begins!The magic within Ned is volatile — constantly causing him to war within himself: Will he do what is right? Will he do what is selfish? Will he do what is best? Will he be merciful? Will he give into the power within him? Ned’s family has been keeping the magic good for generations… can he do the same? The magic requires a strong will to be kept in its place — it requires strong commanding words:“A word, after all, is a kind of magic. It locks the substance of a thing in sound or symbol, and affixes it to the ear, or paper, or stone. Words call the world into being. That’s power indeed. And Ned was not a powerful boy.”As he runs through the woods to escape the bandits, the Bandit King plots with the over-indulgent and power-hungry King Ott of a nearby kingdom against the Ned’s small village. He convinces King Ott to attack — now Ned has an even greater task ahead: he needs to save himself, and warn his people.While lost in the woods, he meets a wolf… and Áine – the Bandit King’s daughter. Upon her death bed, Áine’s mother told her, “The wrong boy will save your life, and you will save his. And the wolf –” Well, she’d have to guess about the wolf.Together, this trio runs through the woods, escaping bandits, making some difficult decisions, and taking care of one another. They learn to trust, they learn to care, and most of all, they learn about true friendship and sacrifices.It is difficult to choose only one theme within this lovely tale of good versus evil. It is about friendship, it is about greed, it is about making the difficult choices, it is about forgiveness, and it is about accepting loss…The Witch’s Boy is poetic in it’s repetition, melodic in it’s tone, and deep in it’s message.http://doodlesandwords.com/2015/04/07/the-wrong-boy-and-his-words/

I could not put this book down. It grabbed me on the first page and kept me hooked until the last. Highly recommend!!

I found The Witch's Boy to be a very pleasant read. The narrative flowed very well, the characters were interesting and distinct, and the perspectives of the two main characters seemed appropriate for their age. I believe the book is written for an audience of young readers, but it was also an enjoyable experience for someone who is almost a half-century old. There was magic and danger and love and loss. The characters changed as a result of their experiences, as did the nature of the relationships between them. There were very few surprises here, which may have been the author's intent given her audience. This is the only reason I did not give it a five-star review. The plot was fairly linear and predictable, and I think even a younger audience would have enjoyed an unexpected plot twist or two.

Wow what a beautifully written, amazing book! It's one of those books you come out feeling wonderful and alive and wanting to travel the world and experience new cultures...and yet you're so sorry it's over because you wanted to stay with those people you've come to know and love. I have kindle unlimited and I almost never pay for books, but I thought I'd give this one a shot, I was intrigued, and it was worth ever penny and more! I don't know that I've ever highlighted in any of the books I've read, but this one I did many times. Beautifully descriptive lines that I intend to go back and write them all in my art journal. Thank you Kelly for a incredible journey that left me feeling more alive than I have in some time!

The seller sent the book quickly and it arrived safe and well wrapped. The story itself is actually really nice, not terribly violent not terribly romantic with a little bit of adventure thrown in.

I loved this book. While it is written for children the themes covered are universal and even heavy. The story itself is exciting but a little on the slow side to give readers a chance to fully appreciate the nuance and beauty in the life lessons experienced by the characters. This isn't an action packed quick read. Instead it is an introspective story that covers the topics of loss, friendship, goodness, and choices.

The story is moving, frightening, and magical; yet grounded in the reality of how beautiful and ugly humans can be.

This story was disappointing. The premise was intriguing: a young unlikely hero is called upon to save the world from disaster. In this case, our young hero has stuttered and struggled since he almost drowned in an accident that did claim the life of his twin brother. There are bandit kings, the bandit’s daughter, regular kings and queens, a threatening forest, a wolf, and magic. All of which makes it sound like a well-populated fairy tale adventure is ready to happen. But, even though the two young heroes are likable, the story is never captivating. The magic is confusing and most often it is adversarial. Some aspects of the story are presented in way that seems muddled instead of mysterious. The reader is not sure about the role of the standing stones in the present or in history. While sometimes this sort of uncertainty can add to the interest in a story, it did not in this case. The book is long, and it feels longer. Better than some, worse than some. My sons would not have liked it as young readers.