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Jeremy · 10th March 2006, 03:27 PM

Review of Witch Hill by Marcus Sedgwick
Another children’s fantasy novel by the author of The Book of Dead Days. This is an earlier effort, and it lacks the complexity and intensity of his later masterpiece, but it is nevertheless a fun and engaging read. Jamie is a boy haunted by thoughts of a recent house fire, in which he was unable to save his little sister. Ridden with guilt, he was doing poorly in school, and so he was sent to live with his aunt in a village to get away for a while. However, while living in his aunt’s house, he begins to have nightmares about an evil, foul old witch, who chases after him across the hill in his dreams. At the same time, a scouring of the hill behind the house reveals a sinister ancient drawing on the hill that originally gave the hill its name of Crownhill, only the drawing is not that of a crown. Does the witch really exist, or is she a part of Jamie’s too active imagination? There are one or two genuinely scary moments in the book when Jamie comes face to face with the witch in his dreams. The book is quite short, about 150 pages, so it can be finished in no time at all, and it leaves several mysteries unresolved. Recommended for those who enjoy children’s fantasy and fans of Sedgwick.

10th March 2006, 03:27 PM	#3 (permalink)
Jeremy Author Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 61	Re: The Book of Dead Days by Marcus Sedgwick Review of Witch Hill by Marcus Sedgwick Another children’s fantasy novel by the author of The Book of Dead Days. This is an earlier effort, and it lacks the complexity and intensity of his later masterpiece, but it is nevertheless a fun and engaging read. Jamie is a boy haunted by thoughts of a recent house fire, in which he was unable to save his little sister. Ridden with guilt, he was doing poorly in school, and so he was sent to live with his aunt in a village to get away for a while. However, while living in his aunt’s house, he begins to have nightmares about an evil, foul old witch, who chases after him across the hill in his dreams. At the same time, a scouring of the hill behind the house reveals a sinister ancient drawing on the hill that originally gave the hill its name of Crownhill, only the drawing is not that of a crown. Does the witch really exist, or is she a part of Jamie’s too active imagination? There are one or two genuinely scary moments in the book when Jamie comes face to face with the witch in his dreams. The book is quite short, about 150 pages, so it can be finished in no time at all, and it leaves several mysteries unresolved. Recommended for those who enjoy children’s fantasy and fans of Sedgwick.