Lexi has heard the tale of The Near Witch her entire life. Her father included it as a bedtime story, part of the lore he imparted to Lexi before his death. Now, though, it seems as though the Near Witch is more than lore. In her novel THE NEAR WITCH (Hyperion 2011), Victoria Schwab blends lore and superstitions and fear to create the atmosphere of a village on a witch hunt. When a stranger arrives on the moor, suspicions are immediately aroused in Lexi's village. And then a child disappears and another and a third. Lexi knows where the stranger is hiding. She befriends Connor, an action with consequences that extend beyond suspicion. Dark, mysterious, suspenseful: Schwab's story draws readers into the village and the minds (closed) of its leaders. <520>
