Hide this

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

Verdigris Deep by Frances Hardinge
Loading...

Verdigris Deep

by Frances Hardinge

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingConversations
1421342,933 (3.79)6
Loading...
won't like will probably not like will probably like will like will love

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

English (12)  Dutch (1)  All languages (13)
Showing 1-5 of 12 (next | show all)
Reviewed by Jennifer Rummel for TeensReadToo.com

Three friends miss the bus. Their tickets are not valid for the next bus and they have no money. They can't call their parents, because they are not supposed to be where they are.

Instead, Josh takes money from the wishing well to pay for the bus tickets.

Little does he know that a witch haunts the well and that she will demand payback. They must use their new powers to grant wishes made with the monies.

However, things begin to go very wrong.

A unique tale, WELL WITCHED examines the realization of magical powers and how quickly they can get out of hand. ( )
  GeniusJen | Oct 13, 2009 |
A very good book. For me, it wasn't as much fun as Hardinge's debut effort because it's set in the "real world" and because it does such a good job of depicting the lives and insecurities of unpopular kids. The main character's parents, and the family relationships, are also particularly well drawn. One assumes the mother is just going to be an unpleasant charicature, but she turns out to have plenty of virtues, while still having the unpleasant bits. The redemption the characters experience is realistically tempered with the fact that they're still flawed and breakable. ( )
  behindthetimes | Nov 11, 2008 |
Three friends, Josh, Ryan and Chelle, get stuck in the village of Magwhite when they miss the bus back to Guildley. They are not supposed to be in Magwhite, a place clearly considered "out of bounds" by their parents, but it is the forbidden nature of the place that makes it exciting. The three friends had been picnicking near the Magwhite canal, but they miss the last bus of the evening and don't want to have to explain where they were. Josh comes up with the brilliant plan of finding grocery carts (trolleys), and returning them to get money to get home. Unfortunately, that plan doesn't work, and they end up stealing from a wishing well, and using that money to pay for the special bus that will return them to Guildley. The well is inhabited by a spirit who now expects the three of them to help her fulfill the wishes made by the people who originally dropped the coins into the water. Each child is gifted with a power in order to help grant the wishes, but it seems like more of a curse. This is a well crafted tale, suitable for a decent reader, exceptionally descriptive, original and spooky.
  JRlibrary | Nov 9, 2008 |
This is a very interesting and unique story, excellently written. Weaving Celtic mythology into modern day lives, Frances Hardinge paints a portrait of believable pre-teens and their parents, with the kids swept up in an other-worldly adventure. ( )
  biblyotekerin | Aug 31, 2008 |
The U.S. edition I read is called "Well-Witched" which goodreads hasn't listed yet. This is the story of three modern kids who, after stealing some coins from an ancient wishing-well, find themselves owing a heavy debt to the witch who dwells within it. Hardinge knows how to take a truly mundane setting - bland, blighted surburbia - and imbue it with dreadful creepiness. The kids are intriguing, especially main character Ryan, and descriptions and dialogue sparkle. Fans of Gaiman's Coraline would love this, as would fans of Edward Eager who are ready something darker. ( )
  emitnick | Aug 11, 2008 |
Showing 1-5 of 12 (next | show all)
no reviews | add a review
You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Series (with order)
Canonical Title
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Awards and honors
Epigraph
Dedication
First words
Quotations
Last words
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (1)

File:VerdigrisDeep.jpg

Book description

Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0060880384, Hardcover)

Ryan and his friends don't think twice about stealing some money from a wishing well. After all, who's really going to miss a few tarnished coins?

The well witch does.

And she demands payback: Now Ryan, Josh, and Chelle must serve her . . . and the wishes that lie rotting at the bottom of her well. Each takes on powers they didn't ask for and don't want. Ryan grows strange bumps—are they eyes?—between his knuckles; Chelle starts speaking the secrets of strangers, no matter how awful and bloody; and Josh can suddenly—inexplicably—grant even the darkest of wishes, the kind of wishes that should never come true.

Darkly witty, wholly unexpected, and exquisitely sinister, Frances Hardinge's Well Witched is one well-cast tale that readers didn't know they were wishing for.

(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:57:52 -0400)

The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details.

Quick Links

Ebooks Audio Swap
0/81

Popular covers

 

Help/FAQs | About | Privacy/Terms | Blog | Contact | LibraryThing.com | APIs | WikiThing | Common Knowledge | 46,197,782 books!