Wildwitch: Wildfire

I can't resist books with cats! And to add to the enjoyment, this one has a dog and a horse as well. What more could one want?

Wildwitch is by an award-winning Danish author, Lene Kaaberbøl, and is the first in a series. It introduces Clara, a nice, ordinary 12-year-old who lives with her single mum and is best friends with Oscar. Her world changes when she's attacked without reason by a huge black cat. When she develops a high fever her mother takes her away from the city to visit Aunt Isa, who she's never met before, and she learns that, like her aunt, she's a wildwitch. But the moment she first walked the wildways she made a deadly enemy, and now she's in grave danger.

This is a short book, only 160 pages, so it's an easy read. Like show more many modern children's fantasies, though, I think it's genuinely scary - at times, Clara is in fear for her life. It's too short for very much leisurely character development, but nonetheless there's a sense of real people populating the story, and Clara, who tells the story, is immediately likable. I very much look forward to seeing how she grows throughout the series - the second is on its way, I believe.

The translation by Charlotte Barslund is excellent, and Wildwitch is delightfully illustrated by Rohan Eason. show less

I am a huge fan of Kaaberbøl's Shamers series (Teen Fantasy), so I'm always particularly delighted when her work finally makes it to the states.

This series of books is great for the slightly younger crowd -- there are some scary moments, but the world building and characters are fantastic, and the fast paced storytelling never lets up. I'd recommend it for fans of Harry Potter (similar magic just outside regular life themes) and also for Tamora Pierce aficionados -- really anyone who gets into magic and animals and stories that are not fair, but that the heroine wins through anyway.

Advanced Reader's Copy provided by Edelweiss.

Habe das Buch meiner Tochter (9) vorgelesen. Für ihr Alter fast ein wenig zu spannend und gruselig, ging gerade so.
Das erste Buch in einer langen Reihe von vorgelesenen Büchern, bei dem ICH abends nicht aufhören wollte, weil es so spannend war.
Überzeugende, realistische Darstellung des Magiesystems fernab von einfachem Hokupokus, wie es gerade bei Kinderbüchern sonst häufig der Fall ist. Gute Sprache mit oft langen Sätzen, sehr überzeugende und liebenswerte Charaktere.
Ein herausragendes Buch innerhalb der unzähligen Jugendbuchtitel mit Bezug zu Magie. Sehr empfehlenswert. Wir werden bald mit dem zweiten Band weitermachen.