The Witch’s Boy by Kelly Barnhill
I am Sarah. I am thirteen years old and an avid reader; it is one of my favorite things to do. Inspired by the multitude of author’s creation of magnificent places and surprising havens built by simple letters, I aspire to be an author and, meanwhile, nurture the love to write.
Every pair must have one wrong half, right? At least, that’s what the townspeople believe in the village where a pair of twins, Ned and Tam, run rampant. (They also believe that the world ends at the mountains, but they’re wrong about that, too.) One day, the brothers decide it’s high time they built a raft—but when they’re ready to float it, things go wrong, and only Ned survives, cementing the debate between the villagers that he was the wrong boy all along.
Across the enchanted forest that separates Ned’s country from the kingdom of Duunin lives Ainé, the resourceful and practical daughter of the Bandit King, who lives a good life but is haunted by her mother’s last words to her: “the wrong boy will save your life, and you will save his.”
When bandits threaten the magic that Ned’s mother is intended to protect—the welfare of both Ainé and Ned’s kingdoms hanging in the balance—it’s Ned who steps up to safeguard the magic and protect his community, and Ainé who braves her fears to stop the war threatening to spill between their two kingdoms.
Kelly Barnhill winds an enchanting story of friendship, magic, and fairytales in her trademark no-nonsense, humorously witty style. Written with magic imbued in every syllable, The Witch’s Boy is a book to make you laugh, cry, and everything in between.
