Waking the Witch
£7.99
1 in stock (can be backordered)
Description
Seventeen-year-old Ivy has spent years looking for her birth mother, but when she finally finds her on the remote Bardsey Island, rumoured to be the site of Avalon and King Arthur’s last resting place, she is not remotely prepared for what greets her. Her mother abandoned her as a baby in order to keep her safe from witches who wanted to steal her away – the eight witches of Arthurian legend, who have long sought the ninth.
Sheila Chalmers –
Waking the Witch” appears on first impression to be an exciting, and beautifully written, “Coming of age” novel. We set off with Ivy, and her companion, Tom, in search of her birth mother, armed with a cryptic message in a locket, that was found with her as an abandoned baby.
As their journey progresses, clues are carefully laid that the truth is deeper and darker than first appears, culminating in encounters with the supernatural and entering the disturbing world of Arthurian legend and the mythology of Bardsey Island.
The book depicts two distinct worlds: the “present day”, and the altogether more menacing and scary realm of magic, witches and demons.
The former is written in a style that will readily ring true with younger adults, with references to life in the early 2020s. There are mentions of “Deliveroo” and “Masterchef”, and this is the first time I have encountered the expression “Oh My Days” in fiction!
Ivy makes reference to suddenly wishing she was at home with her foster parents [Richard and Jim], eating a takeaway in her fleecy pyjamas and watching T.V.
Cosy and comforting.
As the journey continues, and the shadows begin to gather, the language and style are more menacing and brooding: “a wail of rage so terrifying it could rip the flesh from a rodent’s back and slice the scales from a fish”.
Dark and disturbing.
Whichever world she is describing, Rachel’s style is fluent, engaging, and captivating.
At times, it was more like watching a film rather than reading words on a page.
This was particularly so in the latter chapters set on Bardsey Island.
The characters, both real and supernatural, all came to life for me.
Ivy emerges as a strong young women, enabled by her background rather than defeated by it.
I warmed to Tom as the book progressed, and liked the portrayal that a “privileged” background can result in as many problems as an upbringing that would be regarded as deprived.
The relationship between the two came across as warm and caring, and one can only hope that the final sentences of the book prove to be true.
Readers who may not have knowledge of Arthurian legend, and the history of Bardsey, are well catered for by a clever device. The background facts needed to understand the story come to light in books found in the cottage where Ivy and Tom stay. They read passages aloud to each other, informing themselves and the reader.
Many younger readers will enjoy this book, which is well written in a style which carries us along, following the characters as they continue their adventures on a roller coaster ride.
The deeper themes and the metaphors which abound in the book may only be revealed on a later reading.
As for Ivy: she reveals to us all, men or women, young or old, that true fulfilment is only achieved by unleashing the true self withi