The Near Witch - V.E Schawb

Résumé : 

The Near Witch is only an old story told to frighten children.

If the wind calls at night, you must not listen. The wind is lonely, and always looking for company.

And there are no strangers in the town of Near.

These are the truths that Lexi has heard all her life.

But when an actual stranger-a boy who seems to fade like smoke-appears outside her home on the moor at night, she knows that at least one of these sayings is no longer true.
The next night, the children of Near start disappearing from their beds, and the mysterious boy falls under suspicion. Still, he insists on helping Lexi search for them. Something tells her she can trust him.
As the hunt for the children intensifies, so does Lexi's need to know about the witch that just might be more than a bedtime story, about the wind that seems to speak through the walls at night, and about the history of this nameless boy.

Part fairy tale, part love story, Victoria Schwab's debut novel is entirely original yet achingly familiar: a song you heard long ago, a whisper carried by the wind, and a dream you won't soon forget.

Mon avis : 

First time reading a V.E Shawb book and I don't know how to feel about it... I recently found out that it was her first novel, which perhaps explains why I have mixed feelings about it.

I have never really heard about that book and then I saw it on the shelves of a random bookstore and upon reading the little blurb at the back it seemed intriguing and I liked the concept of this story, so I bought it! I began to read it right away, I was very excited to read this book.

At first, I really enjoyed this book's atmosphere. It's dark and gloomy, and it felt like a dark fairy tale which I was living for that. Don't ask me why, all I wanted to read in August this year were "gloomy" books... Sadly, the story fell short of my expectations.
First of all, as far as I'm concerned, the story had no action, to be honest, it was pretty boring. The mystery aspect seemed very obvious and boring.
The plot is primarily focused on the search for the "stranger" and why children disappear. However, these issues are quickly resolved. There is no suspense whatsoever!
That may be explained by the length of the book. It is rather short, slightly over 200 pages.

The end is quite sudden. It is rushed, somewhat incoherent and a little confused, with new questions emerging, but no answers to those new questions or to the questions raised from the beginning are really given... By the time you figure it out, that's it, that's the end of the story.

I, also, wasn't attached to any of the characters. They all felt a tad bit dull to me. It's written in the first person, from Lexi's perspective. And yet, her character appeared to be very vague and undescribed.

The other characters in the story are really insignificant, to be completely honest with you I can't remember half of their names.
If I really had to choose my favorite characters, I think I would choose the two old "witches" ladies. I would have liked to learn more about these women.

And don't get me started on the romance within this book. I didn't like it. It felt unnecessary. 

To be honest, the only part I appreciated about this book was the writing style of the author. Oh boy did I love the writing! It is truly poetic and has captured me from the beginning.

Let me conclude by saying that I will never read this book again. But feel free to do so.

Seulement disponible en anglais !