It has been seven years since Cassie Morgan last saw her mother. Left at a dreary boarding school, she spends her days hiding from the school bully and reading forbidden storybooks about the world of Faerie.
Certain that her mother is still alive, Cassie is determined to find her, whatever the dangers, and runs away from school. Lost and alone, she is chased by a pack of goblins but, to her surprise, escapes with the help of a flying broom and a talking cat named Montague, who takes her to the cosy village of Hedgely.
Here she discovers that she comes from a family of witches, women who protect Britain from the denizens of Faerie, who are all too real and far more frightening than her storybooks suggest.
Australian author Skye McKenna works in heritage and recently curated the Magic & Mystery exhibition for Barley Hall, a museum in York, England. In that exhibition, she introduces visitors to real and legendary wizards and alchemists, developing activities for school children and families. McKenna’s first children’s book, Hedgewitch, is fitting with her distinct interest in the field of alchemy and passion for research, both setting the scene of the novel and the character of Cassie respectively.
I’m sure many of us wish we could be whisked away into the strange, wondrous worlds of our favourite fantasy books. For Cassie, this wish becomes somewhat of a reality. What begins with Cassie researching and reading forbidden Faerie books – when she’s supposed to be studying algebra – turns into a magical adventure of discovery in the village of Hedgley. Cassie’s longing for answers about her mother leads her to find answers about a whole new family in a whole new world.
McKenna does a phenomenal job at world-building, and I felt fully immersed in Cassie’s domain – both in London and beyond. While both Hedgley and London are distinct, McKenna creatively intertwines the two worlds through Cassie’s new secret family history that aims to protect the world she grew up in.
Filled with fantasy, adventure and learning to believe in the unknown, there’s also a deeper story of loss, love and finding who you are in Hedgewitch. The story also builds up to a riveting revelation that I’m sure will shock readers as much as it did me.
Hedgewitch is the first in a magical five-book series, perfect for readers of Nevermoor, The Worst Witch and The Dark is Rising. Book #2 in the series, Woodwitch, is set to be published in April 2023, and I can’t wait to see where Cassie’s story leads next.
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