Witch Dreams [Paperback]

Vivian Vande Velde (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

Sixteen-year-old Nyssa can enter into people’s dreams. Although the authorities of the medieval town of Lindenwolde would put her to death if they realized she was a witch, she feels compelled to practice her unique brand of witchcraft to answer the biggest question of her life: who broke into her father’s woodworking shop and killed her parents? Six years after the murder, Nyssa finally gets her chance to enter the dreams of the man she suspects is responsible. Suddenly she finds herself on a reckless, relentless journey that leads her through a maze of adventures—both in the real world and in the world of the unconscious. Nyssa risks death as she finally identifies the murderer in a shocking and unexpected climax.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-9–Nyssa, 16, is a witch who is able to dream other people's dreams. She is trying to resolve the lingering questions about who murdered her parents six years earlier. She uses her powers of bespelling and tries to get to true memory. For years, she believed that the wealthy young man who was seen at the scene was guilty and only exonerated for the crime through his parents' influence, yet through exposure to several people's dreams she learns of his innocence. Vande Velde once again grabs readers' attention on page one and holds it to the end. This quick-paced story is easy to understand and the writing is crisp and suspenseful, with the dream sequences in italics. The surprising plot twists should please mystery fans.–Donna Marie Wagner, Harris County Public Library, Houston, TX
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Gr. 5-8. Ever since her parents were brutally murdered, 16-year-old Nyssa has searched for a way to confirm her suspicions about the killer, perhaps using her extrasensory ability to share in others' dreams--a dangerous gift that smacks of witchcraft. After one such "bespelling" reveals a flaw in her assumptions, Nyssa's investigations, combining supernatural elements and traditional gumshoe methods, end with a revelation about the facts as well as a thrilling psychological twist. It's never quite clear why it took six years for Nyssa to tap the dreams of eyewitnesses, but the greater flaw may be the unappealing jacket illustration; if readers can get past that, they'll soon be ensnared by the briskly paced plot and Vande Velde's simple yet visceral writing, especially effective in passages about Nyssa's dream-wanderings ("Wish dreams felt cool and rippled, and fear dreams tasted rancid but were exciting"). Offer this to middle-graders who enjoy the light fantasy of Nancy Springer's Rowan Hood series, older reluctant readers drawn to tales of witchcraft, and whodunit fans in both categories. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 120 pages
• Publisher: Marshall Cavendish Children's Books; Reprint edition (August 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761454608
• ISBN-13: 978-0761454601
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #404,464 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A bit obvious, but still good, July 9, 2006

By 

Calamari "Carbon-based life form" (Somewhere in the universe) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Witch Dreams (Hardcover)

Sixteen year old Nyssa is a witch; she has the power to share other people's dreams. In the medieval town of Lindenwolde, that's not a good thing. If anyone finds out she is a witch, she will be killed. However, Nyssa is compelled to use her witchcraft to answer the question which has been haunting her for the last six years: who broke into her father's woodworking shop and murdered her parents? Nyssa is sure that it was Elsdon, the son of the most powerful man in town. Witnesses saw him in the area near her father's shop several days before the murder, and one of Nyssa's neighbors even saw him fleeing the shop right after the murder took place. Of course, the magistrate is much more likely to believe Elsdon's parents than a hysterical orphan. How do you prove someone guilty when the only evidence you can get will condemn you to death?

The solution to the murder mystery in Witch Dreams is fairly obvious if you spend a while thinking about it. This doesn't stop the story from being engrossing and exciting. Although certainly not Vivian Vande Velde's best book (Never Trust a Dead Man and Heir Apparent share that distinction), it's still original and unusual. As in all of Vande Velde's books, there are several plot twists and red herrings thrown in to keep the story interesting and the reader guessing. Nyssa is an unusual, sympathetic protagonist, though very obviously driven to the point of obsession by her parents' deaths. The dream sequences are also done in a very unusual style: each dream sequence takes place in present tense, and from the point of view of the person having the dream.

All in all it's a good book. The mystery is a bit obvious, but the rest of the book is innovative and surprising.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spine tingling!, May 22, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Witch Dreams (Hardcover)

Omigosh! I never wanted to stop readingthis book. Chapter after chapter I read. There is a surprising ending that kept me guessing throughout the book. All I can say is "Spine Tingling!"

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An evening read with a good twist to it, December 7, 2005

By 

History_Girl (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Witch Dreams (Hardcover)

While this book is no Companions of the Night or Dragon's Bait, it is worth a read.

It is a simple tale of a girl whose parents were murdered and she is determined that the boy she suspects did the deed - pay for it. The story starts there and then skips forward where both are grown up and she finally discovers what happened and who was responsible.

There was only one point in the book where I was slightly confused (you'll know it when you get to it), but the story was well written, is constantly moving and very clever.

An easy read for an evening.