Witch Hill [Hardcover]

Marcus Sedgwick (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 11, 2001 | Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

Now I knew what it was like to wake from a deep sleep and still be afraid long after the nightmare is over. I stared into the darkness, not daring to move. It felt as if there wasn’t enough air in the room. I struggled, gasping for breath. It was as if there was something else in the room, using up my air.

The fire in his home was a family tragedy that Jamie can’t forget. Fire dominates his waking thoughts and haunts his dreams. When his family sends him away to Crownhill to recover, they don’t realize they are sending him to a village with its own dark history of witchcraft and ancient buried powers, unleashed by Jamie’s presence. As the dark secrets of Crownhill and its witches are revealed, Jamie has to confront his worst fears in order to free himself from the horrors of the past.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

At first, Jamie isn't too worried about the bad dreams he's been having since coming to his aunt's house. Most people awoken in the middle of the night to find their house burning down would probably have nightmares, too. But instead of fire, he keeps dreaming of a "horrible, scary old woman," relentlessly coming after him for some awful, inexplicable purpose. Even though he's come to Aunt Jane's to recover from the fire's aftermath, he doesn't want to bother her or his cousin Alison with his silly fears. He can see that they are very busy with their village's community service project--cleaning off an age-old carving on the side of hill that overlooks the town. But when the carving turns out to be a peculiar primordial figure instead of the "crown" that the people of Crownshill expected to see, and Jamie uncovers evidence of an ancient witchcraft trial in local history papers, he is swept into a centuries-old mystery to which he unwittingly has the key. Who is the old crone chasing him, and what does she want? Jamie will have to endure an experience worse than fire to find out.

British author Marcus Sedgwick has written another perfectly creepy, perfectly wonderful middle-grade thriller. Like his debut novel, Floodland, Witch Hill is written in just the right tone for those suspense seekers who have graduated from Goosebumps but aren't quite ready for Stephen King. And while most of the popular witchcraft fiction on bookstore shelves targets girls, this engaging mystery with its fiery cover and whodunit plot will draw boys into its puzzling pages as well. (Ages 10 to 14) --Jennifer Hubert

From School Library Journal

Gr 5-9-When Jamie's house is destroyed by fire and he fails to rescue his baby sister, his parents send him to stay with his aunt in Crownhill to recover from the trauma. From the very first night, though, the boy has nightmares of an ugly crone and finds himself caught up in the unleashing of a buried history of witchcraft. When he helps the village clean the chalk markings that have long decorated the Cornwall hill, they discover that instead of a crown, the markings represent a woman, a crone or witch. As his aunt, cousin, and representative from the historical society attempt to piece together Crownhill's history, they discover that the village was the site of a witch burning during England's Civil War. And for some reason, Jamie's presence and his nightmares are bringing back the old terrors. In a parallel plot development, Sedgwick slowly tells what really happened the night of the fire at Jamie's house, finally revealing that Jamie's sister was rescued and that his guilt is unnecessary. The boy's final nightmare puts the ghosts from both the past and present to rest. While basically a readable suspense novel with likable characters, the overlay of the two plots is rather contrived, and Jamie's story is forced and too slowly revealed. The overall lesson-discovering what matters most in life-is much too preachy and obvious. Lois Duncan's Gallows Hill (Delacorte, 1997) is a better choice for those looking for a good witch story that links past and present.

Janet Hilbun, formerly at Sam Houston Middle School, Garland, TX

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 147 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (September 11, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385328028
• ISBN-13: 978-0385328029
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,437,055 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:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ages 10-14 will relish this story of witchcraft and legends, January 3, 2002

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Witch Hill (Hardcover)

Ages 10-14 will relish this story of witchcraft and legends as Jamie goes to life with an aunt and cousin and finds his nightmares turning into reality. An old chalk drawing on a hill and increasing confusion of town members involves Jamie in a well-hidden secret in this story of witchcraft and danger.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Second time is not a disappointment, November 28, 2001

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Witch Hill (Hardcover)

I read and enjoyed Sedgwick's "Floodland," and "Witch Hill" does not disappoint. Filled with more suspense and intensity than the previous book, this one is a more breathless read, making me think that Sedgwick is only improving.

Jamie is traumatized when he fails to save his sister from a destructive house fire. To help the haunted young boy, his parents send him to Crownhill, where he assists in cleaning an ancient carving by a hill. But dreams are haunting him -- not dreams of the fire, but dreams of an ghastly old woman, whom he is pursuing. The worst part is that it is affecting reality -- he wakes with chalk on his feet.

Crownhill has a mysterious background -- of strange deaths. And as the carving on the hill is revealed, Jamie finds that the word is not "crown," but "crone." Dreams and flashbacks, past and present mesh together to throw Jamie into a spine-tingling adventure. When he has unraveled the truth about a witch trial centuries before, he must confront the ghostly old woman on "Walpurgis Night" -- and the strange truth of what happened to his sister.

Sedgwick's story feels earthier and more sinister than "Floodland," perhaps because this is not a what-if story, but a supernatural one. He also skillfully weaves together the two stories, of the old witch burning and the present one about Jamie.

Atmosphere is well-handled, conveying the full creepiness of the old crone and of the discovery about the carving. The climax is breathtaking; the handling of Jamie's trauma is better than the twerpy handling of children's trauma in most books, given the revelation at the end and his present preoccupations. The writing is pretty good, though I felt that sometimes the sentences were a little too choppy.

Teens looking for a spooky thriller will enjoy this book -- it might be a little too intense for younger kids, given the subject matter of homes burning, witch burnings in the past, and spectral witches haunting a boy's dreams. I'm looking forward to Sedgwick's next novel.

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good language, gripping story, September 22, 2010

By 

Natalia (New York, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Witch Hill (Paperback)

My 11-years old was scared and mesmerized at the same time. He read the book in one evening and recommended it to his friends the next day. The age group is 11-13 years old, but I enjoyed reading it myself, since it is masterfully written. Note to parents: this book is too scary for children under 11.