THE WITCH OF THE DARK WOOD

by Millie Florence ; illustrated by Astrid Sheckels ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 7, 2025 An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment. Awards & Accolades Likes 27 Our Verdict GET IT In Florence’s middle-grade fantasy novel, a young girl’s heart is tested in the face of an evil, spreading Darkness. Eleven-year-old Lydia, “freckle-cheeked and round-eyed, with hair the color of pine bark and fair skin,” is struggling with the knowledge that she has reached the age to apprentice as an herbalist. Lydia is reluctant to leave her beloved, magical Mulberry Glen and her cozy Housetree in the woods—she’ll miss Garder, the Glen’s respected philosopher; her fairy guardian Pit; her human friend Livy; and even the mischievous part-elf, part-imp, part-human twins Zale and Zamilla. But the twins go missing after hearing of a soul-sapping Darkness that has swallowed a forest and is creeping into minds and engulfing entire towns. They have secretly left to find a rare fruit that, it is said, will stop the Darkness if thrown into the heart of the mountain that rises out of the lethal forest. Lydia follows, determined to find the twins before ...