The promise witch by Celine Kiernan
The Wild Magic trilogy bk. 3. Walker Books, 2020. ISBN:
9781406373936.
(Age: 10-14) Highly recommended. Following Begone
the raggedy witches and The
little grey girl comes the striking finale to what has
been a unique and enthralling series. Witches Borough has been
struck down with a terrible drought caused by the old queen, the
rivers are drying up and there is little water in the wells. Mup's
parents are doing their best to bring peace to the land and begin a
school to educate all the children but the drought threatens
everyone's existence. Then the witch Magda comes back and sweeps Mup
and Crow off on a dangerous journey, determined to give them to
Mup's grandmother, the old queen. Mup knows that the old queen's
power must end for the good of the land and uses all her ingenuity
to try and find a way to do this.
Readers who have followed the adventures of Mup and Crow and the
little grey girl in the first two books will be enthralled with this
magical and very exciting conclusion to the series. Both Mup and
Crow grow into their powers and use them for the good of the land.
They learn that they must obtain the help of others and cooperate to
overcome evil and readers will cheer their efforts to stop the old
queen. There are some heart-breaking moments that will bring tears
to eyes as Crow desperately tries to bring his father back to life
and the fate of the little grey girl is decided.
It is the beautifully descriptive and emotive writing that keeps the
story going along at a fast pace and readers will be fully engaged
in the characters and events in Witches Borough. This is a series
that can be highly recommended for its portrayal of good and evil,
the resilience of the characters and the uniqueness of the stories.
Pat Pledger