Unusually Situated Chillers

Unusually Situated Chillers

In one of the beautiful coincidences that I so often enjoy in my
blogging my older daughter, Amber, and my good work friend, Emily,
recommended YA chillers that are similar in their departure from the
usual. So set down your devices. They haven't been imagined where
we're headed: a realm of small villages and large superstitions where
the settings play as large a role in the narratives as the humans who
inhabit them.

The Near Witch
"I stare out at this empty landscape, and it seems impossible
that I saw him, saw anyone. After all, there are no strangers in the
town of Near. There haven't been since long ago, before I was born,
before the house was built, before the Council..."
The town of Near, setting of V. E. Schwab's The Near Witch, is
an insular village surrounded on all sides by the inhospitable moor.
Houses are arranged in small clusters. The Council arbitrates all
matters. Although strangers haven't shown up in ages, they are
greatly feared. Adherence to the old ways is highly valued.
Banishment is the ultimate punishment.
There is a deep belief in witches and their powers. Two witch
sisters, Magda and Dreska, live on the edge where town meets moor.
"...The fact that the Thorne sisters are still standing, or
hobbling, is a sure sign of their craft. They've been around as long
as the Council, and not just Tomas and Matthew and Eli, but their
ancestors, the real Council. As long as the Near Witch. As long as
Near itself. Hundreds of years..."
One night after lulling little sister, Wren, to sleep with
stories, Lexi, Schwab's narrator, glancing out a window, sees a
stranger at the spot where village meets moor. His eyes meet hers
before he vanishes. She is curious, eager to meet him.
The rest of the village is anything but. Guided by the Council,
the people come to fear the stranger. Lexi remembers what her father
had told her about fear: "It has the power to close their eyes, turn
away. Nothing good grows out of fear."
When their young children begin disappearing the villagers' fear
turns to panic. Sure only the stranger can do something so evil, they
begin to hunt him down. Lexi, who has had a chance to get to know
him, is sure of his innocence. But how can she protect him long
enough to discover the truth?

The Hollow Girl
"She talked about it sometimes, about the hearth witches of
Ireland granting powerful blessings and casting terrible curses. The
English witches could hear the wind's whispered secrets and control
the weather. The Scottish witches had mastered fire and water, just
as our Welsh kinfolk could influence dreams. The magic Gran claimed--
that I would one day claim--was vast and varied, picked up over
generations of traveling."
Bethan and her Gran are members of a traveling clan of Welsh
Romani. They are a very insular tribe, quite wary of outsiders. Even
the rare man who marries in will be shunned by the community.
Gran is a healer who wields great power in the community. As the
draboni, she's on equal footing with the chieftain. She earns money
selling spells and cures in markets as the tribe travels. She has
"shallow magic" that plays into the prejudices of outsiders. But
she's also capable of true magic that sometimes comes at a terrible
cost.
Bethan is Gran's apprentice, learning all the secrets of their
arcane practice. She has taken over the actual market selling since
Gran has trouble walking. At one market, despite her reservations,
she becomes friends with a gadjo (outsider) who protects her from a
drunk. Martyn is a local who has the stall next to hers.
Silas, the chieftain's son, lusts after Bethan and makes quite
unwanted advances. Her friendship with Martyn enrages him. He rapes
her and then, with the aid of his friends, assaults Martyn, leaving
him in a coma.
Bethan desperately wants to save Martyn's life. Yes, there is a
spell for that. A very costly one. To achieve her goal she will have
to perform some really gruesome acts, collecting body parts from his
assailants.
Can she before it's too late?

On a purrrsonal note, I am between five week classes. I learned a lot
of importance in my professionalism class and enjoyed the actual
classes. And I got all the homework in with a lot of help from
Caitlin. Elizabeth says I did well on my professional presentation.
But the amount of homework with computer components triggered my
anxiety. The one thing I'd change about the class is add more time.
The material is enough for fifteen weeks. The next class starts
Thursday. It's a zoom taught by a dude who has never before taught an
online class. We'll see how that goes. Elizabeth asked if I'd be
willing to tutor statistics. I'd like to. But I need to see the
class syllabus to figure out if I'll have the time to do a good job of
it. (Jules)
It's time for winter to go away already. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to Elizabeth for creating and teaching
such an amazing class and Caitlin for helping me get all the homework
done. Caitlin is job hunting. I selfishly hope she gets something in
traveling distance like Boston or the Big Apple.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway



Sent from my iPod