Sara, an eighteen-year-old girl, tried to keep her everyday life safe as best as she could despite her unexplainable powers. With the help of her parents, she has long isolated herself from others, opting for homeschooling over attending the local high school and favoring a dog’s company over any other person’s. However, when Sara’s abilities can no longer be hidden, her parents decide to take a trip, which comes with a tragic and shocking end. Sara must learn to build new relationships, accept her losses, and harness her powers to either save or doom her and the people she has recently met but immediately become something she has been missing —family.

Witch of Ware Woods, by Sonja F. Blanco, is a well-crafted fantasy story about family. This novel was a great surprise due to its inclusion of close-knit families who built a community within themselves. Unfortunately, when it comes to teenagers and magic, characters are often neglected and detached from their biological families, left to fend for themselves and discover their potential on their own. This is not the case with Witch of Ware Woods, where the characters supported one another and made sure to address their issues collectively.

Blanco’s world-building is phenomenal; there is a lot to take in initially as you get a feel for the magical woods. The author dedicates a reasonable amount of time to describing Ware Woods. Detail is paid to every nook and cranny, the homey feel of the families’ culture, providing readers with excellent visualization of what living there is supposed to be like, with or without the magic.

The characters’ dialogue is also note-worthy because they contribute to the important events in the story, no matter how easily a line can be overlooked. Getting Sara’s point of view during the process is also a great help for its readers because she was confused in the beginning and must receive the fast-paced information from everyone with comprehension.

This captivating fantasy novel is an excellent starting point for a new magical world, and I believe its readers will only crave more. Everything that has happened in Sara’s life was not a walk in the park, but to see her slowly begin to adapt to her surroundings and eventually love where she ends up, is an inspiration that goes beyond the pages. I recommend this to anyone who would like to detach themselves from reality but stay somehow grounded in humanity, for the book maintains a healthy middle ground between both.

Pages: 421 | ASIN : B09F5SDZ9L