Oh, me! Oh, my! It’s The Last Witch on Skye!

Okay, okay. That’s lame. Mom’s idea. So you know who to pin that one on, okay?

Anywho, we got this review request the other day from a lady in the foreign country of Nova Scotia. No idea where that is. Do they have burgers? (We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.)

Our review queue was closed at the time. Still trying to catch up. But there was something about this book and the review request that caught our eye. Convinced us to make an exception. Kimber: Probably had something to do with the smell of freshly barbecued…. What?

“Magic can be useful, but kindness is always a great gift.”

So we got this book in the mail the other day. Opened it up. It’s a delight! Bonus points: The author has roots in the Isle of Skye. There’s also a handy-dandy Reader’s Guide to the Magical World of Skye which includes a Glossary and pronunciation guide to Scottish Gaelic words in both Scotland and Nova Scotia.

Well. Her Momness and I were going to take copious notes while reading this book. Make all kinds of charts and graphs. Trot out some dancing bears. Throw in a floor show to rival Ziegfield Follies. Chow down on zillions of nice, thick juicy burgers… Like we usually do for any review.

Naw. Just kiddin’. We don’t have enough space for a floor show.

Where was I? Oh yeah. Book review.

We stopped taking notes, et.al. after a few chapters. We just wanted to dive in and enjoy. Without the stop-start, start-stop interruptions of copious note-taking. It’s that kind of a book. As in: Too. Much. Fun! (Note-taking, not so much. Go figure.) It goes like this:

The Basics

The Ban the Witches and Fairies (BW&F) Party has chased all the supernatural beings out of the Isle of Skye. Only Magaidh, a young witch, remains, hiding in a castle disguised as a cat.

But she and the Queen of the Fairies have a plan to rescue the Fairy Flag, allowing the fairies and Magaidh to return to Skye. As Magaidh resumes her business, Spells, Inc., she thinks about getting revenge on the BW&F Party, but the Fairy Queen suggests that peace would be a better plan.

While Magaidh considers which it will be, peace or revenge, her business allows her to help the people of Skye with love potions and spells to reverse the troublesome effects of fairy arrows. She and her two fairy friends, Sean and Iain, go on many adventures together, including rescuing a baby Welsh dragon; dealing with Big Blue Donald, a ghost; and befriending a baby water horse.

In the process, Magaidh gets to know her father and finds out why she is different from her siblings, who try to force her to choose revenge! Will Magaidh  find another way…?

Analysis

Beautifully written with pitch-perfect pacing, this book practically sprouts wings and flies you right into the mists of lore and legend surrounding the Isle of Skye. (Kimmi: I want to go there! Can we, Mom? Can we? Can we? Can we?!)

We also loved Calum. Hup, hup. And Aneirin. Unicorns and phoenix and Neanderthals, oh my! Wait. Do I smell oatcakes and cheese?

The Last Witch on Skye is geared for readers ages eight to twelve years old. But we learned a lot about both the Isle of Skye and Gaelic and Celtic culture, history, and traditions.Which just shows you what we know. Fascinating! (This works best if you picture Leonard Nimoy saying this as Spock. But let’s not get picky here, okay?) One of us was standing on her chair cheering on Magaidh in her quest to…

Okay, okay. That last part is just silly. But you know Mom. Floor show on Aisle 9!

Anyway, fans of How to Train Your Dragon, The Boggart, or Peter Pan will enjoy this book. Ditto anyone who enjoys a lively, imagination-ticklin’, eye-openin’, knee-slappin,’ root-tootin’, and funly (new word we just made up) read that’s a hoot and a half. Now.

Will someone kindly pass the burgers?

The Last Witch on Skye

By Carolyn J. Nicholson (September 2024)

Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy

Pages: 174 (Print)

Via: Author request

Find out more about Carolyn at her web site.

Our Rating: 4.0