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alongreader's review
4.0
Some of the covers for this book went really dark!
Book 3, and our two sets of heroes finally meet, with some misunderstandings about who's the hero and who's the tagalong. Will, at this point, is still veering wildly between 'normal child' and 'immortal warrior of the Light' and the Drews realise almost immediately that something is strange about him. Barney seems to randomly manifest some powers this time around as well, and Jane and Simon are stalwart as ever, with Merry appearing to be enigmatic at them from time to time.
If there's a hero of this book, though, it's Jane, who wins the day (oops, spoiler!) by simple human compassion, much as will happen again (oops, spoiler!) in Book Five (oops, spoiler!). (Let's be fair, the blurb fairly gives it away.) The childlike Greenwitch never fails to make me feel sorry for it.
This is the last time the Cornish influence is so strong - we're off to Wales for the last two installments - and I really enjoyed it. That kick of a last line, too!
Book 3, and our two sets of heroes finally meet, with some misunderstandings about who's the hero and who's the tagalong. Will, at this point, is still veering wildly between 'normal child' and 'immortal warrior of the Light' and the Drews realise almost immediately that something is strange about him. Barney seems to randomly manifest some powers this time around as well, and Jane and Simon are stalwart as ever, with Merry appearing to be enigmatic at them from time to time.
If there's a hero of this book, though, it's Jane, who wins the day (oops, spoiler!) by simple human compassion, much as will happen again (oops, spoiler!) in Book Five (oops, spoiler!). (Let's be fair, the blurb fairly gives it away.) The childlike Greenwitch never fails to make me feel sorry for it.
This is the last time the Cornish influence is so strong - we're off to Wales for the last two installments - and I really enjoyed it. That kick of a last line, too!
yorkslass70's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.5
saroz162's review against another edition
3.0
In this, the third book of the Dark is Rising cycle, Susan Cooper merges the world of that eponymous novel and her earlier children's mystery, Over Sea, Under Stone. To a large degree, in fact, it feels as if that's the main motivation for the book. At times, it's a bit of an uncomfortable collaboration; Greenwitch has the lighter, younger reader-friendly narrative voice of Stone, with the mysticism and occasional high speech of Dark. The result comes off, at times, like a Scooby Doo mystery with occasional scenes written by Alan Garner. That's not to say it's a bad book - not at all. There's some wonderful imagery here, and the Greenwitch herself is a powerful and mysterious visual symbol. It doesn't have the startling otherworldliness of The Dark is Rising, though, and what it adds to the mythos of Cooper's reality feels as if it's designed for this book only, to be quickly disposed of once its purpose is served, instead of furthering and widening the scope of the fight between the Light and the Dark. (It's a little telling that, at the midst of a conflict between Will, his friends, and the an agent of the Dark, the new and powerful forces Cooper introduces are totally ambivalent to the ongoing struggle outside their own primal interests.) The whole work is simply more superficial than its predecessor, with a story that's only about half as long. An educated guess would suggest that Cooper is setting her pieces in place for much deeper and more complicated adventures in the final two books of the cycle. As such, Greenwitch is probably a necessary step in reconciling two earlier works of very, very different tones, but it's definitely a "middle book" and doesn't stand especially well as a standalone read.
brandypainter's review against another edition
3.0
My review of this and the four other books in The Dark is Rising sequence can be found here.
nicki_in_nz's review against another edition
5.0
I'm probably influenced by the fact that I read these books as a child and they've been some of my favourite books ever since, but this really is one of the best children's fantasy series ever. The Cornishness of this one, the slightly bygone age, the promise of more to come, the magic and the poetry, all make it special.
annalisenak97's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. This was pretty good but felt like a filler for sure. The Greenwitch ceremony was SUPER cool and I'm glad Jane got a little more attention. Also yay the Drew kids and Will met! If only they actually teamed up in this book instead of being vaguely passive aggressive the whole time
growe16's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I've done a bit of a bad job explaining what this series is about in previous posts, so I suppose now is the best time to do it. As long as the world has existed, the forces of Dark and Light have fought to win control over it. Though each has waxed and waned in power, neither has ever won. Several teens learn about this fight and join in to help the Light gain an advantage.
The more I get into this series, the more I enjoy the representation of Cornish culture. I have Cornish ancestry, but like most Americans, I know little about Cornwall. This is such an unexpected, unique element to learn about through an old middle grade fantasy series!
This book really blends the first and second book together, which makes the whole series feel more unified in following a specific direction. So in this book you get to see all the favorite characters from the first and second books.
This book felt thrilling in new ways. It was scary but satisfying to see the dark win here and there because it made the threat feel more real.
The first two books feel a bit dominated by male characters, so I really liked that this one had it's moment of letting a girl be the most important. I also LOVED that it included empathy and kindness as the most powerful elements. It raised some interesting ideas about power.
This is the shortest book and my least favorite so far, but I must admit that it felt very necessary to accomplish everything that this book did. I'm excited to see where the series goes.
The more I get into this series, the more I enjoy the representation of Cornish culture. I have Cornish ancestry, but like most Americans, I know little about Cornwall. This is such an unexpected, unique element to learn about through an old middle grade fantasy series!
This book really blends the first and second book together, which makes the whole series feel more unified in following a specific direction. So in this book you get to see all the favorite characters from the first and second books.
This book felt thrilling in new ways. It was scary but satisfying to see the dark win here and there because it made the threat feel more real.
The first two books feel a bit dominated by male characters, so I really liked that this one had it's moment of letting a girl be the most important. I also LOVED that it included empathy and kindness as the most powerful elements. It raised some interesting ideas about power.
This is the shortest book and my least favorite so far, but I must admit that it felt very necessary to accomplish everything that this book did. I'm excited to see where the series goes.
ashkitty93's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
I liked this better than TDIR, mostly because the Drew kids were back (and they're my favorites, Will is way too special for me) and the Greenwitch itself was really cool. Excited to see where things go!
Audiobook read by Alex Jennings.
I liked this better than TDIR, mostly because the Drew kids were back (and they're my favorites, Will is way too special for me) and the Greenwitch itself was really cool. Excited to see where things go!
Audiobook read by Alex Jennings.
seeinghowitgoes's review against another edition
3.0
Finally the meeting of our intrepid trio and my favourite character - Will Stanton. All of the joys and pettiness that come from pre-teen children with a battle against the dark thrown into the mix.
lazwright's review against another edition
4.0
This series is such a wonderful wander back into childhood reading memories. "The Dark is Rising" sequence started my love affair with the UK. Greenwitch is just as strange and foreboding as it was when I first read it many years ago.