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A review by sunflowerscottie
The Girl and the Witch's Garden by Erin Bowman
5.0
With her father dying from cancer, Piper Peavey is sent to live with her grandmother and estranged mother at Mallory Manor. Strange stories and rumors circle the large estate. When Piper arrives, she's shocked to see that her mother and grandmother have been fostering children, three of them, in fact. They aren't just any children, and Piper finds out that there's more to the rumors than she thought.
The cover art doesn't lie, this is a very studio-Ghibli-esque story. I had fun with this one. The magic system is fun, and who doesn't love a hidden garden? The puzzles the children have to solve to reach the Immortality Elixir are fun and clever, and the imagery in the garden is gorgeous. There is genuine character growth with Piper, especially as she works her way through grief over her father. That being said, there is serious material covered in this. Piper's father is suffering from late-stage cancer, and it's clear from the beginning that he's dying. Although there may be magic in this novel, this is one area where it's more realistic, and [SPOILER ALERT] Piper's father does die. I, personally, cried.
I'd recommend this for fans of books about children discovering their magic. It's firmly middle grade, appropriate for children as young as eight, in my opinion. There are heavy topics like death, dying, grief, neglect, and abandonment, but they are addressed in a way that feels distinctly child-appropriate.
The cover art doesn't lie, this is a very studio-Ghibli-esque story. I had fun with this one. The magic system is fun, and who doesn't love a hidden garden? The puzzles the children have to solve to reach the Immortality Elixir are fun and clever, and the imagery in the garden is gorgeous. There is genuine character growth with Piper, especially as she works her way through grief over her father. That being said, there is serious material covered in this. Piper's father is suffering from late-stage cancer, and it's clear from the beginning that he's dying. Although there may be magic in this novel, this is one area where it's more realistic, and [SPOILER ALERT] Piper's father does die. I, personally, cried.
I'd recommend this for fans of books about children discovering their magic. It's firmly middle grade, appropriate for children as young as eight, in my opinion. There are heavy topics like death, dying, grief, neglect, and abandonment, but they are addressed in a way that feels distinctly child-appropriate.