Backwards Moon

August 1, 2014
Losure has chosen a popular topic-witches-for her first work of fiction. Nettle and Bracken, two young witches, are the main characters. The apparently orphaned cousins discover the human world when a magical disaster rends the veil that protects their valley. Tricked into searching for a solution (and a treasured magical artifact) by a renegade member of their coven, the two discover more than they bargained for on their journey. A friendly farmer and an oddly engaging talking raccoon offer assistance and some humor, while a pair of slightly befuddled elderly ladies winds up playing an unexpectedly bittersweet role in the adventure. Overall, however, the human characters, like the girls' fellow witches, are sketchily drawn and fail to generate much interest. The format also poses some challenges, as fantasy fans have come to expect a bit more action and drama than they'll find in the straightforward storyline, while chapter-book readers could feel overwhelmed by the relatively lengthy text, lack of illustration and sophisticated vocabulary. The somewhat open-ended conclusion could likewise cause confusion or frustration. Ultimately less than the sum of its parts, this earnest effort may disappoint rather than enchant. (Fantasy. 8-10)

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September 1, 2014

Gr 3-5-In this well-crafted, light fantasy, Losure shows the same sure touch as in her nonfiction book The Fairy Ring (Candlewick, 2012). The enchanted valley in which young witches Nettle and her cousin, Bracken, live is protected from our world by a spell which is beginning to fail, and the valley is in grave danger. The danger, it turns out, is from humans: people and their cars, suburbs, cities, electricity. The elders believe that their only possibility for survival is to find the Door, somewhere on the other side of the human world. Nettle and Bracken's mothers disappeared years ago in the search of this Door. When Nettle is accidentally transported into the human world, Bracken flies out of the Valley on her broomstick to try to find Nettle before she succumbs to the danger of Fading. With a talking raccoon and a human Witchfriend to help her, Bracken finds Nettle and together they find their way to St. Paul, Minnesota and the Door. There are some suspenseful moments (which include a wonderful vignette wherein Nettle meets a human girl, and fulfills that dream of every child who believes or wants to believe that magic is real), and the story's pace is just right for younger readers not ready for long descriptions or explanations. The resolution is satisfying, even though it is tinged with sadness. With interesting characters and a skillful blend of realistic and fantasy elements, this short novel with its breath of childhood innocence ends with just a hint that this may not be the last of Bracken and Nettle's adventures.-Sue Giffard, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, New York

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