The Midwinter Witch

The Midwinter Witch by Molly Knox Ostertag is the third and final book in her Witch Boy series. It follows Aster, Charlie and Ariel to an annual family gathering. Young witches compete on the Jolrun to be crowned Midwinter Witch. Aster wants to join the competition but faces adversity since he is the only boy witch – parts of the family still cannot accept that departure from tradition. Ariel still feels like a stranger in the Vanissen family. When a mysterious witch visits her in her dreams and claims to be a relative, Ariel must make a choice. Charlie has a hard time helping her friends through all this. Like the first two volumes (The Witch Boy and The Hidden Witch), The Midwinter Witch is about figuring out who we are, who we want to be, and the struggles we face for being ourselves. Ostertag is a great writer, and I love her art. It‘s clear, dynamic, and emotional. The colors (by Ostertag and Maarta Laiho, additional colors by Niki Smith, who already contributed to the previous books) are strong, and for me they help give the story a very natural, down-to-earth feel. The book‘s target audience are primarily young people. (Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic, focuses on creator-driven graphic novels for children and teens.) Despite being a grown-up, I very much enjoyed The Midwinter Witch (just like the rest of the series) and will be on the lookout for further books by the creator.