Witchspark

Eglantine lives in a magical house called Huswyvern, one of just three sentient houses in the land. But she needs to find her Witchspark to maintain its magic and as her family and home are threatened by the machinations of her uncle and the evil Whistlewitch, Eglantine turns to Miss Hegotty’s Course for Aspiring and Ungovernable Witches for help, an illegal correspondence course.

Meanwhile, in Kensington Palace, Princess Victoria is desperately trying to hide her Witchspark as not only is magic forbidden within the palace walls, but royals are not allowed to be magical. Like Eglantine, she turns to Miss Hegotty for help…

Anyone who has read the ‘Starfell’ series knows that Dominique Valente has a real talent for creating engaging, endearing characters. No one who has read those stories will be able to forget the very loveable Willow Moss and in ‘Witchspark’, Dominique has worked her magic again with the very different, but equally loveable Eglantine Bury.

Eglantine knows she must bond with Huswyvern for it to survive. Furious at a change in the law which means that the house passes to the eldest child, not the eldest son, her Uncle Lichen will go to any lengths to take possession of the house. That she is a girl, that she is different (she had been born with one arm ending just past her elbow), that she has, as yet, no magic, all seem to him to be good reasons for her not to inherit the house. His prejudices underline the key messages about believing in yourself and standing up to intolerance which sing through this story.

Princess Victoria’s stifling experiences at the Palace echo those of the real Princess Victoria who later became Queen. The ‘Kensington System’ was a set of elaborate and very strict rules created by her mother and Sir Conroy to keep her under their control. Readers feel a great empathy for the princess as she not only struggles to maintain her identity under this control, but is also forced to try and hide her growing magic. Her friendship with stable-boy, Eoin Murphy, and the wonderfully named rat, Lord Byron, is all the more delightful for being absolutely the last thing they would have allowed!

There is so much to love about this story and it would make an excellent class story or guided reading text with plenty to discuss and enjoy. The magical world created here is beautifully constructed, so imaginative and appealing, that readers find themselves instantly captivated and immersed in Eglantine and Victoria’s story. Thank goodness this is the first in a series- but how am I going to wait for the next one?!

Witchspark

Dominique Valente, illustrated by Eleonora Asparuhova

Usborne ISBN: 978-1805314998

You can read my review of ‘Starfell: Willow Moss and the Magic Thief’ here.