Bibliographic Information:
Title: The Hedgewitch of Foxhall
Author: Anna Bright
ISBN: 9780063083592
Publisher: Harper Teen, New York
Copyright Date: 2024
Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal Fantasy, Romance, Historical Fiction
Format: Print Book/eBook
Awards/Honors: None as of publication of this post.
Reading Level/Interest Level: Ages 14+
Plot Summary:
Ffion has always felt connected to Foxhall Forest due to her magic and her fox familiar, Cadno, but when her mother’s coven burns a field as a sacrifice for a spell and kills Cadno in the process, Ffion becomes feral. As a hedgewitch who does not belong to the coven she possesses weaker magic, and without her familiar it begins to wane. So when Prince Tal requests the help of Ffion for his own quest she sees it as a two birds one stone situation - help the Prince to be paid while gathering the supplies to resurrect Cadno and reap revenge on the coven who killed him. What Ffion never expected was to slowly fall in love with the prideful Prince, nor for his older brother to have been in love with her for years in secret. Torn between revenge, romance, and duty Ffion must make sacrifices of her own if she is to find a happy ending to her story.
Author Background:
Anna Bright is a new and upcoming young adult author, with her first book The Beholder having been published in 2019. The Hedgewitch of Foxhall is her fourth book and the longest yet, and although she is passionate about writing she still works at a local bookstore in Washington D.C. as her main job (About Me).
Critical Evaluation:
The Hedgewitch of Foxhall was an amazing fantasy/historical fiction book about magic and romance in Wales, and had a plot that was both enjoyable, entertaining, and easy to follow. If there was one thing that I would give as a critique it is that it was very slow at the beginning: honestly, I did not fully get invested into the story until about 200 pages in, which for a 600 page book is not the worst but it isn’t great either. The other issue is that it is a 600 page book: it took time and a commitment to read, and the best chapters were certainly the last ten which made it a good thing I kept with it. Overall, as enjoyable as the story was, this is not a book I plan on revisiting to reread, but it did spark a curiosity of Welsh folklore that I now want to investigate and learn about. I will also give credit where credit is due, which is for the inclusion at the beginning of the book on how to pronounce the names and words as many of them were new to me!
Ffion sings during all of her spells, listen to some traditional Welsh Folk songs!
Creative Use for a Library Program:
I love the idea of using this book as a recommendation in a reading program for young adults with the goal of picking books from different parts of the world (or ones that take place there). As this book takes place in Wales but is still fiction it would be a great way to have young adults interested in the mythology of Wales while still having a plot based book to enjoy. The Hedgewitch of Foxhall would also be great in a round up of different mythologies from around the world without coming from a strictly non-fiction book.
Speed-Round Book Talk or Short Book Trailer:
Ffion has always used her magic for good as a hedgwitch of Foxhall forest - unlike the Foxhall coven who charge an arm and a leg for a simple spell. When the Foxhall sacrifice a field for a spell and end up killing Ffions familiar she decides there is a blood debt to be paid. The alluring Prince Tal offers her a job on his quest to destroy the dyke of a neighboring kingdom in hopes of returning magic to Wales, and Ffion sees it as an opportunity to complete her own plan as well. Yet as the quest advances the two begin to realize they have feelings for each other, and Prince Tal’s older brother realizes it is time to tell Ffion he has loved her since they were children. Suddenly, her plan is not so simple.
Potential Challenge Issues and Defense Preparation:
There is always the issue with potential patrons saying they do not like the inclusion of this novel because it portrays witchcraft as a heroic gift to have and that such portrayals go against their own personal beliefs. Another potential issue is that it also shows the idea of nature and magic being real as opposed to a monotheistic entity, which could anger the same patron. It is important to defend The Hedgewitch of Foxhall with the fact that it is fiction, and fantasy, and while having historical elements does not mean that it is a history book.
Reason for Inclusion:
Great fantasy novels that include and incorporate history into its fiction will always have a home within a library collection: this book could be a gateway for students to become interested in mythology outside of the typical Greek or Roman histories that people tend to lean into (to be fair, the blog post created prior to this one was about the Percy Jackson series, so I am also part of the problem). I also just love fantasy young adult books myself, so this was also a very selfish and biased inclusion.
As a young child, Ffion saw a family of ddraig goch, also known as Welsh dragons, which still feature prominently on the Welsh flag.
References:
About me | Anna Bright. (n.d.). Website. https://www.annabrightbooks.com/about-me
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