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Time of the Witch
Laura tells an old woman of her wish that her parents were back together again, without realizing that she is speaking to a real witch.
Library Binding
First published January 1, 1982
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About the author
Mary Downing Hahn
71 books4,367 followersI grew up in a small shingled house down at the end of Guilford Road in College Park, Maryland. Our block was loaded with kids my age. We spent hours outdoors playing "Kick the Can" and "Mother, May I" as well as cowboy and outlaw games that usually ended in quarrels about who shot whom. In the summer, we went on day long expeditions into forbidden territory -- the woods on the other side of the train tracks, the creek that wound its way through College Park, and the experimental farm run by the University of Maryland.
In elementary school, I was known as the class artist. I loved to read and draw but I hated writing reports. Requirements such as outlines, perfect penmanship, and following directions killed my interest in putting words on paper. All those facts -- who cared what the principal products of Chile were? To me, writing reports was almost as boring as math.
Despite my dislike of writing, I loved to make up stories. Instead of telling them in words, I told them in pictures. My stories were usually about orphans who ran away and had the sort of exciting adventures I would have enjoyed if my mother hadn't always interfered.
When I was in junior high school, I developed an interest in more complex stories. I wanted to show how people felt, what they thought, what they said. For this, I needed words. Although I wasn't sure I was smart enough, I decided to write and illustrate children's books when I grew up. Consequently, at the age of thirteen, I began my first book. Small Town Life was about a girl named Susan, as tall and skinny and freckle faced as I was. Unlike her shy, self conscious creator, however, Susan was a leader who lived the life I wanted to live -- my ideal self, in other words. Although I never finished Small Town Life, it marked the start of a lifelong interest in writing.
In high school, I kept a diary. In college, I wrote poetry and short stories and dreamed of being published in The New Yorker. Unfortunately, I didn't have the courage or the confidence to send anything there.
By the time my first novel was published, I was 41 years old. That's how long it took me to get serious about writing. The Sara Summer took me a year to write, another year to find a publisher, and yet another year of revisions before Clarion accepted it.
Since Sara appeared in 1979, I've written an average of one book a year. If I have a plot firmly in mind when I begin, the writing goes fairly quickly. More typically, I start with a character or a situation and only a vague idea of what's going to happen. Therefore, I spend a lot of time revising and thinking things out. If I'd paid more attention to the craft of outlining back in elementary school, I might be a faster writer, but, on the other hand, if I knew everything that was going to happen in a story, I might be too bored to write it down. Writing is a journey of discovery. That's what makes it so exciting.
In elementary school, I was known as the class artist. I loved to read and draw but I hated writing reports. Requirements such as outlines, perfect penmanship, and following directions killed my interest in putting words on paper. All those facts -- who cared what the principal products of Chile were? To me, writing reports was almost as boring as math.
Despite my dislike of writing, I loved to make up stories. Instead of telling them in words, I told them in pictures. My stories were usually about orphans who ran away and had the sort of exciting adventures I would have enjoyed if my mother hadn't always interfered.
When I was in junior high school, I developed an interest in more complex stories. I wanted to show how people felt, what they thought, what they said. For this, I needed words. Although I wasn't sure I was smart enough, I decided to write and illustrate children's books when I grew up. Consequently, at the age of thirteen, I began my first book. Small Town Life was about a girl named Susan, as tall and skinny and freckle faced as I was. Unlike her shy, self conscious creator, however, Susan was a leader who lived the life I wanted to live -- my ideal self, in other words. Although I never finished Small Town Life, it marked the start of a lifelong interest in writing.
In high school, I kept a diary. In college, I wrote poetry and short stories and dreamed of being published in The New Yorker. Unfortunately, I didn't have the courage or the confidence to send anything there.
By the time my first novel was published, I was 41 years old. That's how long it took me to get serious about writing. The Sara Summer took me a year to write, another year to find a publisher, and yet another year of revisions before Clarion accepted it.
Since Sara appeared in 1979, I've written an average of one book a year. If I have a plot firmly in mind when I begin, the writing goes fairly quickly. More typically, I start with a character or a situation and only a vague idea of what's going to happen. Therefore, I spend a lot of time revising and thinking things out. If I'd paid more attention to the craft of outlining back in elementary school, I might be a faster writer, but, on the other hand, if I knew everything that was going to happen in a story, I might be too bored to write it down. Writing is a journey of discovery. That's what makes it so exciting.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
November 4, 2017
Sometimes what you wish for isn't worth coming true. Sometimes, things are just better off left alone.
That's the central lesson our MC, Laura, learns here. She & her younger brother, Jason, are sent off to rural West Virginia to live with their aunt Grace for the summer while their parents are learning to go their separate ways after a divorce ensues. Naturally, both children are very upset with this decision & Laura cannot come to terms with the separation. Rather, she wishes that her parents will stay together, that she will get to go back to her friends, that her life will stay the same.
Maude, the old lady who lives near Aunt Grace catches Laura's eye. Everyone tells her to stay away from Maude, but how bad can she really be? After all, she may look a bit eerie, but old ladies' are mostly just harmless. Maude entices Laura by telling her that she is capable of making her deepest desires come true- that she can make her parents get back together. Laura hesitates, but eventually gives in. Soon she will discover that she has bitten off more than she can chew; that perhaps it wasn't such a good idea after all.
Although this is a few decades old, the story still rings true for children who are having a difficult time coping with divorce. The interactions between the siblings & family members is smooth & the pacing is consistent. An quick read that holds attention & teaches an important lesson; recommended for all MG shelves.
That's the central lesson our MC, Laura, learns here. She & her younger brother, Jason, are sent off to rural West Virginia to live with their aunt Grace for the summer while their parents are learning to go their separate ways after a divorce ensues. Naturally, both children are very upset with this decision & Laura cannot come to terms with the separation. Rather, she wishes that her parents will stay together, that she will get to go back to her friends, that her life will stay the same.
Maude, the old lady who lives near Aunt Grace catches Laura's eye. Everyone tells her to stay away from Maude, but how bad can she really be? After all, she may look a bit eerie, but old ladies' are mostly just harmless. Maude entices Laura by telling her that she is capable of making her deepest desires come true- that she can make her parents get back together. Laura hesitates, but eventually gives in. Soon she will discover that she has bitten off more than she can chew; that perhaps it wasn't such a good idea after all.
Although this is a few decades old, the story still rings true for children who are having a difficult time coping with divorce. The interactions between the siblings & family members is smooth & the pacing is consistent. An quick read that holds attention & teaches an important lesson; recommended for all MG shelves.
April 21, 2014
I did not like this book at all. It was uninteresting and at times boring. The book didn't even seem to try to be interesting. I believe if the backstory of the witch's relationship with the family was delved into more it would have been a lot better. Instead, it was only alluded to over and over again leaving me bored. I had a hard time making myself finish it.
October 7, 2011
This book was really scary! When I got it out of the library I thought that it would be about a old lady who thinks she's a witch what a surprise I was in for I got so scared I shut the book and took a minute to recover. I gave this book five stars because it was so scary! Now lets tell you what this book was about. It's about a girl named Laura and her brother Jason there parents are getting a divorce so there mom has to drop them off at aunt Graces house in the mountains. One night Laura see's an old women in her window she wonders who she is the next morning she gets her answer. Thats Maude Blackthorn her aunt said stay away from her. So they went to the creek to cool off there they met a friend named Wanda Orten. Wand invited them to her house they accepted. After Wand left on there way home Laura and Jason met Maude and let me tell you she was scary! Well Maude claimes shes a witch no one believes her. Well Wanda's sister Charlene went to Maude for a love potion it worked. So Laura and Wanda went to Maude one day on invatation. So when they got there Maude told Laura if she wanted her parents back together again she needed one of the whole family's stuff . So Laura brought her one of Jason's toy cars,a picture of her mom and dad and one of aunt Graces paint brushes. So when she went to Maude with Wanda Maude made a curse on the family because instead of helping Laura she wanted them to suffer because her and Laura's grandmother loved the same man but he married Laura's grandmother not Maude so she cursed them and made them die on there 8th anniversery. So the curse she put on Laura's family was Jason getting sick and the doctors not knowing whats wrong with him but Jason keeps moaning for his mom and dad to get back together and they were but Laura broke the curse before they did and aunt Grace couldnt paint or sketch anymore. With the help of Twyla a very beautaful women who owned a shop and read tarot cards for a living. She used to go to Maude for witchcraft lessons but then she left because Maude was getting crazy. So she helped break the curse and they lived happily ever after. Worood
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 13, 2013
Laura and Jason are spending the summer at their Aunt Grace's house while their Mother goes back to school. Laura's not happy about spending the summer at her Aunt's house, she's not happy that her parents are getting a divorce. Why can't everything just stay the same? She so badly wants everything to stay the same. And it seems Laura will get her wish, if she lets Maude, who is supposedly a witch, help her.
I was really having a hard time deciding what rating to give this book. I decided on a 3, but it's really more of a 3 and a half. I did like it, but it's one of those books that the further you read, the better it gets. So it starts out okay, then gets increasingly better. I think at least Laura could be a bit annoying, but she's not a bad character. She's just really hurt and confused about her parents and who could really blame her? No one wants their parents to divorce.
Besides being suspenseful, it is also about divorce and what really makes a family. It is a mom, a dad and kids? Well, yes and no. But sometimes it can just be a dad and kids, a mom and kids. Or no parents, but kids and a grandparent.
It's a good suspenseful book and one that teaches some good lessons along the way as well.
I was really having a hard time deciding what rating to give this book. I decided on a 3, but it's really more of a 3 and a half. I did like it, but it's one of those books that the further you read, the better it gets. So it starts out okay, then gets increasingly better. I think at least Laura could be a bit annoying, but she's not a bad character. She's just really hurt and confused about her parents and who could really blame her? No one wants their parents to divorce.
Besides being suspenseful, it is also about divorce and what really makes a family. It is a mom, a dad and kids? Well, yes and no. But sometimes it can just be a dad and kids, a mom and kids. Or no parents, but kids and a grandparent.
It's a good suspenseful book and one that teaches some good lessons along the way as well.
March 24, 2010
Loved this book as a child and it was my first autographed book. I remember thinking how cool it was that an author came to our school. It still sits on my shelf. :)
August 2, 2024
I have been trying to find a book I read as a child with a green cover, a witch, and mountains. I was hoping that this book was it but it was not. I loved two of this authors books as a kid, Doll in the Garden and Wait till Helen Comes ( still one of my fav horror books). This book seemed very much of the time, the kids running around without really knowing where they were going, the adults smoking, and just the atmosphere. But I enjoyed it. It reminded me of Helen’s book where kids are having to deal with the out come of their parents divorce and all the feelings that come from it. In both books, it leads to the horror aspect of the plot. But we get a HEA and feel some hope for our main characters. I can see how as a kid this really would have been genuinely spooky.
June 30, 2022
4 stars- English Ebook
Fabulous! Love all the spooky stuff from this author. Perfect for middle grade and up, just creepy enough to be a perfect Halloween read.
Fabulous! Love all the spooky stuff from this author. Perfect for middle grade and up, just creepy enough to be a perfect Halloween read.
May 12, 2022
It was a fine story and I would have given it a 3, but something about the very end rubbed me the wrong way.
August 14, 2008
Not the best of Mary Downing Hahn. I like it, but I don't know that everyone would. The main girl, whose name escapes me, moves with her brother and mother to the country. Do they live with her grandmother? Can't remember. The crazy old woman who lives nearby takes a strange interest in the girl. As it turns out, the girl looks quite a lot like her grandmother did when she was young, and the crazy old woman (who is a witch) has a personal vendetta against the grandmother. Woooot.
April 27, 2017
When I was little I was constantly reading this book. But I'd always stop at a random part and never finish reading it. Finally a few years ago, I finished it. It was amazing. I admit at the age of 8 or 9 this book creeped me out. But it was a really good read. And hopefully, if I get the time I'd like to read it again. :)
June 17, 2008
Kind of creepy
April 22, 2013
Still loved this one, 20 years after I first read it. Atmospheric, great characters, and really good writing.
February 16, 2009
This one sparked my love for books when I was 9 or 10.
March 1, 2010
I know read this one also, but don't remember how much I liked it, so I'm giving it 3 stars.
November 16, 2012
Not one of Mary Downing Hahn's best.
June 18, 2020
I read this book back when I was in middle school and I remember thinking it was pretty scary, but loving it nonetheless.
April 17, 2014
As a fourth grader, I loved it.
May 1, 2016
This was fun to read. I liked the atmospheric setting in the forests of West Virginia. It was one of her earlier books, first published when I was two years old. How times have changed since then!
October 6, 2025
What a great story. Very well written. Recommend for kids 8-12.
May 22, 2022
My granddaughter recommended this book to me, as well as other Mary Downing Hahn books. I bought several of her books that I know my granddaughter hadn't read yet for her summer reading. I read this one and was very impressed. The element of suspense would have you turning page after page without putting it down.
It was refreshing to see a young lady from a big city, Laura, learning the ways of a rural girl, Wanda. Envisioning the two of them working together to solve old family problems together and watching them grow into a sisterly like relationship.
I would recommend this book to any middle schooler.
It was refreshing to see a young lady from a big city, Laura, learning the ways of a rural girl, Wanda. Envisioning the two of them working together to solve old family problems together and watching them grow into a sisterly like relationship.
I would recommend this book to any middle schooler.
October 21, 2022
Mary Downing Hahn is one of my favorite authors. I read most of her books growing up, but this one escaped my grasp. After finding it at the library, I decided to give it a try.
I enjoyed the set up of the witch and the mystery surrounding her. Wanda - the local girl that Laura befriends - was my favorite character. She felt more layered and flushed out than the protagonist and was the true heroine (in my opinion).
I also enjoyed how Hahn explored sibling dynamics. She perfectly captured the love/hate relationship that most siblings have - I adored it.
(Also, it's a great middle grade spooky read!)
I enjoyed the set up of the witch and the mystery surrounding her. Wanda - the local girl that Laura befriends - was my favorite character. She felt more layered and flushed out than the protagonist and was the true heroine (in my opinion).
I also enjoyed how Hahn explored sibling dynamics. She perfectly captured the love/hate relationship that most siblings have - I adored it.
(Also, it's a great middle grade spooky read!)
November 17, 2024
As always, Mary Downing Hahn masterfully crafts a real world fairytale-like story with depth, magic, and suspense - that is chock full of life lessons, this time with a focus on women empowerment. Her writing is so effortless and so intriguing that you have to keep turning the page, you feel fully invested in the characters and story! I was unsure of how this book would twist and turn, what was really and what wasnt, until it happened, and wow, what a turn of events! A really good book that you will devour in a short time! Highly recommend.
January 13, 2018
my favourite part was when Laura accepted that her parents weren't going to stop the divorce. My least favourite part was when Maude made Jason sick to get back at Laura's grandmother. My favourite character was Twyla because she helped to stop Maude and break the spells she had previously cast. My least favourite character was Maude, because she tricked Laura into helping her make everyone in Laura's family miserable.
August 28, 2020
I am a fan of elementary level books about witches like Witch's Sister by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. The Time of the Witch has a witch, a spooky atmosphere, a sympathetic protagonist- her parents are divorcing and she and her little brother are staying the summer with their eccentric aunt- and suspense appropriate for fifth grader or older. Recommended!
September 11, 2023
This was another fun book from this author. The story was engaging and a great mixture of the supernatural and the disbelief thereof. I’ve been a fan of Ms. Hahn since I was a kid and this felt nostalgic to me. My favorite character had to be Wanda though, she was always a good friend and there to help Laura even when things got really scary.
October 17, 2024
Laura's parents are getting a divorce. When Laura has to spend the summer with her eccentric aunt, she finds herself drawn to an old crow and an old woman. With the hope that a spell will bring her parents together again, Laura learns that sometimes what you think you want, isn't really what you need.
April 21, 2022
I give it 3.5 Stars. Was expecting a bit more, appreciated the slightly spooky moments and also enjoyed the realism of the characters as well as their individual situations. Not bad for an introduction to this author.
February 18, 2018
I loved this book as a 10-11 yr old! So much so, that I had to buy it for my now 10 year old and I re-read it!
February 9, 2019
3.5 rounded up. 9 y/o Grace's rating.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews