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Stolen
The same day that the villagers of Thornstowe finally hunt down a witch with a reputation for stealing children, a 12-year-old appears in the woods with no memory of her past. Is there a connection between Isabelle, the girl who doesn t know who she is, and the girl the witch stole six years earlier? One of the few things Isabelle remembers is a chant that keeps running through her head: Old as dirt,
dirty as dirt.
Ugly as sin,
mean as sin.
Don t let the old witch catch you!
Could Isabelle have been stolen by the old witch of the woods, or has she lost her memory as the result of an accident? And what about the baby the witch stole right before the villagers attacked? Did either the witch or the baby survive the fire the villagers set?
dirty as dirt.
Ugly as sin,
mean as sin.
Don t let the old witch catch you!
Could Isabelle have been stolen by the old witch of the woods, or has she lost her memory as the result of an accident? And what about the baby the witch stole right before the villagers attacked? Did either the witch or the baby survive the fire the villagers set?
158 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2008
81 people are currently reading
1150 people want to read
About the author
Vivian Vande Velde
51 books994 followersVivian Vande Velde (born 1951, currently residing in Rochester, New York) is an American author who writes books primarily aimed at young adults.
Her novels and short story collections usually have some element of horror or fantasy, but are primarily humorous. Her book Never Trust a Dead Man (1999) received the 2000 Edgar Award for Best Young Adult Novel. She says that she really likes to write for children. She likes to do school talks to children. She does many book conventions and also gives writing classes.
Her novels and short story collections usually have some element of horror or fantasy, but are primarily humorous. Her book Never Trust a Dead Man (1999) received the 2000 Edgar Award for Best Young Adult Novel. She says that she really likes to write for children. She likes to do school talks to children. She does many book conventions and also gives writing classes.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 220 reviews
October 3, 2017
❝The old witch saw that she had gone too far. She had stolen one child too many, and the villagers had come after her. ❞
"Isabelle" finds herself running through the woods with no recollection of why she's running or who she is. Is her rescue by a neighboring family the answer to all her questions or just the beginning of an even deeper mystery?
Vande Velde relays an evenly-paced tale of witches, kidnapped children, and things that go bump in the night. A story that may leave you wondering who the real monsters are.
What I Liked
-Even though this is a youth/YA novel, I didn't feel like the writer was writing just for that genre. It was almost in the style of a story told around the campfire. At night. With marshmallows on sticks. And owls hooting in the background.
-The ending of the story is unpredictable. I did not guess it halfway through. Whenever that happens to me in other books, I feel like I'm only reading the rest to confirm my own suspicions and give myself a pat on the back. This book was not like that. It kept me guessing until the very last chapter.
What I Didn't Like
-There wasn't much I didn't like about it. If I was going to just be super picky, I would say that I wanted more background on the origins of the old witch. How long she'd been there, where she came from originally, what her real name was, etc. etc. etc. However, I think the book was just fine even without that info.
What I Wanted More Of
-(see above)
I don't give many books five stars, so, for me, 4 stars is very good.
"Isabelle" finds herself running through the woods with no recollection of why she's running or who she is. Is her rescue by a neighboring family the answer to all her questions or just the beginning of an even deeper mystery?
Vande Velde relays an evenly-paced tale of witches, kidnapped children, and things that go bump in the night. A story that may leave you wondering who the real monsters are.
What I Liked
-Even though this is a youth/YA novel, I didn't feel like the writer was writing just for that genre. It was almost in the style of a story told around the campfire. At night. With marshmallows on sticks. And owls hooting in the background.
-The ending of the story is unpredictable. I did not guess it halfway through. Whenever that happens to me in other books, I feel like I'm only reading the rest to confirm my own suspicions and give myself a pat on the back. This book was not like that. It kept me guessing until the very last chapter.
What I Didn't Like
-There wasn't much I didn't like about it. If I was going to just be super picky, I would say that I wanted more background on the origins of the old witch. How long she'd been there, where she came from originally, what her real name was, etc. etc. etc. However, I think the book was just fine even without that info.
What I Wanted More Of
-(see above)
I don't give many books five stars, so, for me, 4 stars is very good.
March 2, 2009
On the same day a witch is chased to her home and it is set on fire, a girl walks out of the forest. Isabelle seems to be a girl who was stolen from the local village six years ago. But Isabella can't remember anything at all. Her family takes her in and as Isabella learns more about them, her own past is slowly revealed to her. Is she Isabella? Or is she someone else? And what role does the evil witch play in all of this?
For such a brief book, this novel has intrigue, mystery and twists galore. Readers will enjoy the character of Isabella who though confused about her own past sees others with great clarity. The villains in the novel are deliciously evil, roles are complex and twists are built up to but not foreseen. Even those who can predict who Isabella is will not see parts of the ending coming. How wonderful to be right but to be surprised too.
Recommended for readers who like a good thriller. The cover alone guarantees that this will fly off the shelves. It also has enough depth to be a good discussion book around Halloween. Appropriate for ages 12-14.
For such a brief book, this novel has intrigue, mystery and twists galore. Readers will enjoy the character of Isabella who though confused about her own past sees others with great clarity. The villains in the novel are deliciously evil, roles are complex and twists are built up to but not foreseen. Even those who can predict who Isabella is will not see parts of the ending coming. How wonderful to be right but to be surprised too.
Recommended for readers who like a good thriller. The cover alone guarantees that this will fly off the shelves. It also has enough depth to be a good discussion book around Halloween. Appropriate for ages 12-14.
June 20, 2009
There are so many twists and turns in Stolen by Vivian Vande Velde that you are simply amazed by the end of the book. Mady and Frayne and their oldest daughter Honey believe the old witch outside their village of Thornstowe has stolen two of their daughters. Isabelle disappeared nearly six years ago and the newborn unnamed infant of two days is gone. The towsnpeople in anger burn the old witch's house down...and suddenly, Isabelle 'reappears' to be with her long lost family. Since the baby is nowhere to be found, they assume the worst and fear she was burned when the witch's house was consumed in flames. In this clever and puzzling story, many are not who they seem to be. Throughout the story, the reader has a sense of evilness surrounding a certain character, but can't quite figure out the source of it. The ending will astound you!
September 12, 2011
Great concept, poor execution. However, it was going okay until a very, very lame moment near the end that just burst the entire plot like a popped balloon. Oh, the book isn't creepy. Just the cover is creepy.
SPOILER.
Okay, I'm pretty much going to give away everything here, so if you don't want to know, don't read. The book starts with angry townspeople ready to burn down a witch's cottage, with the witch still inside. She has stolen another child from the villagers. Next we encounter a twelve year old girl running hard through the forest. She can't remember who she is. She gets attacked by dogs that were intended to catch the witch. An old couple takes her home and cares for her. They have a young granddaughter who talks a lot (and sounds like she likes Disney princesses ... never mind that the book is supposed to take place "long ago"). The granddaughter isn't really theirs, but a child given to them to raise. The girl who can't remember who she is hears about the witch whose house has been burned, and that the last baby she took belonged to the same family as a child she stole six years ago. Ah, the main character is the right age to be that child. The mother shows up, claims the girl, who still can't remember anything. Takes her to her great-aunt's house to remind the great-aunt that they named the girl after her (in hope of getting an inheritance, of course), and then they go home. All the while, the eldest daughter of the family is saying really horrible things, accusing the main character of being an opportunist and a fraud, etc. The next morning, there's an incident where the eldest daughter tries to permanently harm the main character. But no one believes it. The main character now knows not to trust her. But well ... she ends up in the woods with the eldest daughter, who tells her that she is sure the main character isn't her sister because she pushed her into a deep hole, right at this very spot. Ah, yes, then she pushes the main character in. Once the main character hits the bottom, she remembers who she is. She's the witch. She changed herself into a girl so she could run fast to escape. So, then it turns out that the witch saw the eldest daughter push her sister into the hole those six years ago. She rescued the child, rewound her life to being an infant, and gave her to the old couple at the beginning of the book to take care of (so that's where the talkative girl came from). Then it turns out that the eldest daughter also tried to dispose of the new baby her mother had just birthed by dropping it down a hole as well. The witch rescued the baby before it hit, but the eldest daughter saw. So she told the story that the witch had stolen the baby. Well, now the witch is done with giving this girl chances. She goes to the eldest daughter and rewinds her life so she's a baby again, takes her to the old couple, who know who she is, and tells them to tell the mother that this is her baby that was just stolen (which it isn't; the witch turned that one into a goat for safe-keeping). The old woman asks the witch what she should say happened to the newly found lost daughter and the eldest daughter.
AND! here's where the puncture comes. She tells the old woman to inform the mother that the two girls went off to seek their fortune together.
What? Yes, really. The old woman says "what if she doesn't believe me?" And the witch says, "Well, she won't have anything else to believe, since the girls are gone." And then the witch and the goat leave. The end.
Do you see what I see? If the old woman actually goes for this, she'll be seen as the suspicious one for sure. How did she end up with the baby AND know where the two daughters ended up, who will not ever be able to be found? So, now the town will have a new witch?
Wow. I mean, wow. How could the author seriously not think of a better fill-in?
Anyway, interesting concept. Poor execution.
SPOILER.
Okay, I'm pretty much going to give away everything here, so if you don't want to know, don't read. The book starts with angry townspeople ready to burn down a witch's cottage, with the witch still inside. She has stolen another child from the villagers. Next we encounter a twelve year old girl running hard through the forest. She can't remember who she is. She gets attacked by dogs that were intended to catch the witch. An old couple takes her home and cares for her. They have a young granddaughter who talks a lot (and sounds like she likes Disney princesses ... never mind that the book is supposed to take place "long ago"). The granddaughter isn't really theirs, but a child given to them to raise. The girl who can't remember who she is hears about the witch whose house has been burned, and that the last baby she took belonged to the same family as a child she stole six years ago. Ah, the main character is the right age to be that child. The mother shows up, claims the girl, who still can't remember anything. Takes her to her great-aunt's house to remind the great-aunt that they named the girl after her (in hope of getting an inheritance, of course), and then they go home. All the while, the eldest daughter of the family is saying really horrible things, accusing the main character of being an opportunist and a fraud, etc. The next morning, there's an incident where the eldest daughter tries to permanently harm the main character. But no one believes it. The main character now knows not to trust her. But well ... she ends up in the woods with the eldest daughter, who tells her that she is sure the main character isn't her sister because she pushed her into a deep hole, right at this very spot. Ah, yes, then she pushes the main character in. Once the main character hits the bottom, she remembers who she is. She's the witch. She changed herself into a girl so she could run fast to escape. So, then it turns out that the witch saw the eldest daughter push her sister into the hole those six years ago. She rescued the child, rewound her life to being an infant, and gave her to the old couple at the beginning of the book to take care of (so that's where the talkative girl came from). Then it turns out that the eldest daughter also tried to dispose of the new baby her mother had just birthed by dropping it down a hole as well. The witch rescued the baby before it hit, but the eldest daughter saw. So she told the story that the witch had stolen the baby. Well, now the witch is done with giving this girl chances. She goes to the eldest daughter and rewinds her life so she's a baby again, takes her to the old couple, who know who she is, and tells them to tell the mother that this is her baby that was just stolen (which it isn't; the witch turned that one into a goat for safe-keeping). The old woman asks the witch what she should say happened to the newly found lost daughter and the eldest daughter.
AND! here's where the puncture comes. She tells the old woman to inform the mother that the two girls went off to seek their fortune together.
What? Yes, really. The old woman says "what if she doesn't believe me?" And the witch says, "Well, she won't have anything else to believe, since the girls are gone." And then the witch and the goat leave. The end.
Do you see what I see? If the old woman actually goes for this, she'll be seen as the suspicious one for sure. How did she end up with the baby AND know where the two daughters ended up, who will not ever be able to be found? So, now the town will have a new witch?
Wow. I mean, wow. How could the author seriously not think of a better fill-in?
Anyway, interesting concept. Poor execution.
April 28, 2019
I was pulled into this book right away. I couldn't read it fast enough. I just wanted to know who the little girl was and her story. The book was easy to read and kept me interested in what happened to the missing girls.
Honey
I honestly didn't like Honey. She was a spoiled, rotten brat. She certainly didn't act like an 18 year old ready to move on with her life.
Ravyn
Ravyn was so adorable that you couldn't help but like her. She was so happy and fun. I couldn't help but smile at all her constant barrage of questions.
Mady & Frayne
It could be because they have lost 2 children but they seem a bit odd. They also seem to let Honey get away with too much. They treat her like a two year old instead of the 18 year old that she is supposed to be.
the ending
Boy was I surprised! There was no way I would have guessed who the little girl was. I don't want to give the ending away but things are certainly not what they seem in this book. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and the little twists and turns that the author threw in.
Honey
I honestly didn't like Honey. She was a spoiled, rotten brat. She certainly didn't act like an 18 year old ready to move on with her life.
Ravyn
Ravyn was so adorable that you couldn't help but like her. She was so happy and fun. I couldn't help but smile at all her constant barrage of questions.
Mady & Frayne
It could be because they have lost 2 children but they seem a bit odd. They also seem to let Honey get away with too much. They treat her like a two year old instead of the 18 year old that she is supposed to be.
the ending
Boy was I surprised! There was no way I would have guessed who the little girl was. I don't want to give the ending away but things are certainly not what they seem in this book. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and the little twists and turns that the author threw in.
July 22, 2009
A witch is blamed for missing children. The same day her cottage is burned, a girl with no memories is found in the forest. Is she Isabelle, a child who disappeared years ago?
November 16, 2019
Short book with a lot of suspense. I liked it a lot.
March 9, 2017
4 stars. I don't know how Vivian Vande Velde's retellings aren't more popular among children's booksellers. This book is on the level of Gail Carson Levine's stories.
I love the way Vivian Vande Velde weaves fantasy stories. She makes her retellings incredibly creative while not droning on. Stolen utilizes a twisty plot and a brilliant concept to the utmost. There's some great atmosphere and a feeling of wrongness throughout the book. The prose only helps; this story flows naturally and doesn't have major pacing issues.
The main character here is clever and likable. She wants to believe that everything is okay, but she's not an idiot; she knows something's wrong with her family. I love her development and her family relationships.
Recommended for any preteen fans of Gail Carson Levine and the like.
I love the way Vivian Vande Velde weaves fantasy stories. She makes her retellings incredibly creative while not droning on. Stolen utilizes a twisty plot and a brilliant concept to the utmost. There's some great atmosphere and a feeling of wrongness throughout the book. The prose only helps; this story flows naturally and doesn't have major pacing issues.
The main character here is clever and likable. She wants to believe that everything is okay, but she's not an idiot; she knows something's wrong with her family. I love her development and her family relationships.
Recommended for any preteen fans of Gail Carson Levine and the like.
October 8, 2019
Stolen: Written by Vivian Vande Velde
The part that really got me hooked on the book was in the first page, “The old witch saw that she had gone too far. She had stolen one child too many, and the villagers had come after her.” I got really curious and decided to keep on reading because the book involved a witch.
Summary: A baby named Isabelle had been stolen from a witch, known by everyone in the village. She finds her family and sees how strange everyone was, especially her sister Honey. Who had tried killing her in a very violent way.
I really liked how the author wrote because everything seems confusing at first but then she gives the smallest little hints, that really do help you understand what happened.
People would enjoy this book if they read fantasy, and especially mystery, the book involves a ton of mystery and it’s up to the reader to think about what’s going on in the story.
September 18, 2013
If you're looking for a quick read that leaves you amazed, read stolen! taking me only a few hours, Stolen stole my heart and mind. {you see what i did there :)}The witch has finally been killed. the witch is known to go around taking young children. But when Isabella tumbles into town not knowing who or where she is, the world goes crazy. Isabella is suspected to be the missing girls who has been missing for 6 years.Her family comes to claim her and Honey, her older sister, seems to hate her. Why? Stolen will leave you amazed and wonder struck with it's out of the blue ending.
February 23, 2013
The writing in this isn't super sophisticated or anything, but I really enjoyed the way Vande Velde used the wicked witch trope and created a compelling mystery in which things aren't always how they appear. The story is fast paced and easy to read, and even though it isn't, it sort of feels like a fairy tale retelling.
March 27, 2015
I love VVV. Her stories are short, and her world building isn't detailed, but her characters are vibrant and her plots are always intriguing and unexpected. This is another variation on the fairytale and nothing is as it seems. 4.5 stars!
January 15, 2009
It was almost a four, since I did not figure out was going on before it was revealed. Another excellent tale from Vande Velde. Part mystery, part witch tale, all good.
June 30, 2016
I liked this little novella. It was well done and the twist at the end was good. It was a good idea to keep it short as it kept the story from dragging. 5 stars because I have no complaints.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 12, 2023
Just as good as the first read, and after a year I had already forgotten the main twist so it definitely came as a surprise lmao
April 21, 2023
Stolen, written by Vivian Vande Velde, was a good book, but I wouldn’t spend my time reading it again. It had a good storyline, but I didn’t get into the end of the book. Yes, I understand what happened- SPOILER, where it was the older sister who was behind the missing babies, and how the first baby was given to Avis to take care of, but it just didn’t catch a spark in my eyes. I enjoyed the beginning of the book, where the girl didn’t know who she was, and how Ravyn was giving ideas about what she could have been and trying to help her remember. There was one line where Ravyn suggested that she was the witch, and I feel like that was a foreshadowing event, and the girl who is known as Isabelle had to think about it for a minute. Later on in the story, she finally remembered that she was the witch. She had cast a spell on herself to turn into a 12-year-old girl and also made herself lose her memory so she would seem lost and confused. The villagers burnt her cottage down and that is the reason why the witch cast a spell on herself, so she wouldn’t get caught. Later on in the story, after Isabelle goes to her so-called family, they make a visit to Aunt Isabelle to see if it is the real Isabelle. I feel like it was just a filler for the story to be longer. I get how the mother, (Mady) wanted to show her aunt and see if she thought that it was actually Isabelle, but I feel like it can be taken out. But, explaining the background of Aunt Isabelle was a good thing because otherwise, we wouldn’t have really known her role of her and what she would play. Her background was basically about how her family was servants to a higher-up family and a tragic event happened to her family where her parents died, and the rich family felt horrible so they treated the aunt as their own. Years went by, and she marries and has a kid, but the husband and kid end up passing away. She was left all the fortune, and when she passed away, it would be given to her next of kin which would have been Isabelle, Mady, and Frayne's (the father's) long-lost, daughter. There was always a different attitude with the oldest daughter (Honey), and she never liked the girl from the beginning. Honey knew that it wasn’t actually Isabelle because she was the only person who knew what had happened to the real Isabelle. She had pushed the baby into a hole to leave it there, and the cover-up story was that the witch came in and stole the baby. Honey was jealous of Isabelle from the beginning. Honey wanted attention from both her parents instead of them showing love to her other siblings. I liked how the author made Honey the antagonist because you didn’t see it coming. Overall, the book was pretty good, but I would rather read something with more of a spark.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 8, 2017
I thought this story started out a bit slow but I ended up really enjoying it. Isabelle, a twelve year old with no memory finds herself running through the forest being chased by dogs. After being bit by one of the dogs she is taken home by the dog owner. Avis, her husband and her granddaughter Ravyn take her in and begin to take care of her. Ravyn tells Isabelle that just this day a baby was taken by an old witch and that the villagers burned down the witch's cottage and neither the baby or the witch could be found! Not only that, she learned that six years earlier a six year old girl, the missing baby's sister been taken by the witch as well!
As Isabelle struggles to discover who she really is she feels she must solve the mystery of her identity as well as what happened to the baby. She is shocked to find out that she may be the six year old that had been stolen six years earlier. A child named after a wealthy Aunt, child meant to earn them the inheritance once Aunt Isabelle dies.
With twists and turns and some slightly scary plots I would say this is better for children eight and up but it's definitely a good novel that teaches a lesson about judging someone before you know them.
As Isabelle struggles to discover who she really is she feels she must solve the mystery of her identity as well as what happened to the baby. She is shocked to find out that she may be the six year old that had been stolen six years earlier. A child named after a wealthy Aunt, child meant to earn them the inheritance once Aunt Isabelle dies.
With twists and turns and some slightly scary plots I would say this is better for children eight and up but it's definitely a good novel that teaches a lesson about judging someone before you know them.
February 4, 2017
**SPOILERS** Isabelle, a girl whom has lost her memory, is first running, confused and terrified. She's being chased by dogs. She then is taken care of by an old couple, who own the dogs from the beginning, for a while. Later on she finds her original family and her village. But her sister, Honey, just problematic and insane I guess. In the end, Isabelle realized she IS the "wicked" witch, who the village people say steals children.
Unlike Isabelle, Honey is a total brat. Honey isn't just only mean, she is literally insane. Trying to poison Isabelle and shoving her into a hole. Who would do that to their sister, who has been missing for years???
I don't think there's much of a lesson to learn from this book. But I guess sometimes in life we think some one is our enemy because they are some one we are not alike to nor we are used to. That does not make some one the enemy, ever. Unless they actually are trying to kill you or something.
This book was okay, the plot twist was just weird and kind of confused me, but over all I just liked it. It's not like a super amazing and life changing story, nor an awful and terrible book. It's just okay, in my opinion.
Unlike Isabelle, Honey is a total brat. Honey isn't just only mean, she is literally insane. Trying to poison Isabelle and shoving her into a hole. Who would do that to their sister, who has been missing for years???
I don't think there's much of a lesson to learn from this book. But I guess sometimes in life we think some one is our enemy because they are some one we are not alike to nor we are used to. That does not make some one the enemy, ever. Unless they actually are trying to kill you or something.
This book was okay, the plot twist was just weird and kind of confused me, but over all I just liked it. It's not like a super amazing and life changing story, nor an awful and terrible book. It's just okay, in my opinion.
October 9, 2022
I thought about this book for a very long time before I actually ever read it and that's because this book is one of the things that I remember so vividly from my growing up. I believe I checked this book out from the school library either in elementary or middle school and I read just the first chapter or so and then I somehow never returned to it and before I knew it I had to return it. But despite never getting into it, something about the concept intrigued me and for the longest time, all I could remember was the cover of the book and the author's first name. Imagine my joy when now as an adult I found this book again and I finally read it in its entirety. It's a wonderful story overall with an unexpected twist at the end. Kept me intrigued for the entirety of the reading.
March 4, 2020
When your 10-year-old reads a book and finishes it and says, "Mom, you've GOT to read this book!" You stop what you are doing and read it!
At first, I was hesitant, thinking to myself that I have SO many other books I want to read, but I wanted to share her love of the story and be able to discuss it with her and see what had fascinated her so much.
I am so glad I did! This was such an engaging story -- I can't believe how hooked I was! It reminded me to work some short stories/novellas into my TBR, because getting the somewhat-instant gratification of experiencing an entire story in a short amount of time is so satisfying!
At first, I was hesitant, thinking to myself that I have SO many other books I want to read, but I wanted to share her love of the story and be able to discuss it with her and see what had fascinated her so much.
I am so glad I did! This was such an engaging story -- I can't believe how hooked I was! It reminded me to work some short stories/novellas into my TBR, because getting the somewhat-instant gratification of experiencing an entire story in a short amount of time is so satisfying!
January 24, 2019
"If I mean enough to her that she's weeping to see me here safe, shouldn't SOMETHING be stirring in my heart when I look at her?" Isabelle, a girl that is reincarnated by the witch. The story starts with her being in a forest, not knowing who she is after losing her memory. Soon after, she was chased by some hunting dogs. The dogs would hurt her severely, but the family of the dogs would soon after take care of her. Many things happen after, such as looking for her true family. I really enjoyed the book because it really showed a lost child recovered kind of situation.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 29, 2019
This was not a bad book, but the cover is very misleading. As a librarian, we put this in our scary section, but this book is not scary enough to stay in that category. More of a fantasy than a spine-tingling thriller. The surprising ending probably was quite the shock when the book was published ten years ago, but now there have been too many better twists in books written recently. A bit too slow for many readers with too much description about Isabelle trying to remember who she was. Needs loads more suspense and action.
December 23, 2020
I'm always on the lookout for creepy books for kids, and this one was creepy in a fairy tale sort of way. Loved it! A girl appears in the forest with no recollection of who she is the day after the local witch's house has been burned down in retaliation for stealing two children in the span of six years. The twists and turns were great in this story as well as the great mystery of who is the girl. Very compelling and great for upper elementary.
November 17, 2016
I give this book three stars. It had me at the edge of my seat at most times, but others it was just a "Where's the action?" type of thing. I think one of the moments where they had me at the edge of my seat were when I found out that Isabelle actually had another side to her. I really like this book and hope they make a whole series about it.
August 19, 2022
Very well written, as all of her books are. The author brilliantly got around a girl who couldn't remember her name by stating what her name would turn out to be. But even there was a twist, and one which I only partially guessed. Not as creepy/dark as some of Velde's other books and definitely worth a read.
April 12, 2020
It was a good read.
I enjoyed the story of a Little girl lost and found by her family. Even though she didn't know who she was or where she came from, to finally realize that a family member had it in for her was crazy.
I enjoyed the story of a Little girl lost and found by her family. Even though she didn't know who she was or where she came from, to finally realize that a family member had it in for her was crazy.
January 25, 2021
Spoiler alert
This book was a short read. The age old cliche of never judge a book by its cover, a very heartening mystery that was not expected. I wrongly assumed a nasty horrible woman as the old witch.
This book was a short read. The age old cliche of never judge a book by its cover, a very heartening mystery that was not expected. I wrongly assumed a nasty horrible woman as the old witch.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 11, 2025
I confused me when I see people dislike Vande Velde books. I feel like everytime I read one, I am more impressed by her writing style and creativity. Even when I was able to guess parts of the story, she still managed to surprise me in other ways.
January 16, 2017
this book is scary and keeps you on edge at all times. it may be a mythical book, but it makes you wonder if this could ever happen to you or your children.
August 7, 2017
A little short, wish it went on longer.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 220 reviews