Witch Week

📘 About This Book

There are good witches and bad witches, but the law says that all witches must be burned at the stake. So when an anonymous note warns, "Someone in this class is a witch," the students in 6B are nervous—especially the boy who's just discovered that he can cast spells and the girl who was named after the most famous witch of all. Witch Week features the debonair enchanter Chrestomanci, who also appears in Charmed Life, The Magicians of Caprona, and The Lives of Christopber Chant. Someone in the class is a witch. At least so the anonymous note says. Everyone is only too eager to prove it is someone else—because in this society, witches are burned at the stake.

📖 Summary

Witch Week by Diana Wynne Jones is a captivating juvenile fiction novel that transports readers to an alternate contemporary world where the existence of magic is a capital offense. In this society, witches and wizards are universally feared, and the law dictates a severe and terrifying punishment for anyone practicing the arcane arts: they must be burned at the stake. Within this oppressive atmosphere, the story unfolds at Larwood House, a boarding school where the pupils of class 6B are struggling through ordinary school day anxieties. However, their routine is violently upended by a simple, anonymous message left on a desk, reading simply, Someone in this class is a witch. This single accusation plunges the classroom into a state of intense paranoia, suspicion, and fear, as everyone tries desperately to deflect attention and prove that the guilty party is someone else entirely. Among the terrified students are a boy who has recently and secretly discovered his own ability to cast magical spells, and a girl who bears the heavy burden of being named after the most famous witch in history. As the mystery deepens and panic mounts within class 6B, the situation threatens to spiral completely out of control, drawing the attention of powerful outside forces. Enter the debonair and immensely capable enchanter Chrestomanci, a beloved recurring figure in the broader mythos who also makes appearances in other works by the author such as Charmed Life, The Magicians of Caprona, and The Lives of Christopher Chant. Through Chrestomanci's intervention, the unfolding chaos takes on layers of wonder, wry humor, and intricate plotting. The novel explores themes of scapegoating, institutional cruelty, and the difficulty of hiding one's true identity in a society that demands absolute conformity. Packed with clever twists, richly drawn characters, and the signature imaginative flair of Diana Wynne Jones, Witch Week offers a delightful and thought-provoking journey into a world where magic is both a miraculous gift and a mortal danger.

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Diana Wynne JonesView all books →

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