Escape from Witchwood Hollow

I knew this would be a hit from the moment I started reading. Witchwood Hollow is such an amazing, imaginative seting, and the story is so unique and original. Honoria is an amazing character, and I admired her bravery. Loved the focus on witches, and how it all wrapped up in the end. Definitely one of my favorite books I’ve read this year.

REVIEW: ESCAPE FROM WITCHWOOD HOLLOW by Jordan Elizabeth Mierek

A cunningly conceived, engrossing fable which examines the nature of eccentricity in the face of social conformity. From an herbal healer in the 16th century, to a mid 19th century lonely young who uses tapping to soothe her roiled emotions (what contemporary use calls EFT), to an orphan who loses both parents at the World Trade Center, individualism shines like a beacon, especially when contrasted with the pervasive darkness of the allegedly haunted Witchwood Hollow.

Lady Elizabeth Clifford is on the run in the newly settled area of Arnn, New York in 1670. She is accused of murder and has taken off into the thick woods. Her attackers have lost her, and are calling her a witch. So, Lady Clifford decides to settle into her patch of woods and become exactly what they called her. As time passes and Arnn becomes more settled, several people wonder into Witchwood and never return making Witchwood Hollow fully steeped in folklore. In 2001 15 year old Honoria, her brother and aunt and uncle move to Arnn in order to escape the City and the tragedy of the 9/11 terrorist attacks that killed her parents. Honoria is drawn into the woods by some friends at her school; she makes it through and is continually drawn back by a feeling in the woods- something in Witchwood Hollow might be able to bring her parents back and Honoria would be willing to do it.

This young adult paranormal/ historical crossover drew me in from the beginning with the legend of Witchwood Hollow. The historical aspect and being able to learn about Lady Elizabeth Clifford and her motivations made this very interesting for me, although I am also a huge sucker for dual-time stories. Honoria's character was intriguing to watch as she learned about the Witchwood,, I was unsure if she was going to fall victim or be healed by it. From the historical end, the mystery of the Witchwood expanded as lost characters came together. This was a shorter read that I devoured in a shorter setting, but I think it would have still kept my interest if the lives of each of the lost characters was expanded upon. While the ending was very shocking, it was a little too serendipitous in some aspects . I do wish that I would have learned how the Witchwood reacted after everything.

A quick and intriguing read!

It took me a little while to get fully immersed into the story but once I did I really enjoyed it. Its told from 3 different girls lives in 3 different time periods, which I thought was awesome. We learn how the woods became known as Witchwood Holllow and why, when people enter, they do not leave. It was interesting to see each girls story play out and then come together centuries later.

I loved learning about Witchwood Hollow and found it fascinating. Woods are always creepy, but add in the legend of a Witch in there and it truly becomes scary. Also the Witch in this one is quite crazy!!

I also loved the Historical element. Three different centuries meld together seamlessly. What does a girl in the 1600s, a girl in the 1800s and a girl in the 2000s have in common?, well you will have to read the book to find out.

There is quite a few characters in Escape From Witchwood Hollow and I have to say that my favourite was the motley crew from the woods. It was such an thrilling twist when they find themselves all together and we hear their stories.

Anyway, this was an interesting and intriguing read. I loved the world building and legend behind the Witch and thoroughly enjoyed reading each girls stories. The only thing that spoilt the book for me was the ending, it's not what I hoped!! That's a personal opinion though, and I know a lot of people will love it. It's a solid 4 stars for me and I have no problem recommending it to everyone.

I really enjoyed this book. I am sorry it took me so long to review it. We have had some family problems (a death in the family, followed by a birth, followed by an accident and illness). It has really cut into my "me" time. Anyway. The book was great. It was a LOT of fun to read. A lot of times, I don't like reading stories that jump from point of view to point of view to point of view because, more often than not, they are not well-written. However, this book was VERY well-written, and as a result, the three different storylines fit together perfectly to make the story very enjoyable.

I also LOVED the idea of the Hollow. Oh. my. gosh. It seems AWESOME. I would love to see what a great graphics artist could do with the Hollow. The image I had in my mind of it is just... amazing. Super creepy, but amazing. :-p

The only real problem I had with the book was that it introduced a few too many characters for my liking. Some of them seemed pretty superfluous. I think the author could have cut out quite a few of the characters and the story would have been just as good and probably flowed a bit better, as well.

Anyway. A quick read (when I finally had the time to sit down and read it), and a very interesting, fun one at that.

Everyone in Arnn - a small farming town with more legends than residents - knows the story of Witchwood Hollow: if you venture into the whispering forest, the witch will trap your soul among the shadowed trees. After losing her parents in a horrific terrorist attack on the Twin Towers, fifteen-year-old Honoria and her older brother escape New York City to Arnn. In the lure of that perpetual darkness, Honoria finds hope, when she should be afraid. Perhaps the witch can reunite her with her lost parents. Awakening the witch, however, brings more than salvation from mourning, for Honoria discovers a past of missing children and broken promises. To save the citizens of Arnn from becoming the witch's next victims, she must find the truth behind the woman's madness. How deep into Witchwood Hollow does Honoria dare venture?
I found this book well written and imaginative. It was easy to follow and I engaged with the characters quickly. Overall an enjoyable book.

I thought the book was pretty interesting. I only gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because I didn't care for the ending. I understood why the author went in that direction, but I just wanted it to turn out different. I really loved the different era's that we visited in the story-line and I felt really bad for main character. I think that Honoria was a really great character and I felt all the pain that she was going throw. That's one reason that I gave the book 4 stars, when at first after I read the book and seeing how it ended I was thinking about going more towards a 3 to 3 1/2 star rating. But if I can feel the pain the main Character is feeling than the Author is doing such a fantastic job at drawling me in. So I challenge you to read the book with an open mind and see if you can just like me, feel the pain that Honoria was going through and see if you can understand why the Author went the way that she did.. Thank you for taking the time in reading my review and I hope you enjoy reading on how I felt about this book, and yes I would read another book by this author again.

This book follows our main character, Honoria, after she lost both her parents to the collapse of the twin towers.

The book weaves together the tail from separate time periods and I often felt like Arnn was a character in and of itself.

The writing was solid and seamless and even if I thought the author missed the teen authenticity once in a while (brand names, much?), it really was an exciting tale and worth the read.