Curse of the Night Witch (Emblem Island)

In Alex Aster’s first book in the Emblem Island series Curse of the Night Witch, three children embark on a perilous journey in which they must find and defeat the Night Witch to keep her from terrorizing villages and remove their curses. The main character, Tor Luna, dislikes his leadership emblem and wishes for a new one, only to find it replaced by a black eye encircled on his wrist: a curse. Tor, Melda, and Engle use a “storybook” as their guide and map, which leads them to villages that are nothing short of magical, mythical monsters that test them, and people who contribute to them on their adventure.

The reader may think the story is very predictable at some points, while it can be very fickle at others. Conversely, some will find this book very enlightening with many twists and turns that make them want to close the book for a second to process what they just read. Others might feel compelled never to stop reading because they want to know what will happen next (I would be one of the “others”). Either way, anyone who reads this fascinating story will have the urge to finish it no matter what.