"Well Witched" is full of dark dreams and frightening revelations into the lives of three young children. The reader follows the paths of Ryan, Chelle, and Josh as they try to get back to their homes by stealing wishing coins from an old well. Little do they know that a well witch wants to be paid back for those stolen coins by forcing the children to fulfill wishes for her.
As the tale continues, we see into the lives of the innocent Chelle and Ryan, and the not-so innocent Josh. They develop frightening powers to facilitate the wish granting all seem to steer clear from their power except for Josh. He has always seemed to have a power over Ryan and Chelle and they are dragged along these adventures that seem to be taking tragic turns.
It took me a little while to start enjoying this book as I found it difficult to empathize with the characters right away. However, the characters quickly begin to realize the moral implications of what they are doing and the reader sees that Ryan and Chelle are starting to shape their own actions instead of being pulled along by the well witch or Josh. I think this is a very sweet and mysterious novel about peer pressure, family life, and morality. The twists and turns of this fantasy keep you enthralled and eager to see what will happen next to these children. I finished this well-written children's book with a feeling of deep satisfaction and enjoyment.

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I wanted to read Well Witched because Hardinge's The Lost Conspiracy, Fly By Night, and Fly Trap were the best books I'd read in years. The unexpected plot twists, detailed description of fictional places, and fantastic imagination used to create completely novel story lines put all of these books in a new category for me.
Perhaps it was going into Well Witched with high expectations that made what may have been an acceptable read, so disappointing. Hardinge's previous books were very dark, but the young characters were always in some amazingly fictional place. In Well Witched, the very young characters were realistic and present day so the dark, sinister nature of the story was disturbing.
Pick up a copy of The Lost Conspiracy instead of Well Witched and you will not be disappointed.

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