Description:

For one to succeed, the other must fail...

Before the Decree of Bright Magic passed, hedgewitches, far-seers, and even goblins had been tolerated by the church. Now working magic carries a death sentence, and when Makenna’s mother is drowned for her work as a hedgewitch, Makenna wreaks revenge on her village and flees into the wilderness. As she wanders north, Makenna rescues and befriends the goblins who are being burned out of their homes. She may be only a half-trained hedgewitch, but Makenna believes that with courage and cleverness they can create their own kingdom in the great northern woods, and repel any humans who seek to settle there.

Sir Tobin has spent the last three years fighting the barbarian armies that attack the realm’s southern border each winter—every year their numbers are greater, and their magic grows stronger. So when a powerful priest tells Tobin that the realm’s only hope of survival is to move everyone into the northern woodlands, Tobin sees why this impossible feat is necessary. However the relocation can’t even start, because all the refugees who try to settle in the woods have been driven out by a powerful sorceress and her goblin army. Tobin has no magic himself, but he might be able to plant a charm in the sorceress’ lair that would allow the priests to find and destroy her—and the realm’s survival depends on his success.

And the battle for the Goblin Wood begins.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8-Fantasy and intrigue blend in a mythical medieval land where good and evil are not always clearly distinguishable. When the story opens, 12-year-old Makenna has just witnessed the murder of her mother, the local hedgewitch, by decree of a priest of the Hierarch, aided by the villagers whom Makenna's mother had always helped. Angry and bitter, the grieving girl seeks revenge on the village and runs away into the woods, where she encounters and befriends the goblins-a small, magical race of people who are being systematically exterminated by the Hierarch. Advance five years to another part of the Hierarch's territory and meet Tobin, a knight who takes the blame for his younger brother's role in an attempted coup. Tobin will be allowed to redeem himself by capturing the sorceress who has aligned herself with the goblins. This, of course, is Makenna. When the two young people meet, they discover that the world around them cannot be viewed as all good or all bad and together they attempt to provide a safe haven for both humans and goblins. Fantasy novels for young people do not often explore the gray areas, which makes for some interesting and thought-provoking reading here. However, Bell provides few transitions between times and places, making it difficult to discern what has happened and where readers are in this mythical world. This lack of transition detracts from an otherwise promising political fantasy.
Sharon Grover, Arlington County Department of Libraries, VA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 6-10. After her mother is drowned as a sorceress, young hedgewitch Makenna flees into the woodlands. While there, she accidentally antagonizes some goblins, who plague her until she captures one, Cogswhallop, and inadvertently puts him in her debt. As she travels with Cogswhallop, she learns goblin rules about repaying a favor, and she soon finds herself united with goblins in a battle against the ruling Hierarchy, bent on eradicating all magical creatures. Five years later, a young knight comes to Goblin Wood to trap a powerful human sorceress who is thought to lead an army of enslaved goblins. By this time, Makenna has become a strategist par excellence and the Hierarchy's greatest threat. Leavened by humor and a dollop of romance, this well-crafted fantasy adventure demonstrates Bell's talent for creating enduring characters and worlds. It also has a cliffhanger ending that begs a sequel. The author of A Matter of Profit (2001) comes through again. Sally Estes
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