The short tale follows a ‘very ordinarily named’ Mary Smith as she’s stuck in a very quiet and rather lonely holiday at her great-aunt’s house deep in the countryside. I was unable to find additional online editorial reviews. Readers on Amazon gave the book much higher marks-four out of five readers gave it five stars, the fifth one gave it four. It's true that the Harry Potter books contain much more in terms of imaginative detail, but this review does not diminish my childhood enjoyment of this book. She thought the story was lacking in imagination. Stewart's atmospheric descriptions match the magical content of the story.Ī Kirkus Review (retrieved from ) reviewer completely disagreed with my positive review of this book, except for one thing: she thought the author is experienced at conjuring "suspense out of thin air". A possible forerunner to the Harry Potter series, this book is milder and more suited to younger tweens. Together they attempt to rescue the animals and try to escape the witch who is chasing them on her speedy broomstick. ![]() In the course of her adventures, she meets a boy named Peter. Mary accidentally rubs the juice from the flower onto a broom handle and is whisked away to a school for witches, run by an evil witch who is performing horrible experiments upon animals. In the garden, she finds a black cat who leads her to a purple flower, which the gardener tells her is a "Fly-by-Night". The story tells of Mary, a girl who is parked with two elderly aunts. This was one of my favorite books when I was about 9. ![]() ![]() Though this book does not seem to be as well known as many of her others, I recommend it to those looking for a quick and magical read.Ī girl follows a black cat to a magic broomstick and finds herself whisked away to a school for witches. I have read some of Mary Stewart's other books before, but didn't realize she had written for children. I also really loved the way Stewart wrote about Tib she really seems to know cats :-)Īll in all, a very engaging story that is well suited for Halloween. The idea of magic is approached in a thought-provoking way, too, as Mary realizes that it is not fair to thrust magic upon creatures or objects against their will. But nothing is really graphic and there is an inevitable happy ending, so perhaps children will not be as disturbed as I was (since, of course, I know that things of this sort happen in real life, with science instead of magic). Dee trap animals and perform cruel transformation spells on them. I was a bit surprised, given this is a children's book, how dark the "bad deeds" in the story are-the evil witch Miss Mumblechook and Dr. She is able to create suspense, as well, and manages a chase scene with broomsticks that gives Quidditch a run for its money. I especially loved the descriptions of nature. The magic is not only in the witchery but in the way Stewart weaves her words. But soon Tib, a charming and mysterious cat, leads her to a patch of fly-by-night flowers in the woods, and when the crushed pollen of the fly-by-night on her fingers touches a little broomstick in her garden, Mary is flown into a world of magic and danger. So begins this magical, swift read about a young British girl, Mary Smith, bored staying with her elderly aunt in the country while her parents are away for work in the US. Nothing could have been more depressing, she thought to be plain, to be ten, and to be alone, staring out of her bedroom window on a gray autumn day, and to be called Mary Smith."
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