Archibald Finch and the Lost Witches – Michel Guyon & Zina Kostich (illustrator)

★★★★★

It’s the calm before the storm. Or perhaps simply a lull before the next one.

Archibald Finch and his family (mom, dad and older sister (Hailee)) just moved into his Grandma’s scary old manor.

Archibald spends the first few days exploring…and stumbles upon a mysterious globe.

It has weird and strange illustrations of creepy and impossible creatures…and when he touches it just right, it emitted a bright light and suddenly he was sucked into an entirely new world.

“What a freaky place!”

This new place is full of warrior women – well…girls – who’ve been stuck there for nearly five hundred years.

“Is that why they sent you here?” asks Archibald. “To save you?”

And…it’s infested with Marodors – demonic entities – each with far too many limbs or teeth…and an unyielding hunger for anything that walks by.

Archibald is going to have to learn how to adapt – and fast – before he turns into someone’s lunch.

Meanwhile Hailee, his sister, is stuck in the real world…and no one believes what she saw. She’s desperate to find Archibald and get him out of the globe.

But when she asks the wrong person, she gets far more trouble than she bargained for.

She’s going to have to keep herself one step ahead of them to stay alive…and time is ticking.

The story – 4.5 stars… the story with the gorgeous illustrations – a million stars.

This one ended up being SO much fun and I’m so happy to have gotten to read it.

I loved the creativity seen in the world-building. I was wholly enamored with the world that Archibald falls into (though, this does NOT mean I want to follow him there. I’m perfectly happy reading about the Marodors from my safe and comfy bed).

I also really liked the sheer uniqueness of the monsters in this book – it made for a very varied adventure (and now I’m incredibly curious what their Marodor guidebook would look like!).

I started off slightly disliking Archibald – he seemed a bit like a know-it-all and I just couldn’t pinpoint his character. But as the story grew and developed, I really started to like him and he really came into his personality.

Hailee – Archibald’s sister – was probably my favorite character. Her down-to-earth attitude was really well-done and believable.

Also, I would be doing this book a complete disservice if I didn’t mention the absolutely GORGEOUS illustrations.

Seriously – every chapter had stunning black-and-white art that completely drew me into this story and really bumped it up a notch.

The illustrator is so incredibly talented and I really think the author made the right decision by bringing her on board.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that the next book will also feature her amazing artwork.

All in all, I absolutely adored this book and cannot recommend this middle grade book enough!

A huge thank you to the author for sending me a free copy in exchange for an honest review

Interested in this one from Michel Guyon and Zina Kostich? Buy it here:  Amazon