This was a fun middle grade debut of a promising young author. The rules of the system didn't totally add up for me, but the characters were a delight. Can't wait for more.

A fast paced middle grade story packed with thrills and adventure.
Curse of the Night Witch is a tale that follows the main protagonist Tor in a story of self discovery and courage. Tor and his friends set off on a journey to rid themselves of a curse and along the way discover interesting individuals and visit regions of Emblem Island they have only ever read in stories.

The book is filled with myths and legends which is explained in detail throughout the book. However, it may seem a bit confusing in the first few chapters whilst the lore is being set-up.

The chapters are relatively short, each conflict and new act only spanned over a few chapters which made the book feel fast paced and would be an approachable read for a younger audience. An interesting aspect of the book is the "stories" within the story. Between chapters is a sub-chapter explaining the lore of Emblem Island and would relate to the next conflict/adventure.

Whilst the book is very descriptive, there are many sentences and statements which could have been shortened. There are multiple instances were too many words are use in a sentence and could be shortened down and still hold the same meaning; this caused the flow of the novel and certain paragraphs to be disrupted.

This book is a wonderful tale of adventure and a great start to a middle grade series.

I enjoyed my time with this story. The characters were interesting and the setting caught my attention.

I enjoyed the beginning of this book. The concept of magic and curses is made intriguing and the reader is pulled into the main characters' conflict quickly and feel a sense of urgency. I especially liked how the main female character is portrayed as the instigator and motivator of the group instead of one of the boys.

This was a fun fast-paced read! There were many fun adventures in this novel! I like the world-building and how folklore was entwined with this story. Tor was really a fun character, and I loved all his friends! I also like how it ended in a high note! Thus, middle grade readers will find this novel to be charming and magical!

This was such a fun story! Very fast paced and full of adventure. I loved the Colombian-inspired mythology. I read the second book as soon as I could and am eagerly awaiting the third. This would be an excellent choice for readers that enjoy fantasy and/or adventure as well as fans of mythology stories such as the Percy Jackson series.

Snow beasts, trolls, and witches, oh my! The Curse of the Night Witch did not disappoint!

Firstly, I commend the author for writing such an exciting middle-grade fantasy novel. I cannot believe it is the author’s debut novel because she delivered it flawlessly. I loved the concept of the story about Emblems, markings, symbols, lifelines, and curses. The way the author constructed the world is also very innovative. We see different sides of Emblem Island, from the mountains to the Troll Tunnels and the rain forests.

Moreover, I adored the concept of a story within a story. Some of my favorite ones were The Weeping Woman, the history of Estrelle, and the Cave of Cosas. The author weaves the main story with these standalone tales so nicely, and I loved how the three characters used their knowledge to go about their quest.

The author also wrote the emotions of the characters nicely. In the beginning, you see that Tor and Melda don’t get along with each other. However, as the story progresses, you notice the bond they form. I loved the bond that Tor, Engle, and Melda share as they go on their journey to see the Night Witch. Frankly, I thought Tor was great in the lead with the various emotions he goes through. Some passages in the story touched me, like when Tor realizes he had never known hunger or struggle and realizes how lucky he is in some ways. I loved how the author matured him in the tale. Similarly, Engle and Melda are charming. The story also ends in a cliffhanger that makes you want to read the next book.

Overall, “Curse of the Night Witch” is a lovely start to the Emblem Island series, and I look forward to reading the continuation.

This was such a cute story! My niece and I read this one together. It reminded her a lot of the percy jackson series and the school of good and evil. I loved the descriptions, very easy to follow, especially for young readers. Great character development and plot stability.

Twelve-year-old Tor Luna was born with a leadership emblem, just like his mother. But he hates his mark and is determined to choose a different path for himself. So, on the annual New Year's Eve celebration, where Emblemites throw their wishes into a bonfire in the hopes of having them granted, Tor wishes for a different power.

I received this book from the publisher via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this! Super fun and you know I love a good quest. The concept is fascinating - everyone is born with an emblem that describes their talent. I can only imagine how that could feel suffocating! So when a wish goes awry, our heroes end up on a quest to rid themselves of a curse.

The way the legends and stories of the island are woven into the book is very cleverly done, as is the way they lead the quest. Tor, Melda and Engle get to see island life outside their village, and meet so many fantastic people who all love differently.

I also love how we get to see that they make mistakes and grow throughout. It really is a fantastic adventure story that I highly recommend! I will definitely be picking up book 2! 4.5 stars.

On Emblem Island , the mark you are born with predicts your role in the community while the length, peaks and valleys of your lifeline predict how long and how peacefulness one's like will be. The knowledge needed to fulfill your role determines what you study in school. Tor's mother has the rare leadership badge, three rings around the wrist, and is the leader of the village, while his dad has the chef badge, and thrives in the kitchen. His young sister is destined to sing. Tor has the leader emblem, along with a long uneventful lifeline, but it is not something he wishes to be. He loves swimming, and desperately wants to be a water breather--an underwater swimmer. On New Year's Eve, everyone in the village write a wish on a piece of paper, and Tor's wishes to be free of his leadership emblem. He wakes on the first day of the new year to find his three rings gone, but he now has a short life line and has the emblem that says he is cursed. Tor enlists his best friend Engle, a see-er, and his fellow leader Melda, to help him find the reclusive Know All and learn how to undo the curse. She gives them the full version of Book of Cuentos, of which they have only heard the watered down tales, and they begin a dangerous journey to find the Night Witch and undo Tor's curse. With evil and danger lurking at every turn, Tor worries, Melda is all business, and Engle is either looking for his next snack or ready jump into the unknown as the pieces to the puzzle unfold in this adventurous fantasy.

Curse of the Night Witch is a fantastic fantasy adventure book for middle-grade upwards, packed with magic, action and a touch of mystery.

Tor and his friends have to go on a journey to try to reverse the ill-advised wish he made, which has brought a curse down upon him. The three pals – a reluctant hero, a big eater and a quick thinking leader respectively – travel across their world, following the clues laid out in a book of fairytales and legend, The Book of Cuentos. Of course, the problem with real-life fairytales is the real-life monsters that come with them, and Tor, Engle and Melda will need to use all of their individual skills, but also learn to work together, if they want to survive the journey.

I really love the world Alex Aster has built in this story. There is a unique magic system of gifts, curses and emblems, and a raft of new monsters and myths to explore too. Some aspects of the story are actually quite dark and haunting (even as an adult!) – the Puppeteer Queen, the Weeping Willow, the emblem thieves – but this is true of all the best ‘grim’ children’s tales… how else would we learn to stay out of the deep, dark woods?

The characters are great too. They start off realistically obsessed with their own personal concerns about school, parental expectations and their dreams for the future, and then set off on their journey of self- and witch-discovery and begin to develop and grown through the trials they face. There are some really good lessons about priorities, thinking of others, and the wider consequences of our individual actions, cleverly woven under the exciting plot.

This is the first book in a series, and therefore all the threads are not tied up with a neat bow. Instead the story leads towards further adventures for Tor and his allies. Personally, I can’t wait!


Once upon a screaming white moon, a Night Witch was born.
As a child, she spoke to the willow trees, whispered to the garden bees, and had a smile so sweet it dripped golden honey. When she brushed her hair, starlight fell to the ground. When she passed by, flowers fell from her fingertips. And when she cried, it stormed.
So sweet she looked, her smile hid the darkness waiting behind it.
She had a gift never seen before. The power to kill with a single touch.
And kill she did.

– Alex Aster, Curse of the Night Witch

Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog

This ARC was provided for review, but in no way affects the following impartial and unbiased review:
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3*
Pros: Enthralling world-building, full of vibrant colors, mythical creatures and riveting tales come to life. Inspired by Colombian folklore and culture. Interesting premise and lead characters. Detailed and fully magical. Focuses on letting go of destiny and following your own path.
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Cons: Although rife with adventures, the narrative does not grip the reader's attention. Barely any emotional depth. One-dimensional characters.

I requested and received an e-ARC of this book from Alex Aster and Sourcebooks Young Readers through NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I cannot wait for book two!!! I need to know what happens next to the characters in this novel. I think kids and adults will really enjoy reading this story about Emblem Island. It is a really cool premise to be born with the ability that shapes your future visible to everyone. I love that in between each chapter there was a myth from the Island of Emblem.

Unfortunately I could not ge to go this book and put it down after a couple of chapters. I did not like the writing style and I found that I could not get into it. I am so grateful for this opportunity but I cannot offer a review of this book

Going into this book, I didn't really know what to expect. I was hoping for an enjoyable middle grade adventure but wasn't exactly sure of what was going to happen. I ended up being pleasantly surprised at how fun and enjoyable this book was.

I think what drove this for me was our three main characters. They are pretty well written and unique in their own ways even though we only get Tor's point-of-view throughout the novel. I thought it was interesting to see the character developments from the beginning to end of the book and how the relationships changed. I really liked all three characters. I feel like Tor is just trying to live his life on his own terms, Melda is the strong but suffer in silence type, and Engle is a food-loving, loyal friend (I highly relate to his food loving).

Additionally, this world was very interesting. I was wondering throughout the book if this would be a stand alone or a series and I'm pretty excited that there's going to be more books. I want to know more about the magic system and the world because it's all rather fascinating.

This book was also just a fun adventure. Sure, there were lots of serious or tense moments, but overall I'd say I had fun reading this book because of the fun, adventure aspect. We cover a lot of events and visit a lot of different parts of this island and it was very enjoyable to read. I thought the balance between fun banter, serious conversations, and high-stakes actions was quite good.

One thing that I tend to enjoy most about middle grade is how easy it is to fall into the story and how they're usually quick reads for me. This book was exactly that way for me and I really enjoyed my time. I ended up reading it in one sitting and I think that worked best for me.

Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot and I'm interested in seeing where the plot and characters go next (especially after that ending).

Tor lives on Emblem Island, a wonderful place full of color, where everyone is born with a special emblem on themselves. These emblems provide the wearer with one unique skill, anywhere from cooking to bringing someone back from the dead. Tor's emblem is the leadership emblem, which means that after his mother has died or leaves her position as Chieftain he is expected to take over leadership of their village. There's just one problem, Tor doesn't want to be a leader. He doesn't have confidence in himself to lead the village, doesn't think he's smart enough, and doesn't think he can do the work. He makes the decision that on Eve's night, when the villagers are allowed to make a wish and if your pure of heart it will be granted, he wishes to be rid of the leadership emblem and instead be a water-breather. The morning after Eve, he wakes up and discovers that indeed his leadership emblem is gone, but instead of the water-breather symbol, there is an eye...that blinks... Realizing that he's been cursed, he teams up with his best friend, Engle, and his class rival, Melda, to go on an adventure and break the curse.

Throughout the story you receive little bits of lore from the stories that have been told to them since they were very young (basically Brothers Grimm's tales, but Emblem Island edition). Many of these stories can seem familiar to people that have read a lot of legends (sirens/weeping woman/faceless man/giantess), but they are still well written and provide good background and direction for the story. As for the adventure aspect, it felt lacking. This could be a really good book for a middle schooler that likes adventure stories, but doesn't have the skill for reading longer adventure books. The chapters are short and each part of the adventure concludes at the end of the chapter. It would be a good book to read for classes or storytime because the issue of each chapter will get wrapped up before the next chapter starts and a new issue begins. The realization at the end seemed a little forced, and then the surprise that shows up, was just a little over the top and just too easy. It sets it up for the next book to come out and continue the kids' adventure. Overall a fun story perfect for a reluctant reader.

In The Curse of the Night Witch three kids go on an adventure to find the Night Witch and remove a curse.

On Emblem Island, every individual has a mark on their wrist denoting a specific unique skill. Some marks identify what role you will have in society while others are skills that have a bit of a magical touch to them. Tor was born with the leadership emblem, but he’d much rather be able to breathe underwater. In the hopes that the wish-god can change his emblem, he submits this as a wish on Eve. But instead of a wish he receives a curse that could have only come from the Night Witch.

Part of what makes this book unique is how the story is structured. Emblem Island is full of myths and lore and all the inhabitants grow up learning about these fairy tales in a book called The Book of Cuentos. As Tor and friends seek out the Night Witch the chapters and narrative follows the places that are mentioned in The Book of Cuentos and learn that these so-called fairy tales are a bit more real than expected. In between the chapters is a short version of the lore followed by a chapter specifically relating to that lore. This creates mini-stories, or stories within a story.

The story is fast-paced in that no mini-story is longer than two chapters. This approach is perfect for young readers to help them feel a sense of accomplishment when finishing a mini-story. It also shows a lot of potential in where the series can go. As an adult, I wish these stories within a story had been a little longer so that I could settle in more to the story.

All in all I enjoyed the lore and myths and the overall uniqueness of this island and look forward to the next in the series.

Curse of the Night Witch was one of my most anticipated books for this year. I’m a complete sucker for a middle-grade fantasy, and if anything so much as mentions witches then I’m almost definitely going to add it to my TBR. So you can probably guess that I was pretty pumped to get the chance to read this one.

At its heart, this is really an adventure story with a nice dose of fairy tale and myths thrown in. I’m not usually one for fairy tales, but I do enjoy a good myth. (Yeah, I’m not sure how that works either). But the stories in here are short and woven into the adventure of our three characters. This is a fast-paced journey, and those tales add a new depth to the story without slowing it down. I really appreciated how well this was done, and how the stories tied into what the characters were doing or where they were without giving too much away.

I enjoyed the characters as well, but I can’t ignore the fact they feel very like Harry, Hermione and Ron. Not every middle grade fantasy is HP and this is definitely quite different, but there were a couple of moments that felt a little too similar for me. This is only the first book in this series, so I really hope that the characters will grow more in the next book and that they’ll take a little bit of a different route.

All in all, I think this would be great for fans of Rick Riordan or Chris Colfer. If you’re looking for a quick, run adventure read then this is definitely worth picking up.

Emblem Island is an incredible place full of magic, color, and adventure. It can also be a dangerous, treacherous place…especially if you’ve been cursed by the Night Witch, like Tor and his friends have been. Most Emblemites are born with an emblem somewhere on their body, a birthmark that indicates an ability—like singing beautifully, cooking like a master chef, or even breathing underwater—that determines your course in life. Tor, son of his village’s chieftess, was born with a leadership emblem just like his mother’s. He hates it, though, and he wants more than anything to change his fate. So on the annual Eve celebration, when Emblemites submit a wish to the gods, Tor wishes for a different emblem.

In a chilling instance of “be careful what you wish for,” Tor gets a nasty shock the next morning. Instead of the water-breathing emblem that he so desperately wants, he receives a curse: a blinking eye on his wrist that he learns is a malevolent gift from the fearsome Night Witch. She is the most frightening monster in the Book of Cuentos, the formative book of folklore that all Emblemites use as a guide to life on the island. When he accidentally passes his curse to his friends Engle and Melda, Tor must use the Book of Cuentos to find the Night Witch and convince her to remove the curse before all three of their lifelines run out.

To find the witch, the friends go on an odyssey from their beautiful village by the ocean to the bleakest, scariest parts of the island. Author Alex Aster cannily intersperses tales from the Book of Cuentos between the group’s adventures, introducing the reader to the monsters the friends are about to encounter in increasingly terrifying stories. Letting the readers know what’s ahead, and what these monsters are capable of, adds a tremendous level of tension and suspense to an already exciting read. I raced through this book, and I’d be willing to bet you’ll do the same.

Emblem Island is a fascinating location. I selfishly wished that Aster would have spent more time exploring the different cultures there, because it’s such a thrilling, vibrant place, but the book is paced so well and the descriptions are so vivid that it ultimately felt like the perfect amount of world-building. I’m eager for the next book, not only because I can’t wait to go back and learn more about the island, but also because the ending was so clever and so surprising that I’m going to be on pins and needles waiting to find out what happens next.

The book’s nuanced look at the nature of stories (and at the motives of storytellers) is a delight, asking the reader to simultaneously think more critically and be more open-minded about folktales. Curse of the Night Witch is a rousing, spooky adventure that examines the stories we tell ourselves and the stories we tell others. It shows its readers that the world is more complicated and more amazing than we realize, and that you can always change your fate…but you may not like what happens when you do.