Dark Spell

Shortlisted for the Scottish Children’s Book Awards 2015 15-year-old Callie Hall has just found out she’s a witch, and things keep going wrong. Sometimes her mind seems to make things happen, things she can’t control. She can set fire to things without a match, and when she’s angry people can get hurt. Her friend Josh understands she’s a bit weird, but it’s only on a dark and dangerous visit to the tunnels under the ruins of St Andrews’ Castle that he realises just how strange she really is. Something comes back with Callie — in Callie — something she can’t escape. Can Callie control her power long enough to send back the darkness, before it takes over her life? And will Josh ever understand her secret? A brilliant, engrossing teen fantasy from the author of Winterbringers and The Keeper’s Daughter.

Reviews of Dark Spell

'This is a modern-day Harry Potter set near a Scottish school in St Andrews. The characters of Callie, who has just discovered she's a witch and Josh were brilliant… I cannot recommend this book highly enough.' — Daily Record Book Club 'Usually I don't get excited about setting, but this book was set in Scotland near St. Andrews, an unusual place for a YA novel. It was refreshing to read about a locale I've never really heard of besides the golf. All told, a solid 4 stars.' — 2 the Point Book Reviews blog 'Dark Spell is a story about a young girl coming to terms with her new abilities, abilities that make her unique and different from those around her… Making Dark Spell a coming of age story with a paranormal/witchy twist.' — Tome Tender Blog 'The characterisation is excellent, and I particularly like the way Callie is shown struggling to get to terms with her powers which read almost as hormonal energy. It is as though teenage frustration or anger flares up inside her and the energy breaks out through her fingertips. This is elegant writing as it reads as an extension of bodily stress that we have all felt at one time or another and it functions as a connection between the supernatural and a reality we can recognise. This is a pacey, thoughtful, scary, exhilarating read and highly recommended.' — The School Librarian (SLA)