The Witch of Woodland

A young girl preparing for her bat mitzvah discovers she has mysterious abilities in this enchanting contemporary coming-of-age adventure, from the beloved author ofOrphan Island.

Hi, whoever is reading this. Im Zipporah Chava McConnell, but everyone calls me Zippy.

Things used to be simpleuntil a few weeks ago. Now, my best friend, Bea, is acting funny; everyone at school thinks Im weird; and my mom is making me start preparing for my bat mitzvah, even though we barely ever go to synagogue. In fact, the only thing that still seems to make sense is magic.

See, the thing is, Im a witch. Ive been casting spells since I was little. And even if no one else wants to believe in magic anymore, its always made sense to me, always felt true. But I was still shocked the day I found a strange red book at the library and somehow . . . I conjured something. A girl, actually. A beautiful girl with no memory and wings like an angel. You probably dont believe me, but I swear its the truth.

Miriam is like no one else Ive ever met. Shes proof that magic is real. And its hard to explain this part, but I just know that were connected. That means its up to me to help Miriam figure out what she is and where she came from.If I can do that, maybe everything else in my life will start to make sense too. Anyway, its worth a try.