YOUNG HAG AND THE WITCHES’ QUEST, by Isabel Greenberg, Harry N. Abrams, May 14, 2024, Paperback, $17.99 (ages 12 and up)
Travel back in time through Arthurian legends in Young Hag and the Witches’ Quest, a graphic novel by Isabel Greenberg.
Once there was magic in Britain. There were dragons and wizards and green knights and round tables and kings that pulled swords out of stones. But now, the doors to the Otherworld have closed, and the magic is gone.
All that is left are the stories of those bygone days. Young Hag, her mother and her grandmother, Ancient Crone, are the last of the witches in Britain. At least, that’s what Ancient Crone says.
Young Hag has grown up hearing those tales and believing in her the power of her Grandmother. But when tragedy strikes, and their world is shaken, Young Hag turns her back on magic. She is sick of the tales of family curses, faerie doors, lost magic, and ancient swords. If they are witches, where is their magic when they really need it?
And then one day they find a changeling baby in the woods. Confronted with real magic at last, Young Hag has no choice but to believe. She sets off on the greatest quest of her life; to bring the magic back to Britain.
But when faced with magic and myth, can Young Hag put aside her doubts and fears? Or will she simply become a forgotten footnote in the tale of famous kings and wizards? —Synopsis provided by Harry N. Abrams
I’ll be honest, I passed Young Hag and the Witches’ Quest to my 10-year-old without blinking. She saw a graphic novel in my office, and basically adopted it as her own. “I don’t think it’s for 12 and older because I read it and I enjoyed it and I’m 10,” she told me when I asked her how she like the book.
My daughter was initially drawn to Young Hag and the Witches’ Quest because of the author. She knows Isabel Greenberg from her illustrations in Athena: Goddess of Wisdom and War and Gaia: Goddess of Earth and immediately wanted to see more. “I love the illustrations,” she said.
The book — in my daughter’s words — is “about the granddaughter of Morgan le Fey, and they’re on a quest to fix Excalibur because it’s broken. I think the most interesting part is King Arthur was only born because King Uther married Arthur’s mom through trickery.”
My kid says that it’s a really interesting book and that she would recommend it to other kids. Given that she’s read it at least three times, I think it’s fair to say, the book is a hit in our household.
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