A review by nadel
Half-Witch by John Schoffstall

5.0

Are you looking for a fun, sad, thought-provoking story, beautifully written fantasy book. Half-witch is all that and more. Schoffstall is as courageous as young Lizbet and Strix in exploring the nature of friendship and the difference of being good and being religious as they travel through an almost familiar medieval world full of untrustworthy adults and goblins. Both girls are the complimentary half to the other and it is through their journey they become whole, each transforming the other. It is their tale of gaining trust in oneself and one another that gives the story its deep emotional resonance. The many worlds, from the witch's forest home to the underground sewers are vividly created; the creatures are appropriately slimy and grotesque. Strix and the goblin Fudge offer frequent doses of humor and there is one adventure after another to keep the reader going. I hope that Lizbet's desire to save God is the seed for the next book as I am sure she (and Schoffstall) are up to the task.