Witch Born, written by Nicholas Bowling, reviewed by Kalie Mehaffy

Summary: Alyce Greenliefe suddenly finds her world turned upside down when the Witchfinders come for her mother Ellen, forcing Alyce to hide and then flee to London in search of Doctor Dee, who her mother claimed would help her. Unfortunately, since this is Victorian England, finding Doctor Dee on her own is not as easy as she had hoped, especially with the Witchfinders hunting her down, and she is forced to accept the help of Solomon, an actor who finds her half-dead in the street and helps her to safety. Witch Born follows Alyce's story as she gets to safety and learns some astonishing truths about who she is.

Straight Talk for Librarians: Overall, I think this is a great book. There were just enough twists and turns that I could never quite figure out what exactly was going to happen, but the language used and the plot itself was compelling and propelled me into this alternative version of Victorian England. I have to admit that I was a little bit disappointed by the lack of Alice in Wonderland related items. I picked this book up because of the obvious Alice in Wonderland symbols in the front flap, but other than a few symbols that were clearly strongly influenced by Alice in Wonderland, this book was largely devoid of anything relating to the story of Alice in Wonderland. In addition, I do have to agree with the School Library Journal when they say that those not intimately familiar with the history of Victorian London might miss a few major hints, for example, the fact that Alyce's red hair was meant to point toward Queen Elizabeth being her mother was not something that was easy for me to see until the reveal at the end. I do think that this book could easily be used in a classroom as an example of symbolism and allusions, as well as a look at a different type of historical fiction since this book is an alternative history with fantasy elements. Overall, I did really enjoy reading this book, and it is easy to see after reading it how it could be used in a classroom to discuss literary devices.