Full Text Review(s)
"A girl runs through the forest. As she runs, she realizes she has no memories prior to running. She remembers running, although not why she is running or from whom or where she is trying to go. Nor does she know her name. Dogs begin chasing her and later she is found hiding in a tree. She is surrounded by dogs but is rescued by their owners who take her in and care for her bitten leg. From there, gossip travels until it reaches another couple who rejoice, believing that she is their daughter, Isabelle, who was kidnapped by a witch six years ago. They come and take her away to a new life filled with expectations and danger.
Readers are left to fill in the blanks and figure out the clues to discover the girl’s real identity. It is strange that the author starts referring to the character as Isabelle before the lost parents even enter the tale. The mystery of the kidnapped daughter fuels readers to discover the truth behind the family and the reasons for their odd behavior. The cover produces a spooky atmosphere that will make readers curious. Vande Velde creates a new twist on a fairy tale complete with evil sisters and filled with suspense, danger, and a longing for home."

* "A 12-year-old girl is running through the woods with no memory of who she is or why she is running. Her identity is up for speculation throughout the book: Is she a princess? An animal turned into a human? The missing daughter of a couple in the village? All of these possibilities seem to revolve around an old witch who escaped the village mob with a baby the same day the girl appeared in the woods. The woman and her husband are convinced that the girl is their missing Isabelle, taken from the village by the witch six years earlier, but their older daughter, Honey, is skeptical and even hostile in her reaction. As the tale unfolds, some even suspect that the youngster is actually a creation of the old hag who was sent for evil purposes, and Isabelle wonders whether she really wants to know the truth. This is a solid fantasy and mystery that builds in intrigue and suspense as more layers are added to the story. The protagonist’s true identity comes as a fantastic surprise and will have readers looking back for clues even as they shudder at the chain of events that brought about her appearance in the woods that fateful day. Like the witch, Vande Velde weaves a spell around her readers with this well-written tale." STARRED REVIEW

"The amnesiac girl who wandered out of the woods isn’t certain at all that she is Isabelle, a child stolen by a witch six years earlier. She isn’t certain that she isn’t either, though, and she allows herself to be taken in by the family that she assumes might be hers, while she tries to recapture any memories of her life. In the meantime, the hunt is on for the witch, who has taken a new infant. Isabelle’s eventual discoveries about her hidden past will change the course not only of her own life but that of the taken baby, the town that welcomed her back, and the evil oldest child of her presumed family, Honey, who is convinced she knows Isabelle is not who she seems (since Honey is certain she killed her younger sibling years before). This trim novel contains a dizzying but well-crafted array of plot twists and surprises, with almost no one in the novel actually being who they first appear to be and seemingly inevitable outcomes foiled repeatedly. Vande Velde constructs a general and timeless setting that accommodates this mystery elegantly, allowing readers to focus on the motivations of the intriguing characters themselves rather than their environment. In addition, the clever but relatively helpless Isabelle, struggling to regain a semblance of identity and meaning, is an unforgettable protagonist, whether as a resilient but troubled child or in her eventual true form as [Plot Details!] the misunderstood and complex witch. Thoughtful readers will appreciate the subtlety of the sophisticated story, and the effective mystery and almost poetic flow of the language make this book stellar readaloud material as well."

"Vande Velde combines her trademark spookiness with some of the motifs of fairy tales—witches, magic, stolen children—to explore themes of jealousy and villainy. A young girl of about 12, who can remember nothing of her name or her home, is rescued from the forest. She is soon taken up by a mother who calls her Isabelle and who insists that she is the daughter who disappeared years ago. The same woman’s month-old baby was taken by a witch just a day before Isabelle is found, and the connection between the events is cleverly plotted and revealed. The indeterminate, rustic setting of forests, small villages and pre-industrial technology, along with the sturdy and odd, old-fashioned names, add to the folktale quality of the narrative. Questions of identity and the nature of evil run throughout the introspective narrative as the girl struggles to understand herself and her relationship with the world—even as the selfsame narrative twists and turns its way to a satisfyingly devious conclusion. A quick read; taut and superbly suspenseful."

"The day the old witch’s cottage is burned by villagers, a child who doesn’t know her own identity appears at Avis and Browley’s door, and the couple takes her in. Convinced that she is Isabelle, a little girl that the witch had stolen six years before, Avis and Browley send word to Isabelle’s parents that their child is alive. Isabelle’s mother, Mady, is certain that the mysterious girl is her long-lost daughter. Father Frayne is hopeful, too, but bitter older sister Honey is skeptical. Surely this 12-year-old whom others claim to be Isabelle is an imposter! Twists and turns abound as Isabelle’s true identity is revealed and her life is increasingly endangered. Vande Velde, noted for her well-crafted riffs on fairy tales, has written her darkest yet, a story of greed, jealousy, and insidious evil that will haunt the reader for some time to come."