About this item
A suspenseful tale of witches, family, and magic from internationally bestselling author Stefan Bachmann. When a thirteen-year-old orphan unexpectedly becomes the mistress of a seemingly abandoned castle, she is thrust into a mysterious plot involving murderous spells, false identity, and a magical battle of wills between the living and the dead. Readers of Kate Milford's Greenglass House, Victoria Schwab's City of Ghosts, and Diana Wynne Jones will be riveted. Thirteen-year-old Zita, an orphan and a housemaid, has resigned herself to a life of drudgery when a strange letter arrives, naming her the only living heir to the Brydgeborn fortune. Now the mistress of the castle, Zita soon realizes foul play led to the death of her family. And as she is guided through lessons in the art of witchcraft by the somewhat mysterious Mrs.
About the Author
Stefan Bachmann was born in Colorado and spent of most of his childhood in Switzerland, where he graduated from the Zürich University of Arts with degrees in musical composition and theory. He's lived in Tokyo, Prague, and Berlin, and now divides his time between Zürich and a small town on the Dutch border. He's the author of several books for young readers, including his debut, THE PECULIAR, which was an international bestseller, a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year, and was translated into eight languages. His latest book, CINDERS AND SPARROWS is a Bank Street Best Book of the Year and a Golden Dome Award finalist. His other books have been named a VOYA Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, a New York Times Editor's Choice, a New York Public Library's 100 titles for reading and sharing, and have been selected multiple times for the Junior Library Guild. (Note about my reviews: I use to keep track of the books I read, and to rave about books I love. Not rating a book doesn't mean I *didn't* love it, but five stars - which is pretty much the only rating I use - means I really, really did. )
