Now I knew what it was like to wake from a deep sleep and still be afraid long after the nightmare is over. I stared into the darkness, not daring to move. It felt as if there wasn t enough air in the room. I struggled, gasping for breath. It was as if there was something else in the room, using up my air. The fire in his home was a family tragedy that Jamie can t forget. Fire dominates his waking thoughts and haunts his dreams. When his family sends him away to Crownhill to recover, they don t realize they are sending him to a village with its own dark history of witchcraft and ancient buried powers, unleashed by Jamie s presence. As the dark secrets of Crownhill and its witches are revealed, Jamie has to confront his worst fears in order to free himself from the horrors of the past. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Gr 5-9-When Jamie's house is destroyed by fire and he fails to rescue his baby sister, his parents send him to stay with his aunt in Crownhill to recover from the trauma. From the very first night, though, the boy has nightmares of an ugly crone and finds himself caught up in the unleashing of a buried history of witchcraft. When he helps the village clean the chalk markings that have long decorated the Cornwall hill, they discover that instead of a crown, the markings represent a woman, a crone or witch. As his aunt, cousin, and representative from the historical society attempt to piece together Crownhill's history, they discover that the village was the site of a witch burning during England's Civil War. And for some reason, Jamie's presence and his nightmares are bringing back the old terrors. In a parallel plot development, Sedgwick slowly tells what really happened the night of the fire at Jamie's house, finally revealing that Jamie's sister was rescued and that his guilt is unnecessary. The boy's final nightmare puts the ghosts from both the past and present to rest. While basically a readable suspense novel with likable characters, the overlay of the two plots is rather contrived, and Jamie's story is forced and too slowly revealed. The overall lesson-discovering what matters most in life-is much too preachy and obvious. Lois Duncan's Gallows Hill (Delacorte, 1997) is a better choice for those looking for a good witch story that links past and present.-Janet Hilbun, formerly at Sam Houston Middle School, Garland, TX Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information