The Last Witch on Skye by Carolyn J. Nicholson

During the Ban the Witches and Fairies (BW&F) Party’s witch hunts, Magaidh’s family relocated to Greenland, but Magaidh, the last witch on Skye, transformed herself into a cat and hid in Castle MacLeod for 2 years. The Last Witch on Skye by Carolyn J. Nicholson, begins with the successful mission of finding the stolen Fairy Flag and restoring it to its proper place. With the flag restored, the portal between the realms will remain open allowing the supernaturals to pass back and forth.

With the return of the supernaturals to Skye, Magaidh is able to transform back to herself, set up her potion and spell business; Spells Inc., and go on adventures with her friends Sean & Iain who are Fairy guards, her black cat, Peigi, and her bat, Una.

With the return of the supernaturals to Skye, Magaidh is able to transform back to herself, set up her potion and spell business; Spells Inc., and go on adventures with her friends Sean & Iain who are Fairy guards, her black cat, Peigi, and her bat, Una. She is also able to go visit her family in Greenland. She couldn’t wait to visit her Mother and give her a big hug, but she worried about seeing her sisters, Venom and Vicious, and her brother, Viper. She has nothing in common with her over-six-feet siblings who often tease her. Magaidh is less than five feet and un-witchlike. Magaidh is also debating between designing a potion/spell that would raise large red bumps on the noses of the BW&F Party as revenge for driving the fairies and witches from Skye, or taking the Fairy Queen’s advice of peace.

“They say that revenge is sweet, but I say that it is also a fleeting satisfaction. And, of course, those afflicted can carry out their own revenge so that it becomes a never-ending cycle. On the other hand, bringing people together can lead to much true satisfaction for all.” – The Fairy Queen

I’m sure young readers will have fun joining Magaidh and her friends on their grand adventures. Including baking snail egg muffins, packing the book of spells, the hazelwood wand, and eating on the road; with proper dishes and napkins, of course. They will enjoy reading or hearing about Sean, Iain, and Magaidh dealing with a fearsome ghost, removing a waterhorse from Skye, and reuniting a stranded dragon with his mother.

At the beginning of the book, there is a guide of Scottish Gaelic words, terms, and spellings and a wonderful map, that readers will return to often throughout the story. The book also includes wonderful illustrations by E.M. Gales. Elizabeth’s illustrations convey the personalities and feelings of all the characters, including my favourite illustration of Peigi’s face when wearing her pink Angora sweater.

Carolyn J. Nicholson was born in Bridgetown, Nova Scotia, worked in the health information management field, taught in post-secondary education, and was in ministry at The United Church of Canada. After her retirement, she began researching her ancestors; after many years she discovered her Nicholson ancestors were from the Isle of Skye in the Scottish Highlands, and she began to visit Skye with her sisters. Skye, she learned, was always full of fairies, witches, water monsters, ghosts, and other supernatural creatures. As a project for her small writers’ group, she wrote a 1,200-word story about fairies, witches, etc., and then decided to play some more with what she had written. In time, this became a larger and larger story. Carolyn decided to take a course offered by the Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia on how to write a children’s story. Then, daring to believe the story might be worth publishing, she contacted OC Publishing, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Publisher: OC Publishing (September 17, 2024)
Paperback 5″ x 8″ | 174 pages
ISBN: 9781989833476

Sue Slade

Sue Slade has a Bachelor of Child Study from Mount St. Vincent University in Halifax. After working with children and adults with special needs, she now has her midlife dream job of working with books. Sue manages an independent, locally owned bookstore, Dartmouth Book Exchange. Through her charismatic sharing centred around books and community, Sue has created an engaging cornerstone for authors, customers, and book lovers of all ages. Sue is an avid reader and her reviews cross over many genres.