Escape from Witchwood Hollow

I received a copy of Escape From Witchwood Hollow from its author, Jordan Elizabeth, after being contacted via Goodreads by Jessica, a member of her street team. The book is a Young Adult supernatural tale, so not one of my usual genres, but I could see it already had other good reviews so I took a chance.

Escape From Witchwood Hollow is set in three time periods. We begin in Autumn 2001 meeting Honoria on her first day at a new school. After the deaths of her parents Honoria has moved with her Aunt, Uncle and brother from New York City to a small rural community. She tries to cope with such massive life changes, but finds making new friends difficult, especially when she finds herself practically dared to enter the local haunted wood, Witchwood Hollow, in the middle of the night.

Jumping back in time, we meet up with Lady Clifford, a noble English immigrant to America in 1670 and a fugitive after she is accused of murder; and Albertine who is also English, although of much lower social class, and another immigrant some 180 years later when she follows her father across the Atlantic to make herself a new home.

I enjoyed reading the three stories and loved the way in which they begin to intertwine. The storyline is much deeper and more intricately plotted than I expected from a YA novel and I found myself gripped by the twists and turns. Elizabeth describes her settings well and the story is brilliantly paced. Its air of menace grows steadily, yet the writing never becomes overly melodramatic. Perhaps some of the dialogue isn't completely true to its period, however, our three heroines are distinct characters making difficult but believable decisions, and the supernatural angle made this a perfect ghostly read for Christmas Eve.