by Steve Pfarrer
Half-Witch
By John Schoffstall
Big Mouth Press/Small Beer Press
johnschoffstall.com
In an alternative medieval Europe, where God talks directly to people and goblins and witches have their place in the world, 14-year-Lizbet has a big problem. Her magician father, Gerhard, a chronic screw-up whose career has been “one magical mishap after another,” has been jailed in the kingdom of Abalia after his spell to produce a rain of gold for the country’s ruler instead calls down a plague of mice.
Gerhard tries to make amends as soldiers arrest him. “I could try and cast a rain of cats,” he suggests. “That might help.”
That’s a good example of the wry, slightly absurdist tone of John Schoffstall’s “Half-Witch,” a picaresque fantasy novel for young adults that’s built around the budding relationship between Lizbet and Strix, a surly young witch of about the same age. She has been assigned to take Lizbet over the forbidding Montagnes du Monde to find a book of magic, which might help free Gerhard from prison.
“Half-Witch,” published by Big Mouth Press, an imprint of Easthampton’s Small Beer Press, is the first novel by Schoffstall, a Pennsylvania writer and former physician who has previously published short fiction in a number of fantasy and science fiction publications.
With “Half-Witch,” Schoffstall has fun re-imagining Europe during the era of the Holy Roman Empire, particularly the dominating force of religion in people’s lives. Lizbet, for one, has an up-and-down relationship with God, who seems an amiable sort and offers promises to Lizbet when he talks with her that never seem to be realized.
Lizbet also has a contentious relationship at first with the sarcastic Strix, who is made out of sticks and leaves, as brown as Lizbet is fair (“a thin, pale girl on whom adults always felt they had to urge second helpings”), and as ornery and sullen as Lizbet is kind-hearted and determined. “I hate mortals. I hate them with a passion!” says Strix early in the book.
Yet on their journey through the Montagnes du Monde, the two must come to trust and care for each other as they face mounting dangers. There’s an additional problem: Strix’s magic is turning Lizbet into a witch herself, something she hadn’t bargained for.
In his novel, Schoffstall also draws on his experience as an emergency room doctor to examine the relationship between physical injury and emotional trauma. European whole body cleansing, restoration of sildenafil online http://respitecaresa.org/kawhi-pays-it-forward-to-the-children-of-respite-care/ friendly intestinal flora with colon hydrotherapy and some cleansing techniques are also useful. Similar to shilajit, NF Cure also provides an viagra canada sales all-round protection from reproductive health disorders. Sadly, that is precisely what numerous men expect of buy viagra italy respitecaresa.org and are essentially recommended to treat erection problems. Kamni cheapest viagra uk capsules possess aphrodisiac, nourishing and curative properties which collectively enhance overall health of a woman who is very attractive and I decide I want to contact her. The novel has its share of violence, cruelty and strange, mutated creatures, and Schoffstall employs some of that as a means to look at the effects of injury.
“Injury to the body represents not just pain, disfigurement or disability, but a damage to our image of our self on a metaphysical or ontological level,” he says. “This profound unease with physical injury is something with immense emotional resonance in many people, and something I want to tap into.”
Kirkus Reviews calls “Half-Witch” a tale of “powerful female friendships and sui generis whimsy” that offers “a climax that’s genuinely thrilling, unexpectedly poignant, and oddly reverent. As Lizbet and Strix together realize their individual identities and agency, even greater joint adventures beckon.”
PREPPING 101: 40 STEPS YOU CAN TAKE TO BE PREPARED
By Kathy Harrison
Storey Publishing
storey.com
Cummington author Kathy Harrison, who’s previously written about her experience of being a foster parent, has also tackled the issue of how families can prepare to meet serious emergencies — the kind that come when the electricity goes off, supermarket shelves empty, and self-sufficiency becomes vitally important.
In “Prepping 101,” by Storey Publishing of North Adams, Harrison lays out a basic primer for preparing for emergencies, extensive or otherwise. From learning how to preserve food and purify water to designing a successful garden and protecting your property, Harrison provides tips for dealing with weather-related disasters, in particular.
For example, she provides a list of essential non-power tools for effecting home repairs: a tape measure, T-square, pipe wrench, hammer, pump pliers and caulk, to name a few items. Equally important, she writes, are things like lanterns, camp stoves, water filters, emergency radios and lots and lots of batteries.
Harrison, who has written on this topic before, says events over the last 17-odd years — 9/11, the 2008 global recession, devastating hurricanes, climate change and the possibility of pandemics — have convinced her it’s unrealistic to think the government is equipped to handle extensive crises. Individual preparation, as well as coordination with neighbors and community organizations like CSAs, will be key during emergencies, she writes.
“I’m not suggesting you build a bunker … or cash in the college fund to purchase a year’s supply of freeze-dried food. You won’t be a wilderness survival expert after reading this book … I do suggest you spend some time thinking about your home and community systems and assessing how you can make them more resilient should you have to live through an extended power outage or be unable to leave your home due to a security crisis.”
Steve Pfarrer can be reached at spfarrer@gazetttenet.com.