Oscar and I completed Beaver Towers and immediately he wanted to continue with Philip’s adventures, so we went straight onto The Witches Revenge. Would he find it just as exciting?
Someone is following Philip – someone who wants revenge. He must get back to Beaver Towers, where his animal friends can help him. But are they strong enough to fight the evil magic of the witch?
This book starts with a bang. We discover that Philip has been having a rough time of it since he returned home after an absence of three days, as no one believes his tale of having been whisked away by a magic kite into a land where animals talk and a wicked witch is threatening their lives. He ends up being forbidden to mention his silly stories – so when he feels sure he spots Oyen, the shape-shifting witch in the street, there is no one who he can turn to for help. The scene in the house, where he is alone and terrified, is genuinely frightening and reads really well.
The antics of Baby B, the small beaver who befriended Philip, are something of a relief from all the tension. Until Oyen follows Philip back to the magic island, that is… Hinton has an easy, unfussy writing style that covers a lot of ground in a relatively short space of time – a real advantage when writing for newly independent readers.
While the climax in the last book was a tad rushed, the scene that provides the finale to this adventure is far better paced and we both thoroughly enjoyed it. All in all, this second book is an excellent addition to the series, providing plenty of action and excitement, with lots of humour and the sense that Philip isn’t going to come to any lasting harm.
9/10
Brainfluff 