Young Hag And The Witches’ Quest by Isabel Greenberg. Amulet, 2024. 9781419765117. 272pp.
At one point, I loved nothing more than an Arthurian tale of knights and magic, but these days I find myself a bit bored with most. But I could not put Greenberg’s graphic novel down.
This tale opens with Young Hag coming of age and joining the coven that includes her mother, now called Nearly Wizend One, and her grandmother, Ancient Crone. But after a night of celebration, she is told the truth; they don’t make magic like she expects because the doors to Faerie are closed. She is told why via the story of Morgan le Fay, who was supposed to keep magic alive, but who stole Excalibur. The Ancient Crone then shows Young Hag the piece of Excalibur, which they are keeping safe until they find a way to return it to the lake and lift the curse that keeps magic from le Fay and Britain.
The story of returning magic to our world is what takes up the rest of the book. Along the way, there are retellings of classic moments of involving Arthur, his father, and a few of his knights, both in the past and the story’s present. It has a few twists and turns that shouldn’t be given away or even hinted at in a review.
Worth noting: I love Greenberg’s illustrations so much that I even love the two pages at the front of the book that introduce the characters inside. And of all characters that made me smile, Britomart and Faithful Steed are my favorites.
