Seventeen-year-old Elyssa Gibbs can’t wait to graduate so she can finally have the normal life she’s always dreamed of. She’s tired of being dragged all over by her paranoid dad. Of being woken up in the middle of the night and forced to leave almost everything behind because some imaginary boogie man has “found them.” She’s tired of not being allowed to have friends, go to parties, or have a boyfriend like a normal teenager. And as much as she loves her on-the-spectrum twin, she’s fed up with being the only one who takes care of her because their dad can’t be bothered to pull himself from his “important” research.
It’s no surprise when she’s woken up by her panicked dad, telling her they once again have to run. But it IS a surprise to step outside and hear the word “immobilize” in her head and have her body obey. She can’t do anything but watch as her dad falls. Her body won’t move. She’s thrown over the shoulder of a man in black. She wills her body to fight but it doesn’t listen. The man suddenly yells and drops her. She looks up to see vines wrapping around his body. One crawls up from his chest and wraps around his throat. The yard explodes in fire and lightening. Other people have shown up and they’re throwing fireballs. Fireballs! And one guy seems to be calling lightening to his hand and shooting it at her would-be-kidnappers.
When the smoke clears and she can move again, she runs to her dad. He’s still not moving. An elderly woman squats down beside her and reaches for her dad. Elyssa pushes her hand away. “Who are you?” The woman smiles, “I’m your grandmother.” Just then, her dad’s eyes open. He looks at her and then at the woman. His eyes go wide. “How?” Before the woman can answer, Elyssa leans over her dad. “Is she really my grandma?” His eyes close and he seems to be struggling to get them open again. “Yes,” he whispers. “But…” his eyes fall closed and don’t open again.
Grandma takes them to Mytheholde, a secret island, where Dad can hopefully be healed. Bethany (Elyssa’s twin) moves in with Grandma and Elyssa is granted early entry to a magical college. Yep, magical because apparently she’s a witch. And not just any witch, a legacy witch from a long line of powerful witches. If only she could figure out how to get her magic to work.
She’s supposed to have this great destiny but it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. There’s just as much chance she’ll destroy the people she loves as there is she’ll save them.
©2025 Kimber Krochmal All Rights Reserved
The Witchtree Saga 
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