Review - The Wildstorm Curse by Eve Wersocki Morris

Review - The Wildstorm Curse by Eve Wersocki Morris

13-year-old Kallie Tamm can't wait to spend a week of her summer holidays at the Wildstorm Theatre Camp: she's determined not to let her dyslexia hold her back from achieving her dream of becoming a playwright. The finale of the whole week is a performance in the local village theatre. But as soon as she arrives, Kallie discovers that the cast will be performing a play written by a 17th Century witch, Ellsabet Graveheart, and strange, scary things start happening. Unbeknown to Kallie, a dark shadow is stirring in the woodland near Wildstorm: an ancient and dangerous creature has awoken from a centuries old slumber, and they're out for revenge, putting Kallie and all of her new friends in grave danger.

I really enjoyed The Wildstorm Curse. It is exciting and mysterious with some really important themes.

It's about the theatre and the power of stories. Now, I'm a book blogger, I know stories are powerful but still, it's great to see a book like this really get into what makes them so powerful, what it is that gives stories their magic. Some of it is positive, but not all of it, because that power, that magic, can be used for wickedness just as easily as for good, maybe more easily. People are, generally, more inclined to believe a lie than the truth after all. Stories have magic, and in The Wildstorm Curse, that magic comes to life with shocking and thrilling effect.

This book is exciting, dramatic and tense! As the curse takes over more people it feels like the odds are against Kallie and her friends. It's mysterious too, as the true identity of their foe lies hidden for much of the book. There are ancient mysteries and secrets to uncover and lots of pieces that fall into place beautifully for the finale. 

I loved the mix of the theatre and the ancient witch, two things that work so well together but in a combination I've not seen before. It was very effective and really set a wonderful scene for the storytelling.

There are some really important elements in the book too. Kallie comes into the theatre camp as an outsider, into a group of people that know each other from the year before, and feeling like she's the odd one out. I think that's a position most of us have found ourselves in, and it was easy to appreciate how hard it was for her, how much she resented it and felt resented or alienated in turn. Those feelings are again tied very cleverly into the curse, but even without that they feel real and important. Then there's the dyslexia, and that is handled so incredibly well. Kallie is dyslexic, and she is a playwright. The Wildstorm Curse makes it very clear how she can be both of these things, without ignoring the struggles she goes through, the problems she faces and how she tries to deal with it. It's honest, up-front but ultimately very optimistic and empowering. I loved it!

A magical tale about the power of stories and storytelling.

The Wildstorm Curse by Eve Wersocki Morris is out now, published by Hachette Children's Group.

I was given a review copy via Netgalley in return for an honest review.