White Crow by Marcus Sedgwick

9/10

Winterfold, a place of crumbling cliff paths, deserted churches and ruined graveyards, forms the backdrop for Marcus Sedgwick's latest work, White Crow, a contemporary gothic thriller for young-adults. Rebecca is an unwilling visitor to Winterfold during a long, hot, claustrophobic summer and, against her better judgement, befriends local resident Ferelith. The two girls discover more about each other (and about Winterfold) than either really want to, uncovering frightening secrets that would be best left long forgotten.
 
Marcus Sedgwick has now been writing dark (and very popular) young-adult fantasy books for over a decade. The publication of Floodland (winner of the Branford Boase Book Award) in 2000, My Swordhand is Singing (winner of the Booktrust Teenage Prize) in 2006 and Revolver in 2009 have established the Kent-born author as one of the finest contemporary children’s authors working today. White Crow, which has been shortlisted for the Guardian children’s fiction prize (age 13+), will further cement this well-deserved standing.

In an intriguing approach the author has chosen to tell the story from three perspectives: those of Rebecca, Ferelith and an unnamed 18th century man of the cloth. The clever and subtle use of differing fonts and page designs clearly emphasises the viewpoint changes and through these three pairs of eyes we explore Winterfold’s past and present while learning of the bizarre and bloody experiments carried out by Dr Barrieux at Winterfold Hall.

The setting itself is wonderfully brought to life with Winterfold (according to legend) being inspired by the real-life village of Dunwich, a once thriving town now reduced to a triangle of three streets, twelve or so houses, an inn and what's left of the one remaining church. As is always that case in Marcus Sedgwick's work there is a strong eye for the visual (he has illustrated some of his own books, and also produces woodcuts and stone carvings) and in White Crow we also find that Sedgwick’s penmanship is on top form with his writing full charm and possessing great fluency. As the story progresses, so the tension mounts, with Rebecca and her father’s past and the mysterious (and ever-so slightly disturbing) Ferelith providing the unanswered questions that will keep the reader guessing and reading late into the night.
 
White Crow is an intelligent and thoughtful book whose themes of afterlife, faith and death - both human mortality and the demise of a town itself – are explored delicately. Two strong female leads drive a story that is both chilling and memorable in equal measure. Highly recommended.