The Last Apprentice #1: Revenge of the Witch by Joseph Delaney

This book is the first in The Last Apprentice series, and I gave it a rating of 5 out of 5. Young Tom Ward is the 7th son of a 7th son, so he is destined to become the apprentice to the Spook. The Spook's job is to protect the world from boggarts, ghosts, witches, and all things evil. Tom makes many mistakes as he gets started, which creates the conflict for this book.

Tom's told to not trust girls wearing pointy shoes, so he promises to help one in the future. He's told to stay away from the grave of Mother Malkin, a powerful witch of the first level who is still alive. He, of course, goes there at midnight to feed her. For readers just learning about foreshadowing, this book offers many easy examples to follow. I was not planning to give this book my highest rating, but there were some nice twists to the plot. The apparent solution to the first conflict actually creates a bigger problem for the rest of the book. As the climax approaches, Tom suspects one of his family members is possessed, but he can't figure out which one. His life, and the life of his one-week old niece, hang in the balance.