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    The Thickety: A Path Begins
    The Thickety: A Path Begins
    The Thickety: A Path Begins
    Audiobook8 hours

    The Thickety: A Path Begins

    Written by J. A. White

    Narrated by Susan Duerden

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    A spellbinding tale about a girl, the Thickety, and the power of magic. Fans of Neil Gaiman will love this thrilling world.

    A dark, forbidden forest. Vicious beasts. Deadly plants. An evil spellbook. Secrets. Mysteries. Witches, both good and bad . . . Welcome to the world of the Thickety.

    Full of action, set in an intriguing and dangerous world, The Thickety: A Path Begins is a truly stunning book.

    A Path Begins is the thrilling start of a middle grade fantasy series about a girl, a mysterious forest, and a book of untold magical powers. Kara and her brother, Taff, are shunned by their village because their mother was a witch. The villagers believe nothing is more evil than magic, except for what lurks in the nearby Thickety.

    But when Kara enters the forbidden forest, she discovers a strange book, a grimoire that might have belonged to her mother. The events she then sets in motion are both awe-inspiring and terrifying.

    And that is just the beginning of the story—there are three more adventures in the Thickety to explore after this first book in the series.

    • Publishers Weekly Best Book
    • IndieBound Indie Next List
    • Publishers Weekly Flying Start
    • Amazon's Big Spring Books
    • Washington Post Summer Book Club

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherKatherine Tegen Books
    Release dateMay 6, 2014
    ISBN9780062324900
    Author

    J. A. White

    J. A. White is the author of the Thickety series, the Shadow School series, Nightbooks, and Gravebooks. He lives in New Jersey with his wife, three sons, and the ghost of their hamster, Ophelia. When he’s not making up stories, he teaches a bunch of kids how to make up stories. He wishes dragons were real because it would be a much cooler way to get to work. You can visit him online at jawhitebooks.com.

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    Reviews for The Thickety

    3.5/5

    99 ratings16 reviews

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    • 2/5
      It seems like a great story, but the narrator's voice is so irritating!I can't get into the story because I find myself thinking about anything and everything else to distract myself from that dreadful monotone singsongy voice (something that, until now, I didn't think was possible). It almost sounds like a newscaster, but she follows the same beat over and over and over and OVER again until I have to shut it off. I might have to stick to the ebook format.
    • 4/5
      I am torn between 3 and 4 stars. The book was very good. I think I would have enjoyed the authors words a bit more with a different reader. The reader was fine but after a while the droning way she spoke every sentence that was not dialogue got to me. It was far darker than I originally thought it would be. I knew there would be some because of the subject matter. But for a children’s book, I found some of it to be a bit depressing. Those who struggle with depression should take caution. Other than that it was well written. The story kept me interested the entire time. Overall it was a great read.
    • 5/5
      Yes it dark. But the whole series was perfect for those of us who were just born with melancholic dark souls. I've always been a melancholic dark child if you know a few of those kids or you take the time to look at those kids (because not everybody is happy go lucky sunshine and NO IT DOESN'T MAKE THEM SAD, just different) I think those type of kids will love this book or the ones that grow up to be adults such as myself. Anyone who says otherwise is looking too deep into it and looking at it from a standpoint as an adult. I do think some children may find it rather dark and scary if you know your child you should be fine on deciding or if your adult who love dark YA tales you will enjoy.
    • 3/5
      I thought this was for children, but I don't recommend it because of violence and gore. Otherwise, there were surprising twists and some likable characters.
    • 3/5
      Potentially a good fit for Halloween season since it's about witches. This was darker than I expected, but well written. That said, I have reservations about one of the major villain characters being disabled. It felt a bit too much like the "Evil Cripple" trope for my taste. I've not read the rest of the series, and it sounds like this character makes another appearance later on, so perhaps this is subverted in later books.
    • 3/5
      Kara is a twelve year old who has become the head of her families household after her mother's hanging. You see, Kara's mother was hung for performing witchcraft and killing two people in the process. Kara's father has become debilitated by depression and can no longer take care of Kara and her little brother, Taff. The village where they reside view magic as akin to sin and the devil, and they alienate the family at best and abuse them more often than not. While I enjoyed following Kara and her families many misadventures following her mother's hanging, this in no way reads like a middle grade text. I had gotten a used arc of this after seeing it on Mercedes of Mercy's Bookish Musings booktube channel, I was taken aback by how graphic this text got since the publication information says its catered to 8-12 year olds. I'm by no means squeamish, but it opens with five year old character being forced to witness her mother's hanging and continues in that vein with a monster that uses an extra mandible to severe two fingers, tosses said fingers in the air, and uses a "fish-like" mouth to swallow them. For that reason, I'd probably enjoy this more if it was properly advertised. I will also say that Kara's voice reads as older than her 12 years, as well. Still worth a read, but not what I was anticipating.
    • 2/5
      I'm still so very conflicted about this book. The truth of the matter is that no matter what I write, it's not going to be exactly what I want to say. I had to take a few days to mull over how I felt about The Thickety: A Path Begins before even trying to compose a review. It started out with all the markings of a book I would love. A Middle Grade book with a brave, young heroine, plenty of magic, and just enough action to keep things interesting. For the first few chapters I was completely immersed. This story doesn't have the happiest beginning, but it is one that sets our heroine on her path. Only time would tell where that path took her.

      As I followed along with Kara, I soon noticed that this story has a definite dark undertone. I'm a firm believer that young readers can handle a lot more than people give them credit for. That reading about anger, violence, and death can be good for them if it's portrayed correctly. This book just felt off, in that respect. Everyone in Kara's village loathed her family. Even the people she referred to as kind would turn on her in a moment if need be. It took her story into a very dark place and, as I soon discovered, it got darker from there. I'm not sure how I feel about that. Especially because, as I'll get to soon, it just didn't seem to have a point.

      See, Kara Westfall is a witch. After her mother was convicted, and murdered, for being a witch Kara still wants to pursue this. Okay, fine. I could get behind this because the magic that she was capable of was wonderous. Nothing dark, or scary. Yet. Enter Grace. The exact opposite of young Kara in every way. Once she was on the scene, all the magic in this story took a very sharp turn. There was death, and torture. That stark line between Kara's "good" magic and Grace's "bad" magic started to blur. Keep in mind that this society hinges on the belief that magic should be shunned. After reading this story? I'm apt to agree with them. No wonder they wanted to keep it out of their lives.

      My biggest issue, over everything else, was just that this story didn't seem to have an ultimate point. The Thickety: A Path Begins starts with a Kara who just wants to be accepted. To not feel like an outcast in her own community. She never really accomplishes this. The concept of "good" and "bad" magic is never hashed out. There's no final lesson, or anything to take away from this other than the fact that poor Kara has led a life filled with pain and chances are it isn't going to get any better.

      Looking at this from an adult perspective, I was unimpressed with everything except the writing. That, I can definitely say was well done. It draws you in and, obviously, kept me reading to the end. From a young reader's perspective, I'd have to say I might give this closer to a three star rating. I see them being quicker to forgive Kara, and maybe even understand her. They might have an easier time filling in the gaps that glared at me from the story. For this reader though? It wasn't what I was hoping for.
    • 3/5
      Kara is mistreated by many in the village who killed her mother for witchcraft. Kara works hard to care for her sickly brother, Taff, and her tormented father. When she is lured into the Thickety, she is led to a magical book and begins to learn how to be a witch on her own. Much information has been kept from her by the adults in her life. There is excitement as she goes head to head with Grace, a golden girl in the town with a serious mean streak. There were some world building problems I had with the book. But Kara was a strong main character.
    • 4/5
      A dark and compelling story about a young girl, Kata, who discovers she is a witch in a superstitious village that persecuted witches. Her mother was killed by the townspeople for being s witch. As Tara learns about her mother's past and discovers her skills, she must face several foes and save her family. This story is well told, with a lot of excitement. It is probably too dark for the low end of the recommended age of 10.
    • 3/5
      Life has been lonely for twelve-year-old Kara and her younger brother sincetheir neighbors have shunned them after Kara’s mother was executed as awitch. The only thing more evil than witchcraft is the forbidden forest that surroundstheir village: the Thickety. One night a mysterious bird lures Kara intothe Thickety, where she finds a book that awakens her magical powers. But thesly village bully, Grace, learns of the book and will stop at nothing to get it, threatening all that Kara holds dear. Suspense builds to anexplosive, unexpected ending in this gripping fantasy novel about good and evil.
    • 4/5
      This is probably my favorite (non graphic) novel of 2014. The first word that comes to mind as I think of how to describe it is sinister. White does not shy away from pure, unadulterated evil in this thrilling children’s novel. It’s inventive and fast-paced. The language is evocative while remaining concise. And it was a treat to read a book in third person past tense.
    • 4/5
      The Thickety by J. A. White tells a tale of evil with one small girl whose good trying to save everyone.Kara Westfall watched as the townspeople killed her mother when she was five and barely escaped death herself by commanding a beast to leave her alone. You see, the town believes in witches and preaches that all magic is evil. After her mother allegedly killed two people, she was captured and sentenced to death by the powerful Fen'de Stone, the religious and civil leader of the island. Since this death, the town watches Kara, waiting for her to reveal the evil within her when she finally uses her magic. Left with a greatly diminished father who cannot cope and raising her new born brother, Kara never fights the taunts leveled against her whether they be verbal or via pranks. She is mistreated most by Fen'de Stone's own daughter. Kara takes it all in order to raise her brother, whom she loves dearly.When Kara finds the grimoire, she discovers a desire within herself that she cannot control--the ability to cast spells. She's always been good with animals, but she finds she can control them. Will the intoxicated lure of evil pull her from her brother and lead to her own arrest and death like her mother or can she resist and save the town from the evil that resides within another witch?If you want a "scary" book, here you go. Usually, I say that I don't like dark novels. This one is better written and more engaging. The evil is dark but how dark and how evil is the question. It still stays easily in the fantasy genre but will satisfy those who like their stories more on the "terror"-ble side. Don't think you've figured it all out because the author has a surprise for you.
    • 2/5
      I picked up this book for my nephews thinking they might enjoy this book. I do a audit prior to giving them books to make sure it is age appropriate. Luckily I do this as this book was way darker than I expected it to be. Seeing as this book was labeled a children's book. The magic was not just a little cute magic but almost like dark magic. There was even talk of death and killing. Which in the end of the book someone gets killed not to mention that in the beginning of the story Kara's mother is killed as well. Not just be a brief moment of her hanging but in detail including a evil creature. For me I did not mind the darkness but again as I was looking at this book as a prospective for my nephews I did not feel it was a good choice. I will not be giving it to them to read. Also, while all of the townsfolk were horrible, I found Kara attitude to be awful as well. She was bitter and not the type I want to see in a younger audience story. I agree with other readers that the ending was bad. To read though this book to get to the ending that we got was disappointing.
    • 4/5
      J. A. White's The Thickety: A Path Begins is an unexpected surprise for me. I generally avoid reading middle grade, as I'm usually annoyed by authors who pander to a younger audience and tend to make a book too simplistic for that very reason. I think this was why as a kid, I graduated myself fairly early on from books geared toward young readers. Even at that age, they annoyed me.I received The Thickety: A Path Begins in the mail last week, and shortly after was confined to bed with the flu and needed something that wasn't too challenging to read, so I thought The Thickety: A Path Begins would fit perfectly. From the prologue alone, I knew that I was in for something that was definitely not going to be pandering to a younger audience and would instead challenge young readers with more grownup themes that I wasn't expecting at all. (Not that I was expecting anything as I really didn't know what the book was about, but I know I didn't expect what I got out of it!)The prologue opens with a young Kara being kidnapped from her home and being accused, along with her mother, of being a witch. While Kara is able to convince the townsfolk of her innocence, it is too late for her mother. Skip ahead several years, Kara's father has fallen into a deep depression and her young brother is often sickly, so it falls to Kara to take care of her family and make sure that they are as well provided for as she can manage at such a young age. Kara and her young brother Taff are shunned by the townsfolk, as they fear that possibly Kara might follow in her mother's footsteps, as magic is the ultimate evil according the townsfolk. The epitome of this truth is the dark forest, the Thickety, that is ever encroaching on their village. Filled with creatures and evils, the town lives in constant fear of the Thickety, since being on an island only gives them so much space to share with the forest, so there is a constant battle to keep the forest from growing any further. (Clearers work day in and day out, clearing the new growth that is constantly sprouting as the forest constantly marches forward.) Everyone knows that you stay away from the Thickety, because if you are lucky enough to escape if you do enter, you are never the same again. Kara knows this, but when she is lured into the forest by a strange bird and led to a book that belonged to her mother, she begins to question everything she's ever been taught about her family, magic, and her place in the world.I think what surprised me the most in The Thickety was the fact that bad things did happen to people, and you had to learn that life went on. Kara's life seems to be one unfortunate event after another, but she's learned to persevere and take the best that she can out of life. Other issues that are handled in the story, and not necessarily in a candy-coated way either: death, depression, addiction, bullying, poverty, slavery. Honestly, I forgot I was reading something that was being marketed as middle grade; I felt that what I was reading was something a little stronger than what I imagine most middle grade books being. White certainly doesn't pander to a younger audience, and this is a good thing. Another aspect of the book that I liked is there is no clear time frame for when this story is taking place. The villagers attitude towards witches and magic is certainly reminiscent of the witch hysteria of the late 1600s/early 1700s, but the island is so isolated, I kept getting the feeling that possibly the world outside had been progressing along while the community on the island remained stagnant. (I couldn't help but think of M. Night Shyamalan's movie The Village while reading.) Of course, this could never be explained, and the time frame is left up to the reader's imagination, but either way, I liked the fact that there is nothing set in stone here about a time, that it is just happening in the course of things.For a debut novel, J. A. White certainly has a home run with this book. His descriptions are excellent, his creatures are believable, the magic use in his world is unique, and his writing is very tight and spot on with the pacing, all the way up to the final twist (or two!) in the story, one that I did not see coming at all at first. I'm hoping that White will continue writing such compelling stories for years to come!
    • 4/5
      This is a debut novel for this author geared toward middle grade readers and tweens, but I have to say that as an adult, I found this book to be very entertaining and engrossing. The story is primarily about Kara and her family after Kara's mother was killed for being a witch in a society that purports to tolerate no magic of any sort. Kara doesn't believer her mother was a witch, but the rest of the village does, and treats Kara very poorly. Even so, Kara is determined to treat everyone with kindness even the animals. Then one day, Kara is lured into the thicket by a bird-like creature that has stolen her necklace. While there, bird creature leads her to discover a grimoire (a spell book), that Kara deduces must have been her mother's. From there, we follow Kara's endeavors to remain good and kind while wrestling with the power of magic that she never asked for. A great story - good vs evil, magical creature, human emotions, mystery, and a cliff-hanger at the end. I will definitely be reading the rest of the series as it comes out. In the meantime, I highly recommend this book to anyone with middle-grade readers, tweens, or to adults who happen to love a bit of fantasy. The book will be released in May 2014. Thanks to the author and the publisher for providing this advance reader's copy.
    • 5/5
      The Thickety...A Path BeginsbyJ.A. WhiteEssentially...This is Kara's story. Her mother was a witch who was executed for being one. Kara is left with learning about her own destiny while living in a village where witches are despised.My thoughts after reading this book...Oh my...this book has all of the elements of fantasy that are so very addictive. There is the lovely mesmerizing writing. There is the opening...where Kara's mother is declared a witch. There is the aftermath...her father is out of his head much of the time...her brother Taff...the sickly baby born on the day of his mother's death...is Kara's delight and agony...he is always coughing...she alone worries about his care. There is the sad fact that she is treated poorly by the villagers in spite of the fact that she has done nothing to warrant this treatment. Even her mother's best friend has abandoned them. There is Grace...Grace with the white blonde hair and the shriveled leg and the evil bullying nature. Grace torments Kara and Taff and what she can't do her bodyguard/slave Simon will do...Simon who is just not"right in the head" after a time in the Thickety. Oh my yes...we have the Thickety. It forever tries to overtake the village. There are special "clearers" whose only task is to constantly cut down the growth that grows as quickly as it is cleared. The Thickety...mysterious, evil, dangerous...filled with darkness and an evil Master who calls to Kara. I believed that the Thickety was the worst thing that could happen to Kara until she found the Grimoire...OMG! What I loved about this book...Kara...I found her to be lovely, infinitely appealing, brave, and so wise. I spent my time with this book constantly cheering for her and biting my nails as she survived one danger after another! This book was so good! She has a way with animals...one of my most favorite parts of the book was early on when she healed a horse's...Shadowdancer's...injury. Readers will adore Kara...totally. Readers will fall in love with Taff. His sketching and his innocence and his love for Kara are so spectacular. Readers will hiss and boo Grace and Simon...the villains who are worse than Grace's father...the fen'de...the original village leader who executed Kara's mother. Grace...after possessing the Grimoire...is unfreakingbelievable...there is scene after scene of nightmarish evil things that she casts her spells to do. Kara...her love for creatures...amazing creatures...battling Grace...delightfully unbelievably scary...scene after scene after scene. And...just when you believe that everyone is safe and sound and happy and normal again....OMG! The ending? The ending...I think I held my breath throughout the last chapter and epilogue. It was that amazing! Final thoughts...I truly hate doing comparisons but if we are looking for a book/movie...that might steal our hearts away the way Harry Potter did...this might just be the one! Kara is the most magnificent example of goodness that I have encountered in a long time. I loved this book! And there will be more!The question is how long must I wait? This book, I believe is not coming out until May of 2014...sigh!