The Hex Witch of Seldom    by Nancy Springer Order:  USA  Can Firebird, 2002 (1988) Hardcover, Paperback Read an Excerpt     Reviewed by Hilary Williamson We see an old woman who talks to her carved snake of a walking stick, and it talks back. There is a branded mustang, who is much more than just a horse. And there is Bobbi, who lost her dad to Nam and her mother Chantilly to delusions. All her life, Bobbi has felt a strangeness, an 'affliction of seeing things' and feared her mother's madness. She lives with her 'muleheaded' Grandpap Yandro, who gives her a horse for her sixteenth birthday. Bobbi's opposition to the gelding of her new mustang sends the two of them on a cross-country adventure, in which they evade officers of the law and search for help from members of the Twelve, human archetypes whose traits we all share. The mustang Shane is one of them. We've known him through the ages as Paladin, Zorro, Han Solo and many other black riders. When Shane's hoof is injured, he and Bobbi seek help from an old friend of his, the hex witch of Seldom, a healer with a remarkably resourceful attic. After Shane is trapped by a powerful enemy, the trickster, Bobbi and Witchie set out on a rescue that entangles police officers, gypsies, Bobbi's mother (still convinced that she is Scarlett O'Hara), her father's ghost, her grandfather and the boy next door. Bobbi meets the Twelve, reconciles with her Grandpap and her dead father, makes the right decision about Shane, and discovers something about Seldom. And Shane continues to catch the jaded 'by their hearts' and to remind them of 'pride, courage, honor' as he has always been meant to do. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Teens books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews