The Witch of the West is Dead

An atmospheric Japanese coming-of-age story about a girl who tries to understand herself and the world around her.

In an instant, the young Mai finds her world becoming too complicated. There are problems at school, her parents don't understand, and friendships are hard to form. Everything changes with a trip to her grandmother's village - a kind and mysterious woman known in the family as the Witch of the West.

Far from her usual life, among mountains and forests, Mai awaits a summer full of leisurely days, silence, the scent of flowers, and small daily miracles. Here, she will face her first witch's trial, where magic lies not in spells, but in the much harder art of listening to herself, making decisions, and taking responsibility for them.

The book also includes the stories "The Story of Blackie," "Winter Noon," and "Twigs in the Hearth."