Fantasy novel. Good Witch (healer) fights Changelings. Told to hide her magic while growing up. Children & adults mortally ill. King's daughter. Title incl. Willow? Cover: woman running through woods, holding little girl's hand. Read early 2000s. Spoiler.

[Kierstin]

I read this book in the early 2000s when I was about 11 years old, HOWEVER, It was from my mothers collection. I can remember the cover being a woman running through the woods holding the hand of a little girl. If I remember right they are both wearing hooded cloaks. The womans is up and she is looking I think back at the girl and the girls hood is pushed back from the wind while they are running. I remember the title maybe containing "Willow" in it, and there being wispy willow tree's on the cover. The art work I remember is reminiscent of the old "Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe" artwork, so the book may originally be from around that same time period, the 1950s or 60s, based on that, but could be older or even from the 70's. Though I doubt it would be any newer than the 70s. It has that old school fairy tale "framed" artwork cover style.

The PLOT had to do with a witch, raised in a small village that was a healer. (I vaguely remember that the beginning of the book has to do with the main female characters upbringing and that she was like adopted and told to hide her magic for fear of the townsfolk finding out.... or something like that.) When she starts encountering children and adults who have become mortally ill. She determines that the children have been replaced by changelings. The king of the area's daughter also becomes ill, and the witch realizes she has also been taken by changelings. There is also a plague going on during the same time because some adults are dying (This is where my memory get's fuzzy). There may have been a curse involved. I can't clearly remember.
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SPOILERS AHEAD:
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If I remember correctly though, the witch ends up saving the kings daughter in the end, but is inevitably blamed for the children being taken by changelings and the sickness plaguing the village. I think she is specifically blamed for the death of the queen. She Is then, set to be executed and locked away in a tower but turns herself into a white bird (maybe a swan?) and flies away at the end.

Help? I think about this book every few years online and have SCOURED my mother's books and childhood home for it but can't find it anywhere.

[Rainbowheart]

Kate Crackernuts?

[Kierstin]

I unfortunately don't think this is it. I don't remember the main protagonist having a sister, and the daughter of the King isn't mentioned in the description either.

[Kris]

Kierstin, please post a new comment if you're still looking for this book - or if you found it.

Kierstin (OP) was last active on the site in April 2020. Moving to Abandoned folder.

[Kierstin]

This comment is way late, but I still haven't found the book.

[Rainbowheart]

We can keep looking!

Do any of the books mentioned on this thread look familiar?

Fantasy fiction about Healers

[Kris]

Thanks for the update, Kierstin.

Is this book for adults and/or teens?

I copied book details to the topic header. Feel free to edit it.

[Becca]

Lost Magic by Berthe Amoss?

This Reddit post has quite a detailed description of the plot (at least as they remember it) - at the end the healer / witch turns into a stork.
https://www.reddit.com/r/whatsthatboo...

[Kris]

Google Books has a limited preview of Lost Magic by Berthe Amoss - Becca's suggestion. You might get lucky searching for keywords.

- https://books.google.com/books?id=5Hk...