The Lancaster Witch

The Lancaster Witch by Carol H. Behrman, 1993. Thirteen-year-old Maddie Stoner is startled when her parents suddenly tell her that she has an English cousin named Clive who is going to be arriving for a two-week visit on Saturday. Maddie has never even heard of Clive before and wants to know who he is and what’s behind his sudden visit. Her parents explain that Clive is more like a second or third cousin, the son of her mother’s cousin, who moved to England years ago and married a British man. Her mother’s cousin has only occasionally kept in touch since her marriage, but her son, Clive is just a little less than a year older than Maddie and wants to visit the US. His mother has asked Maddie’s mother if she’s willing to have him at their home in New Jersey this summer, and her mother said yes. Maddie gets the feeling like there’s something more behind this mysterious cousin’s visit than her parents are admitting, but they dodge her questions on the subject. When she tells her friend,…