The Binding Spell by Marisa Linton

Title: The Binding Spell

Author: Marisa Linton

Genre: Fantasy

Publisher: Scholastic Australia

Published: 1^st December 2025

Format: Paperback

Pages: 464

Price: $22.99

Synopsis:  A debut atmospheric fantasy, think dark academia meets Mexican Gothic.

Morgan hopes her nightmares are behind her. Meeting Joe Harper helps. His secrets seem as tangled as hers and their time together is magic.

But Morgan’s bad dreams return when her archaeologist father begins work at a local burial site. With every relic he unearths, a creeping horror emerges – a spell that binds them all . . .

• The debut novel from the Times/Chicken House 2023 award winner, historian and professor Marisa Linton.
• A stand-alone YA contemporary fantasy novel with folk horror elements, set in a creepy rural village. 
• Spells, legends, druids and all things supernatural. 

~*~

Morgan has been having nightmares, and they’re slowly disappearing. She’s met someone who helps, but he also has tangled secrets. Little does Morgan know what’s around the corner, because her nightmares return when her archaeologist father starts working at a local burial site. She meets Joe, a strange dark-haired boy with his own secrets and reasons for driving her family away, as well as knowing more about Morgan’s past, family and identity than she does.

Morgan, her twin brother Johnny, younger brother Wulf, and younger sister, Callie, have joined their father in Weir Hinny, town on the border of Wales. It has its secrets, buried deep in the ground, where they’re best left. But the archaeology team is excited about the finds, and the warnings are not being heeded. It’s not long before Morgan realises that she’s part of a long line of tangled secrets, as is Joe Harper. So what is going on? Why are strange things appearing around the dig? And why does everyone in Weir Hinny want to distance themselves from Morgan? There’s so many questions, all going back to events from the past, from years ago when Morgan had nightmares, and to when their mother died. This is meant to be a fresh start. But is it really?

The Binding Spell is the debut novel from Marisa Linton, a historian and professor who won the 2023 Times/Chicken House Competition. Her first book is centred on folklore, history, druids and witches. This young adult novel is all about the Pouka King, spells and the role of magical objects and the power they hold. Morgan’s story pulls her in two different directions. One is with her family and loyalty to them, to keeping the peace and taking care of one as the oldest daughter. Where she’s buried her grief and trauma from the past to care for her father, Johnny, Wulf and Callie. She’s been making sure Wulf and Callie get off to school, that they are fed, and she’s always trying to check in with her twin, to make sure he’s not getting into anything bad again. So there’s not a lot of time left for her, and nobody is looking out for her either. It’s tough, and as the story unfolds, the second direction she’s pulled in starts taking over things in the lead up to Samhain.

Morgan is also being pulled towards a world of magic, witches, druids, and keeping Pouka Hill safe from the archaeologists and the development Spencer Halliwell is keen to embark on. Joe encourages her to help him, to make her jeopardise her father’s job. Morgan is caught between doing the right thing, making sure the dead are left resting, and preventing nefarious forces from coming forth to destroy Weir Hinny and get their revenge. And keeping her father in work, not ruining his job – a job that he desperately needs. And yet, the sinister forces are coming for them. And it’s becoming clear that Morgan is all alone, that she doesn’t really know who she can trust. All she knows is that she has to protect Wulf and Callie. Especially as memories of a nightmare from five years ago start to resurface.

Magic and folklore start to seep into the real world in this book, in a town shrouded in myth and magic, and in a town where the days like Samhain are important. Where the borders are so thin, that everybody senses that something is coming. It’s a modern society but one where the past is in the consciousness of those still there. Where the myths, the folklore and the magic are still part of everyday life in some ways. And it’s a place where the old memories and scars from centuries ago are still hurting everyone. Nobody is safe. Everything is building to a climax that could destroy everyone and everything Morgan cares about. It’s creepy setting is chilling, a reminder that communities can have long memories, where they never forgive, never forget, and where we learn that progress isn’t necessarily something that everyone needs.

It also reminds us about the ethics of archaeology. On one hand, archaeological findings can teach us about history, about how people lived, and about their beliefs. Yet, should these discoveries be moved from where they belong all the time? Should we leave some things as they are, or does everything archaeologists dig up belong to those who find them? To me, it’s about finding a balance, where people can learn about the past whilst also having the sites and people found there respected. It’s about finding ways to educate without stealing from cultures. But at its heart, the story is about the role of magic and witches throughout history, and what it means when forces of magic are disturbed. It’s rendered evocatively, with just enough darkness for keen young adult readers. Because this is a dark story. There are elements that hint at dark things like murder and kidnapping and play on our most primal fears of death and losing our family.

And the tension builds from the first page, culminating on Samhain with events that alter things for everyone. This is a cleverly written book where history and mythology are combined to create an interesting story for young adult readers. I’ve been reading a lot of young adult lately, and this is one that brings so many themes I have come across together: family, loyalty, fantasy, magic, history, and so many more things that I’m sure readers who enjoy these things will find in this book. This has so much going on, but it is all pulled together so well, and kept me reading until the end.