Bran is an orphan, discovered one morning inside a bank vault when he is six years old. He's raised by the bank manager ("finders, keepers") and his bizarre family. They live in a community that bans the use of magic. A strange creature is creeping around Bran's house and weird things are happening. Whatever is going on, it all centers around Bran and his mysterious life before the bank vault.
If you check out the reviews at Amazon, you will find a mixed bag. There are those who really enjoyed the story and there are others who were annoyed by the similarities to Harry Potter. I was in the latter group, unfortunately. The comparisons were so obvious in my mind that it is hard to rate this book on its own merits - raised by strangers who aren't nice to him including piggish children in the family, doesn't know he's magic, Horcruxes (the concept is there, not the term), etc. Kids who haven't read Harrry might enjoy it more than I did. I told a young Harry Potter fan about this book. I was frank about the comparisons, but said it was a story about a young man and magic that he might like. This particular boy said he didn't want to read it if it was like Harry - the similarities would be distracting.
If you've read Bran and haven't read Harry Potter, let me know what you thought of The Farfield Curse.
[I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you click to Amazon from one of my blogs and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.]
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