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Julia Witmer
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Ophelia Brown and the Unseen Kindle Edition

by Julia Witmer (Author), Adam Boardwell (Illustrator) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 out of 5 stars 7 ratings

There’s more to the world than what you can see.

Ophelia Brown’s favorite thing to do this summer has been to go straight to Pinella Pass Baptist Church, head into the musty old basement, and hang out with the ancient quilting ladies who spend way too much of their time there. After all, Mama Maisie, the proverbial ringleader of the quilting ladies, knows everything there is to know about the most exciting thing ever: magic. To Ophelia and her friends, sacrificing the fresh summer air seems like a small price to pay for the sake of learning all about the Unseen Realm.

But not everything is fun and games in the Unseen Realm like it is in the church basement. Ophelia returns home one day to find her family gone and her house surrounded by goblins, and even though Mama Maisie says she has it under control, Ophelia can’t let her go after them alone. With sheer determination and her faithful friends by her side, Ophelia sets off on an exhilarating quest to set her family free from a world they can’t even see.

From the enchanting pages of this middle-grade fantasy comes a world of childhood games turned into living, breathing adventures. A perfect pick for fans of The Spiderwick Chronicles and Fablehaven.

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  1. Reading age
    9 - 14 years
  2. Book 1 of 1
    Ophelia Brown
  3. Print length
    216 pages
  4. Language
    English
  5. Publication date
    August 1, 2024
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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From the Publisher

ophelia brown, content header, logo
ophelia, autumn, jack, main characters, art
overseers, text, description of book, art, character art
there's more to the world than what you can see, footer

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

This story really started when I was even younger than Ophelia, running around church property with my friends and fighting off monsters that threatened our very way of life.

Whether those monsters (monsters like the goblins you'll find within these very pages) were real or not, I'll let you decide. Nevertheless, those adventures, full of magic, mystery, and mayhem, shaped who I grew up to be. By the time I grew up, I just knew I needed to write about my experiences and share them with the rest of the world.

Sitting down at my computer, I created Ophelia, Autumn, and Jack to function within this magical world that I knew all too well. Their adventure, though, is all their own.

And it's just getting started.

From the Inside Flap

Ophelia braced herself as she followed Daylily through what she had called "The Veil". It was like a soap bubble, she realized, as she made contact with it - it was thin and looked pop-able. It bent with her form until, finally, she pressed through it and into the world on the other side.

Wonder filled every inch of Ophelia Brown's small frame. Not only did it look like daytime now, but there were also...beings. All around her. None of them were quite human, but most weren't fully animals, either. Some of them were mostly human with wings like birds, or horns like a goat, antlers like a moose, or antennae like a butterfly. Others were completely otherworldly. Vaguely, each creature reminded Ophelia of something else. Stories she'd grown up hearing. But nothing quite fit into the description she'd expected.

Like that one—as she stepped up to a wooden stall, leaning forward to look at its contents, the only word Ophelia had to describe it was "centaur". The kind of thing she'd read about before. Except, she'd expected it to have the top part of a man and the bottom part of a horse. This? This was partially a woman, but the bottom half of her was more like a zebra, not a horse. Her fur had the familiar stripes of a zebra, reaching all the way up her torso like a shirt and onto the lower half of her face instead of ending at her waist like Ophelia had always pictured centaurs.

All of the creatures walking around, talking to each other, buying things from the market - each of them looked familiar but unfamiliar. Dwarves with horns, gnomes with long, pointed ears, what Ophelia could only call a unicorn...except it didn't really look beautiful and majestic. It looked more like a weird horse-rhino-hybrid. Everything was almost what she knew about, but not quite.

Ophelia didn't know what to do with this bustling magic in front of her. She watched as the creatures traded things in the large market set out before her, all the stalls manned by some creature or another. A fairy floated over to one stall, handing the large frog standing on his hind legs behind the booth a coin, and magicked the apple she'd wanted plain out of sight. Behind each of the stalls were buildings facing the opposite direction, most of which were made of wood and very triangular in shape, especially on the roofs. Vines Ophelia didn't recognize as being normal around Indiana grew up along the sides of the buildings, and the windowpanes scattered throughout the walls were hardly visible beneath them.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0D4NYZWT9
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Boardwell Books Publications (August 1, 2024)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 1, 2024
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 10.0 MB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 216 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 out of 5 stars 7 ratings

About the author

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Julia Witmer

Julia Witmer

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Julia Witmer is a Christian fantasy writer and author of the clean young adult fantasy novel “A Wilted Willow” and middle grade novel “Ophelia Brown and the Unseen.” Growing up overseas in Chiang Mai, Thailand, inspired her from a young age to write unusual stories about other worlds, cultures, and magical encounters, and has continued to influence the worlds she creates. Follow along on her writing journey to explore novels of hope-filled whimsy with a dash of darkness.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
7 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Matthew A. Boardwell
    5.0 out of 5 stars A spyglass into another realm
    Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Which one of us as a child has not imagined that there was more around us than we could see? That if we could just find the right portal, spell, or spyglass, we would find creatures and creation other-worldly? Julia Witmer has given us a spyglass into another realm.
    This is a fanciful, fun fantasy, full of adventure, imagination, and excitement. Though possibly a tad predictable for the adult reader, it is perfect for the age category it is written for, and would make an excellent family read-aloud or summer reading book for your child to read on their own. The book ends with enough closure to satisfy, but enough loose ends dangling and enticing you to ask for more. I look forward to seeing where the story takes us in the next adventure with Ophelia and friends.
    Pam Boardwell, mother of 9, music teacher, home-schooling teacher for 28 years
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  • Kyle D. Witmer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful and engaging clean fantasy read for middle grade readers and their families
    Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2024
    "You're gonna get yourselves killed," he said, and proceeded to list at least a dozen reasons why they shouldn't go after Mama Maisie, including but not limited to: potential death via water, fire, moody plants, boredom, goblins, embarrassment, and too much walking, as well as likelihood to get lost, accidentally squish a fairy's house, or get on a nymph's bad side."

    But these dangers don’t keep Ophelia Brown from setting off with her friends on a quest to rescue her family and beloved mentor, in this delightful new middle grade fantasy by author Julia Witmer. With whimsical titles like “The Grumpiest Tree in Pinella Pass” and “Escaping a Cave Dungeon 101,” each chapter will delight young readers and their families. This engaging, clean fantasy read is a perfect independent read for ages 8-12 or as a read aloud for families – but even grown up kids like me will enjoy it!
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  • Kelsie Delong
    5.0 out of 5 stars She wrote it thinking about her church family!
    Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2024
    I loved being at her book launch❣️
    She read the first chapter to us and I wanted her to keep reading🤗
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  • Joyce M. Soctt
    5.0 out of 5 stars That Ms Witmer is writing from a Christian perspective
    Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2024
    Very imaginative story with some plots and turns that keep you interested in the story. Loved it!
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  • E. G. Bella
    5.0 out of 5 stars Very fun to read
    Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2024
    This is the cutest story! If you enjoy middle-grade fantasy "feel good" stories with the same feel as the Spiderwick Chronicles, this is definitely a book for you.

    I don't read much middle-grade anymore, but almost as soon as I started reading this book, I was sucked back into the story worlds of my childhood. Maybe it was the Spiderwick-esque feel. Maybe it was the quiet countryside setting. Maybe it was the fact that little eleven-year-old Ophelia Brown reminded me very much of myself at that age. Whatever the reasons, I finished this book in one sitting.

    From the first page, the quaint and inviting writing style drew me into Ophelia's perspective. Even though I didn't know what was going to happen, and didn't necessarily care about her yet, I wanted to keep reading just because the writing style was so enjoyable to take in. The way she described her settings felt both magical and nostalgic.

    Of course, it didn't take me long to care about the characters. The characters are one of the strongest points in this story, as the cast is such a fun and diverse group. Each character feels real - with goals, feels, personalities, manners of speaking, and senses of humor all their own. Ophelia is a strong protagonist - flawed but willing to learn, and genuinely kind-hearted. I loved the glimpses of her and her family's strong relationships, and enjoyed watching as she grew closer and developed understandings with her friends.

    Her friends were strong too! Though Jack took a while to earn my affection (his mood swings, let me tell ya), I came around to him in the end. And I could relate to Autumn and her skepticism. Her hesitation was a welcome perspective in the story, as was her unwavering loyalty, and I was rooting for her throughout the story. Miss Maisie is the ultimate mama bear, and Dottie...what can be said about that lovable cow? I don't believe I've ever read a story with an "attack cow" before today.

    The other, and perhaps strongest aspect of the story to me, was the world-building. For a middle-grade novel, I felt it had a wonderful balance of bringing up questions and answering them. We never dove too deeply into the lore of the place, never biting off more than we could chew. But the aspects that were introduced were explained as much as we needed to know, and the names and workings of people and places, government systems, magical creatures, and magic systems all intrigued me, and made me wish for a much longer story to explore them all fully.

    If I have any complaint with the story at all, it's that I wish there was more of it. I'd love to see more of the world, to see Ophelia with her family more, to know more about the Council of Obsidian, and to find out what happens after the end of the book. As I don't read much middle-grade these days and am not super familiar with the genre's expectations, this is probably not a fault of the book at all. With just a couple of exceptions, I didn't feel that the story left out too many answers, or brought up story threads that weren't answered. It just was too fun to end!

    And in a similar vein, the plot is nothing crazy. Nothing too deep. But it was a classic children's fairy tale adventure, and I enjoyed it from start to finish. It was packed full of action - from goblin attacks, to castles, to a suspicious fairy inn - with frequent sweet moments woven throughout.

    The themes included having hope, being courageous, true friendship, kindness, and faith - learning to believe in things we may not see. At the very start, I felt the latter theme was portrayed a bit on the nose, but the rest of the story featured it very subtly, and I liked how it was woven in.

    All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this story! Julia has a way with touching middle-grade fantasies, and this is my favorite of hers so far. I spent the entire time reading looking forward to getting my younger siblings a copy so they could experience it too. I've used the word "fun" so many times in this review, but I think it sums it up perfectly. This is a very fun story, and if it sounds like your kind of read, I absolutely recommend picking up a copy and diving in!

    Content Warning: occasional very mild language (one usage of h*ck, d*rn, and g*sh), mild violence (references to the protagonist punching others and knocking others unconscious, as well as mention of a knife being drawn out during a fight), several arguments between friends (including several instances of name-calling: "stupid"), one mention of a small line of blood on the MC's hand, and light fantasy elements (goblins, fairies, spells, frequent mention of magic).

    I would recommend this to: anyone who enjoys feel-good middle-grade fantasy, with fun settings, unique characters, and sweet themes. Even better if you love bittersweet happy endings!

    *** I received an ARC copy of this book but was in no way required to leave a review - much less a positive one. This review solely features my own honest thoughts.*** (less)
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