The Witch’s Apprentice and Other Stories
Ekta R. Garg
Atmosphere Press(2025)
ISBN: 979-8891327405
Reviewed by Jill Rey for Reader Views (07/2025)
Childhood is full of lullabies, nursery rhymes, and fairy tales, but do you ever wonder what the characters are up to in the story of their lives that didn’t make it into folklore? Author Ekta R. Garg fills in the blanks as she weaves a magical collection of short stories, full of some of the most whimsical characters in The Witch’s Apprentice and Other Stories.
Opening each story is a question. Questions such as, “What was the witch doing in the road in the first place,” when Dorothy’s house landed on her in The Wizard of Oz? This question drives the story that follows as Garg fills in the gaps and uses her brilliant imagination to create a believable and creative backstory leading to this monumental event. Beginning with “The Witch’s Apprentice,” readers glean a sense of the Wicked Witch of the East and her cousin, who was serving as her apprentice before Dorothy killed her, saving all of Munchkinland from her wrath.
Also included in this collection is the story of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” “The Sleeping Beauty,” why Jack and Jill were off fetching that pail, “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” and “The Pied Piper of Hamelin.” While all the tales are well-known cornerstones of any childhood, the questions that Garg asks, and the wild stories that she’s created to accompany them, are as engaging as the original story itself.
These classics, reimagined, ask the question “Why?” Using prompts from writing class, journalistic instincts, and editing prowess, Garg explores the motivation behind the characters in some of our most beloved classics. Using a simple prompt, The Witch’s Apprentice and Other Stories provides an ingenious glimpse into the lives of the characters of our childhood.
Garg’s writing is simply stunning. With an imagination running wild, she draws us into her creativity as we find ourselves lost in these fairy tales. Expanding the messages and lessons beyond the simple nursery rhyme, she provokes thought, explores new imagery, and intertwines worlds. Introducing characters new and old, The Witch’s Apprentice and Other Stories magnifies the lives within, providing a new spin and greater depth to the well-known.
Instantly captivating, the short stories and chapter-leading questions combine for an exceptional read. Ekta R. Garg’s talent for fiction and grasp on childhood classics unite in this extraordinary collection, The Witch’s Apprentice and Other Stories.