The Witch’s Boy, by Kelly Barnhill (2014) Algonquin Young Readers

Twin boys, Tam and Ned, sons of a woodsman, the only man in the village brave enough to go into the forest, and a witch, who has real magic that she guards and only uses for good, have an idea to go to the sea.  So they build a raft and push it into the river.  Only it sinks and they end-up fighting the river for their lives.  No one goes into the river, but their father wades out and manages to grab one boy, but the other, the stronger one, Tam, is swept down the river.  The one who is saved is near death and the body of the one who was swept away is found at a bend.  He is brought back to his mother.  She keeps him on a cot next to his twin and when the sun goes down, when souls finally are released by the dead, she traps his soul and sews it with magic to his twin to save his life.  She knows she shouldn’t do such a selfish thing with the magic, but she cannot stand to lose both her boys.

The use of magic always has a cost and this cost Ned his voice.  He cannot read and he cannot speak without stuttering badly.  So he tends to stay quiet and away from other people.  But the queen will visit his village and his mother will not let him stay behind.  In the village, the queen has taken sick and everyone wants Sister Witch to come save the queen, which she does, but also sets off events where a bandit can take advantage, not only of the village, but of the entire nation.  He lives in the forest with his daughter and is the bandit king, but also an agent of another king.

The forest is a magical place with nine magic stones, who have awakened because Ned, in order to keep the bandit king from stealing his mother’s magic, has bound it to himself and escaped into the forest.  And the chase is on, the bandit king wants the magic and to become a real king, Ned wants to keep it from falling into his hands and the stones want it released so they can finally move on.