Twelve-year-old Nell Perkins knows there is magic at work that she can't yet understand. Her mother has been taken by witches and turned into a bird. Nell must journey to get her mother back, even if it takes her deep into the Wicked Places ? the frightening realm where Nightmares resides. There she must break the spell and stop the witches from turning our world into a living nightmare. AGES: 9-12 AUTHOR: Pete Begler lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two daughters. He writes for movies and television, including the Hulu drama Chance.