Book excerpt: From the bestselling author of Practical Magic, comes a beautiful spellbinding tale of magic, friendship and an ancient curse. Twig lives in Sidwell, where people whisper that fairy tales are real. After all, her town is rumoured to hide a monster - and it is these rumours of a winged beast which draw in as much tourism to the town as its famous apple orchards. Two hundred years ago, a witch placed a curse on Twig’s family that was meant to last forever. But this summer, following the arrival of a new family in town, Twig may just have found her first true friend and an ally in vanquishing this ancient curse. It’s time to try and break the spell... but will everything change when the red moon rises? Be enchanted by this magical and endearing new story from highly acclaimed and widely adored Alice Hoffman, who has yet again created a beautiful novel that will bewitch its readers from the first page until the very last. Praise for Alice Hoffman: 'Alice Hoffman can write about love like no-one else' Jodi Picoult 'I love the way Alice Hoffman creates the most ordinary people and then turns their lives magical. She does it here once again, in Nightbird. The book is like re-entering in a wonderful dream that you vaguely remember.' Lois Lowry 'Hoffman knows how to tell a good story' Sunday Times