But are the people of Canara Josh's rescuers or his jailers? As he slowly heals from his injuries and the tragedy he has been running away from, Josh begins to realize that Canara is far stranger than just an isolated community passed over by time. How can hills and trees shift in place, and even buildings appear and then vanish? Why can't he escape from Canara? And does he really want to?"
The way to Sang Hollow is not the same way out. No one gets in or leaves the same way. Sang Hollow's aura is misty gray, sealed forever in fog."
After a stranger robbed him and left him on a deserted road, Josh found himself in Sang Hollow. There he began digging along with the Melungeons for the plant ginseng (called "sang") in the Appalachian area. If he wasn't thinking about escaping, he was thinking about his mother's sudden death.
Once Josh tried to escape, but the path led him back to Sang Hollow. His feet just seemed to return the the starting point. When he asked Mavis questions about Sang Hollow, she only talked in riddles. Maybe she, too, was a part of this witches' spell, this sang spell.
Would he ever be able to escape the Sang Spell? -Keep Talking That Book! by Carol Littlejohn
Lexile: 880
Melungeons
What is a Melungeon?
Melungeon Mystery Solved?
Google Images