Fiction

The Alvin Maker series by Orson Scott Card?

Nephew called it ‘seriously good’.

From Goodreads:

From the author of Ender’s Game, an unforgettable fantasy tale about young Alvin Maker. In this alternative history of frontier America, folk magic actually works—dowsers find water and second sight warns of true dangers—and that magic has colored the entire history of the colonies. Alvin, the seventh son of a seventh son, is a Maker, the first to be born in a century. He must learn to use his gift wisely. But dark forces are arrayed against Alvin, and only a young girl with second sight can protect him.