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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
I was excited to read Dimaline’s new book without knowing much about the premise. The concept was definitely there, but the execution resulted in a bland, surprisingly unenjoyable story. Dimaline’s writing style and tone of voice tend to have a joke-sy feminist-lite kind of appeal but this time it made me cringe. The tropes were too heavy-handed; the men were too inhumane and the women were too “feminism 101” for me.
Things I liked:
- Kudos to the cover art!!
- Decent intersectional representation
Some points of contention:
- Lucky becomes a witch within the span of hours and then we’re supposed to believe somehow she’s the most powerful witch of them all?
- I like Dimaline’s tendency to include older women in her stories - it makes for good representation. However, Lucky’s grandmother Stella was so painful to read. She was portrayed as an annoying, potty-humoured old woman with dementia. But at the end of the book when you find out (predictably) that “she was the seventh witch all along” she magically…doesn’t….have…dementia? Or did I misread that?
- Half of the book felt like it took place while travelling; in a car driving to the next destination, booking plane tickets, dream travelling….it just didn’t make for good reading.
- There were simply too many characters. The seven witches, the 3 Oracles, Watchers, Bookers, and countless other characters dead or alive. Way too many people to keep track of with half-baked backstories. One random human man at the very beginning of the book comes back at the climax of the book in Lucky’s dream sequence with Jay Christos and we’re supposed to remember or care about his significance? Brutal.
- A thousand different characters and basically no magic occurs.
The one spell they chant is a catholic prayer?!
Things I liked:
- Kudos to the cover art!!
- Decent intersectional representation
Some points of contention:
- Lucky becomes a witch within the span of hours and then we’re supposed to believe somehow she’s the most powerful witch of them all?
- I like Dimaline’s tendency to include older women in her stories - it makes for good representation. However, Lucky’s grandmother Stella was so painful to read. She was portrayed as an annoying, potty-humoured old woman with dementia. But at the end of the book when you find out (predictably) that “she was the seventh witch all along” she magically…doesn’t….have…dementia? Or did I misread that?
- Half of the book felt like it took place while travelling; in a car driving to the next destination, booking plane tickets, dream travelling….it just didn’t make for good reading.
- There were simply too many characters. The seven witches, the 3 Oracles, Watchers, Bookers, and countless other characters dead or alive. Way too many people to keep track of with half-baked backstories. One random human man at the very beginning of the book comes back at the climax of the book in Lucky’s dream sequence with Jay Christos and we’re supposed to remember or care about his significance? Brutal.
- A thousand different characters and basically no magic occurs.
The one spell they chant is a catholic prayer?!
Given how dark and depressing Cherie Dimaline's previous books have been, this was a fun surprise. A rollicking multi-generational roadtrip, fighting centuries-old foes and reclaiming feminine power.
Lucky St. James is a Métis young woman who is about to be evicted from the shabby Toronto apartment where she lives with her grandmother Stella. Unbeknownst to Lucky, she is one of seven witches who must be convened to restore women to their rightful power. However, there's one problem: the seventh witch has not yet been found, and they have only nine days left to do so.
Joining her coven in Salem – a diverse and enchanting group of women each with their own stories and histories – Lucky must embark on a journey to New Orleans with her grandmother to find the seventh witch while meeting allies and battling foes. Embracing womanhood in all its forms, this novel explores the everyday magic that women weave in our communities and relationships.
That being said, I found the actual plot to be fairly underwhelming. Lucky was clearly on a hero's journey – there was no way she could fail, so the stakes felt negligible. Given the focus on sisterhood and community, I was also disappointed when the coven ended up playing a marginal role in the final showdown. Overall, I loved the concept, but the execution fell short for me.
Lucky St. James is a Métis young woman who is about to be evicted from the shabby Toronto apartment where she lives with her grandmother Stella. Unbeknownst to Lucky, she is one of seven witches who must be convened to restore women to their rightful power. However, there's one problem: the seventh witch has not yet been found, and they have only nine days left to do so.
Joining her coven in Salem – a diverse and enchanting group of women each with their own stories and histories – Lucky must embark on a journey to New Orleans with her grandmother to find the seventh witch while meeting allies and battling foes. Embracing womanhood in all its forms, this novel explores the everyday magic that women weave in our communities and relationships.
That being said, I found the actual plot to be fairly underwhelming. Lucky was clearly on a hero's journey – there was no way she could fail, so the stakes felt negligible. Given the focus on sisterhood and community, I was also disappointed when the coven ended up playing a marginal role in the final showdown. Overall, I loved the concept, but the execution fell short for me.
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Really enjoyed this for a start to a series (more coming right!?)
I wanted more depth for the rest of the characters but I'm really happy with what I got so far!
I wanted more depth for the rest of the characters but I'm really happy with what I got so far!
This was a fun read. I think books about witches and building a family/community is my week spot.
VenCo was such a treat and I want to thank #partner @netgalley and @williammorrowbooks and @librofm for the review ebook and ALC!
Lucky St. James is down on her luck, caring for her ailing grandmother with dementia, when she finds a mysterious spoon that ties her to a coven of witches. These witches must unite and find the final spoon before time runs out, all while avoiding a timeless witch hunter.
I also received this from @dogearedbooksames as a part of their DogPack subscription. I LOVED THIS BOOK in all the formats I read it in!
It’s an ode to the power of women, and the power of banding together. It’s about embracing who you are, and relying on your ancestors/and past to identify your truths. The novel is fast paced, part wild road trip and witchy in all the best ways. There’s queer and BIPOC representation and so powerful. I cannot recommend this enough!
Lucky St. James is down on her luck, caring for her ailing grandmother with dementia, when she finds a mysterious spoon that ties her to a coven of witches. These witches must unite and find the final spoon before time runs out, all while avoiding a timeless witch hunter.
I also received this from @dogearedbooksames as a part of their DogPack subscription. I LOVED THIS BOOK in all the formats I read it in!
It’s an ode to the power of women, and the power of banding together. It’s about embracing who you are, and relying on your ancestors/and past to identify your truths. The novel is fast paced, part wild road trip and witchy in all the best ways. There’s queer and BIPOC representation and so powerful. I cannot recommend this enough!
At the start, the author's writing style bothered me. Strange similes showed up, seeming awkward, at best. For this reader, at least, they simply made no sense:
●"...[S]he pushed out onto the wide, wet street, moving like a pinecone down a rain-swollen ravine."
●"...[T]he harsh consonants became like toffee when rolled against his back teeth."
●"...[T]he streetlamps threw small puddles of light she glided through like a seasoned swimmer. Cars passed like strange fish." (Pushing it, dontcha think?)
● "Water slid slowly down the glass, like liquid-filled spiders spinning languid webs in the semi-darkness."
●"...[S]he knew that something was on the way. She could smell it. It was like what glass would smell like if it had a scent, cold and hard."
●"...[B]efore the nurse pulled the pea-green sheet back up over the dead woman, Lucky heard what glass would sound like if it had a voice. It was pouring out of her mother’s nose, rolling across her mother’s lips—it was thick, deafening silence." (What does this author have against glass, anyway?)
So. Dimaline has landed upon seven souvenir spoons (!) as the unlikely MacGuffin driving the entire plot. A seventh and last spoon must be found, within days and then mere hours, in order for a coven to be established with seven super witches to change the world and the system of patriarchy that's robbed women of their agency for millennia. Spoons. Really.
Yet, in the midst of these apparent bagatelles, Dimaline posits a strong message:
"'The men who took power, they took away access to healing and control over one’s own circumstances—they denounced anyone capable of magic or medicine. Because, if the people believed in magic, something that cannot—by its very nature—be commoditized, they couldn’t get people to buy in to their system. “They started shutting down the communal lands, the places where people worked and harvested together and made sure everyone ate. Once those lands were all private, people became vulnerable, especially women. Especially people who didn’t have husbands—widows, queer
women, nonbinary folks . . . They were ostracized, and many were reduced to begging for the charity of others, which is probably where the image of the old hag began.' ”
"During the Reformation, when the Catholic Church was challenged by new powers, witchcraft hysteria grew. They needed to prove themselves. Ironically, it was the very same Church that could provide the remedy, keep you safe, and have your back against the ultimate evil. It was the perfect PR stunt. It was the beginning of something truly horrible.' ”
Dimaline then offers this, spoken by the lead witch of the new coven: " 'I think we can help stop the end.” “The end of what?” Lucky asked. Meena picked up the front section of the paper and unfolded it between them. The headlines screamed about bombings, war in Eastern Europe, civil unrest, racially motivated attacks. “This. This is the end. The men in charge are running us off the cliff like lemmings. They are running us as fast as they can to the end."
The problem here is that the author is tempting us with a promise of an imaginary better world when nobody but forced birthers and white supremacists can even perceive it. It's an impossibly high barrier for any next books, if this is to be a series.
BUt I love what she has to say in her afterward: "Throughout history, witches have been the stand-ins for all people who have felt “outside” or “different.” I say, fuck it—go outside, be different, be so different they have to loosen their grip on the world because you are proof there is so much beyond them. Live fully, feel it all without apology, be weird and powerful and amazing. Because ultimately, that is who this book was written for—the wild witches that no man (and no system) could
ever begin to contain. In closing, I would like to remind you that Throughout history, witches have been the stand-ins for all people who have felt “outside” or “different.” I say, fuck it—go outside, be different, be so different they have to loosen their grip on the world because you are proof there is so much beyond them. Live fully, feel it all without apology, be weird and powerful and amazing. Because ultimately, that is who this book was written for—the wild witches that no man (and no system) could ever begin to contain. In closing, I would like to remind you that it’s always a good day to hex the patriarchy."
And THAT is something to believe in, every single day: "IT'S ALWAYS A GOOD DAY TO HEX THE PATRIARCHY."
●"...[S]he pushed out onto the wide, wet street, moving like a pinecone down a rain-swollen ravine."
●"...[T]he harsh consonants became like toffee when rolled against his back teeth."
●"...[T]he streetlamps threw small puddles of light she glided through like a seasoned swimmer. Cars passed like strange fish." (Pushing it, dontcha think?)
● "Water slid slowly down the glass, like liquid-filled spiders spinning languid webs in the semi-darkness."
●"...[S]he knew that something was on the way. She could smell it. It was like what glass would smell like if it had a scent, cold and hard."
●"...[B]efore the nurse pulled the pea-green sheet back up over the dead woman, Lucky heard what glass would sound like if it had a voice. It was pouring out of her mother’s nose, rolling across her mother’s lips—it was thick, deafening silence." (What does this author have against glass, anyway?)
So. Dimaline has landed upon seven souvenir spoons (!) as the unlikely MacGuffin driving the entire plot. A seventh and last spoon must be found, within days and then mere hours, in order for a coven to be established with seven super witches to change the world and the system of patriarchy that's robbed women of their agency for millennia. Spoons. Really.
Yet, in the midst of these apparent bagatelles, Dimaline posits a strong message:
"'The men who took power, they took away access to healing and control over one’s own circumstances—they denounced anyone capable of magic or medicine. Because, if the people believed in magic, something that cannot—by its very nature—be commoditized, they couldn’t get people to buy in to their system. “They started shutting down the communal lands, the places where people worked and harvested together and made sure everyone ate. Once those lands were all private, people became vulnerable, especially women. Especially people who didn’t have husbands—widows, queer
women, nonbinary folks . . . They were ostracized, and many were reduced to begging for the charity of others, which is probably where the image of the old hag began.' ”
"During the Reformation, when the Catholic Church was challenged by new powers, witchcraft hysteria grew. They needed to prove themselves. Ironically, it was the very same Church that could provide the remedy, keep you safe, and have your back against the ultimate evil. It was the perfect PR stunt. It was the beginning of something truly horrible.' ”
Dimaline then offers this, spoken by the lead witch of the new coven: " 'I think we can help stop the end.” “The end of what?” Lucky asked. Meena picked up the front section of the paper and unfolded it between them. The headlines screamed about bombings, war in Eastern Europe, civil unrest, racially motivated attacks. “This. This is the end. The men in charge are running us off the cliff like lemmings. They are running us as fast as they can to the end."
The problem here is that the author is tempting us with a promise of an imaginary better world when nobody but forced birthers and white supremacists can even perceive it. It's an impossibly high barrier for any next books, if this is to be a series.
BUt I love what she has to say in her afterward: "Throughout history, witches have been the stand-ins for all people who have felt “outside” or “different.” I say, fuck it—go outside, be different, be so different they have to loosen their grip on the world because you are proof there is so much beyond them. Live fully, feel it all without apology, be weird and powerful and amazing. Because ultimately, that is who this book was written for—the wild witches that no man (and no system) could
ever begin to contain. In closing, I would like to remind you that Throughout history, witches have been the stand-ins for all people who have felt “outside” or “different.” I say, fuck it—go outside, be different, be so different they have to loosen their grip on the world because you are proof there is so much beyond them. Live fully, feel it all without apology, be weird and powerful and amazing. Because ultimately, that is who this book was written for—the wild witches that no man (and no system) could ever begin to contain. In closing, I would like to remind you that it’s always a good day to hex the patriarchy."
And THAT is something to believe in, every single day: "IT'S ALWAYS A GOOD DAY TO HEX THE PATRIARCHY."
Such a beautiful book about magic, self discovery, family and female friendships. Great Practical Magic vibes and perfect fall read.
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated