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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Cute and kinda gruesome queer witchy fantasy. Wasn't into the stressful masking from discrimination, but I did quite like the world, magic, friendship, community, and communication. Healthy argument and disagreement albeit slow decision making by elders.
Just not for me, this story reads like very young YA in terms of plot and narrative voice, almost middle grade. The plot is thin and mostly revolves around the characters walking around and going to witch class in the woods. A lot of the prose is quite simple “We sat down around the fire. We ate stew. The witches danced and then we all went to bed,” with no real description or subtext of what the characters were thinking or seeing. I don’t mind a slower, more character driven book, but with a book like this that is kind of relying on vibes I want the vibes to be immaculate: I want the prose to be lush and descriptive and cozy and make me feel like I’m there around the campfire with the witches, which this book really failed to do. The themes are stated outright and the characters have very in-your-face discussions about gender, sexuality, morality, etc. None of this is inherently bad, and this is all stuff I expect from a YA book— but this isn’t actually marketed as YA. I’m slightly confused about why the characters in this book are 16-17 when they act much younger and one Lorel’s primary worries is going through puberty— shouldn’t she have already gone through that at her age??
However, the strength of this book is the depiction of the trans experience. Disclaimer that I am not a trans woman, but I thought this portrayal felt so authentic and real. I also liked that Lorel started the story in kind of a grey area— she knew she was different from other people her age and liked being perceived as/mistaken for a girl and wanted to be a witch (a female-only profession) but didn’t have the vocabulary or knowledge to acknowledge and put a label on her being trans. The book deals with a variety of issues like physical transition, transphobia, being out as trans in a sex-segregated environment and the wide variety of reactions people can have.
So, not for me, but I would definitely give this book to a middle/high schooler who liked fantasy and wanted to learn about gender! It’s almost a modernized version of Tamora Pierce’s Alanna books and deals with gender and sexuality in a better way (imo).
However, the strength of this book is the depiction of the trans experience. Disclaimer that I am not a trans woman, but I thought this portrayal felt so authentic and real. I also liked that Lorel started the story in kind of a grey area— she knew she was different from other people her age and liked being perceived as/mistaken for a girl and wanted to be a witch (a female-only profession) but didn’t have the vocabulary or knowledge to acknowledge and put a label on her being trans. The book deals with a variety of issues like physical transition, transphobia, being out as trans in a sex-segregated environment and the wide variety of reactions people can have.
So, not for me, but I would definitely give this book to a middle/high schooler who liked fantasy and wanted to learn about gender! It’s almost a modernized version of Tamora Pierce’s Alanna books and deals with gender and sexuality in a better way (imo).
100% will read again, I loved everything about this book. Strong characters, great writing, and very relevant themes.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Fast pace and interesting story. I am bit confused how the strongly gendered society in the book has most characters completely accepting of trans people. It seems unbelievable. Also, although it is described as communal, the society seems very hierarchical.
Anyway not sure if I will be looking for the other books in the series to answer my questions.
Anyway not sure if I will be looking for the other books in the series to answer my questions.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
medium-paced
Probably the best depiction of trans or nonbinary experience I've read. I dig Margaret Killjoy's podcasting, but I haven't vibed with much of her writing. This work is an exception. I found the story interesting, the worldbuilding strong, and writing pretty good. One minor complaint is that the author does the classic "I want to shoehorn my politics into this fictional organization but it's hard to notice. Maybe I should just make a character say it out loud so folks don't miss it" which I find incredibly jarring. But not so much that it ruined the book.
fast-paced