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corvidprince's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-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? Yes
4.0
This book needs a massive trigger warning. The plotline was enjoyable, but personally, I really struggled with just how graphically domestic violence, child abuse, abandonment, etc. are described. It was very hard for me to get through, but not because the book was bad, it was just very heavy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Animal death
Moderate: Abandonment and Suicidal thoughts
shadeyc's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This was not what I expected. TRIGGER WARNINGS: physical and mental abuse/child abuse/parental abuse, abandonment, death of animal on page, gore.
I am mad at this book. I am mad at the blurb writers. Again - this was NOT what I expected.
This is incredibly well written and powerful, and made me cry multiple times.
However, WHERE THE HELL ARE THE CONTECT WARNINGS!?!?!?! THOSE NEED TO BE AT THE BEGINNING. SEE ABOVE - YOU'RE WELCOME.
I expected to have some fun with some drama and tense shit and reveals and magic and then satisfaction. But no, I got ambushed by a story about abuse and abandonment that just happens to have resurrection in it. I'M MAD. AND SAD. BUT MOSTLY MAD.
Read this book, it's really good, but read it KNOWING what you're getting into. I feel like my rating could be higher if it wasn't so upset.
The characters are devastatingly human and suck you in. It's worth it. but protect yourself first.
I am mad at this book. I am mad at the blurb writers. Again - this was NOT what I expected.
This is incredibly well written and powerful, and made me cry multiple times.
However, WHERE THE HELL ARE THE CONTECT WARNINGS!?!?!?! THOSE NEED TO BE AT THE BEGINNING. SEE ABOVE - YOU'RE WELCOME.
I expected to have some fun with some drama and tense shit and reveals and magic and then satisfaction. But no, I got ambushed by a story about abuse and abandonment that just happens to have resurrection in it. I'M MAD. AND SAD. BUT MOSTLY MAD.
Read this book, it's really good, but read it KNOWING what you're getting into. I feel like my rating could be higher if it wasn't so upset.
The characters are devastatingly human and suck you in. It's worth it. but protect yourself first.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Animal death, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
Minor: Bullying and Gun violence
booktribe's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Murder, and Abandonment
bookswhitme's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Violence
betweentheshelves's review
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
From the characters to the world building, there is a lot to like about this book. I also think teens will relate to Katrell and a lot of the struggles she goes through in the book. Lewis does a great job building the suspense, as you know that there are definitely going to be consequences to raising the dead. Overall, I really enjoyed this book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Bullying, Abandonment, and Child death
Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Murder
lanidon's review
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I feel the need to clarify that my rating has nothing to do with the quality of the book. This book had a profound negative impact on me mentally. I don't believe the synopsis accurately gives an impression of this book, which may lead some to read it and have the same reaction.
This book is incredibly dark in a very real way. The magic is a side plot in a story about very depressing real world issues that have personally affected me. Please read the content warning and know just how dark this book is before going in. Specifically, if you cannot handle depictions of verbally, physically, and financially abusive parents then do not read this book.
I think using "black girl magic" as buzzwords for this book does both the story and black girls a great disservice. That movement was started to reframe the narrative around black girls and women. The marketing team fundamentally misunderstood that and stripped all meaning from it to instead describe a black girl literally doing magic.
I regret reading this book, I truly do. That being said, I can see the value others have found in this. It is well written. The plot is interesting and unique. The friendship between the two main characters is genuinely heartwarming and wonderful, I wish it were the center of the book. All that being said, only read this if you have the emotional strength to handle a very bleak and depressing depiction of something that may hit close to home.
This book is incredibly dark in a very real way. The magic is a side plot in a story about very depressing real world issues that have personally affected me. Please read the content warning and know just how dark this book is before going in. Specifically, if you cannot handle depictions of verbally, physically, and financially abusive parents then do not read this book.
I think using "black girl magic" as buzzwords for this book does both the story and black girls a great disservice. That movement was started to reframe the narrative around black girls and women. The marketing team fundamentally misunderstood that and stripped all meaning from it to instead describe a black girl literally doing magic.
I regret reading this book, I truly do. That being said, I can see the value others have found in this. It is well written. The plot is interesting and unique. The friendship between the two main characters is genuinely heartwarming and wonderful, I wish it were the center of the book. All that being said, only read this if you have the emotional strength to handle a very bleak and depressing depiction of something that may hit close to home.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Death, and Physical abuse
Early on in the book, the MC's mother's boyfriend shoots her dog in retaliation for her "misbehaving." There are multiple graphic scenes of both the mother and the boyfriend abusing the MC in various ways. There is no tag for this, but the mother is financially abusive towards her daughter. She forces her to completely financially support the family while still in high school and takes every cent she has so she cannot escape. This is central to the plot and recurrentidreaminbooks's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Abandonment, Blood, Child death, and Violence
Minor: Drug use
porshea's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Growing up Black and a young woman is not for the faint of heart. Jessica Lewis, author of Bad Witch Burning, attests to this fact, pulling details from her own life to share Katrell, the protagonist of this novel, with the world.
Katrell is 16 going on 17 in modern day Alabama and her world is nowhere near as idyllic as the life led by Liesl von Trapp, although the love she has for those near her is just as complicated. As we begin the story, Katrell is still reeling from her mother’s decision to rely on the meager earnings she and her mother’s boyfriend, Gerald, bring in months after being laid off from a retail job. Though recent, nothing about this dynamic is new for Katrell, who has found herself consumed by concerns about making rent and enough money to cover utilities and other basic needs for most of her life. Because of her restaurant job and phantasmal connections she makes for clients, Katrell is unable to truly focus on school and plans to drop out as soon as she turns 17 in order to keep her mother from going to court. Circumstances take on a more dire dimension when Katrell stands up to Gerald and her powers amplify from simple communion with the dead to their resurrection. Seizing an entrepreneurial opportunity in bringing people back from the beyond, Katrell is soon raking in enough money to cover rent for the year in addition to the other expenses she’s been worried about. However, using her powers in such an extreme way puts a lot of wear and tear on her body—clouding much of her thinking and how well she manages school and work—something that does not go unnoticed by those who care for her.
Read more here: https://blackgirlscreate.org/2021/08/the-plot-thickens-bad-witch-burning/
Katrell is 16 going on 17 in modern day Alabama and her world is nowhere near as idyllic as the life led by Liesl von Trapp, although the love she has for those near her is just as complicated. As we begin the story, Katrell is still reeling from her mother’s decision to rely on the meager earnings she and her mother’s boyfriend, Gerald, bring in months after being laid off from a retail job. Though recent, nothing about this dynamic is new for Katrell, who has found herself consumed by concerns about making rent and enough money to cover utilities and other basic needs for most of her life. Because of her restaurant job and phantasmal connections she makes for clients, Katrell is unable to truly focus on school and plans to drop out as soon as she turns 17 in order to keep her mother from going to court. Circumstances take on a more dire dimension when Katrell stands up to Gerald and her powers amplify from simple communion with the dead to their resurrection. Seizing an entrepreneurial opportunity in bringing people back from the beyond, Katrell is soon raking in enough money to cover rent for the year in addition to the other expenses she’s been worried about. However, using her powers in such an extreme way puts a lot of wear and tear on her body—clouding much of her thinking and how well she manages school and work—something that does not go unnoticed by those who care for her.
Read more here: https://blackgirlscreate.org/2021/08/the-plot-thickens-bad-witch-burning/
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Animal cruelty, Physical abuse, and Suicidal thoughts
utopiastateofmind's review
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
TW: animal death, parental neglect
Bad Witch Burning put my heart through the emotional wringer. From Lewis exploring toxic family members to the fear and doubts of letting people in? Everything is emotionally intense and gripping. Katrell's story of how she is put into the parental role - when no child should have to be - and the desperation of poverty. We are able to see Katrell on the page in all her mistakes, loves, and doubts. To witness her emotional journey and character arc.
There are moments that break your heart from the small all the way to the large. From the internal narration in our own heads, to the fights with our best friends, to the toxic relationship with her mother. Bad Witch Burning is a book that has us fall so deeply in love with the characters, all their nuances and intricacies, and then watch the action take off. I struggle to figure out whether I love the story line - the supernatural - or the characters more. But they work so seamlessly together to create a narrative you can't put down.
TW: animal death, parental neglect
Bad Witch Burning put my heart through the emotional wringer. From Lewis exploring toxic family members to the fear and doubts of letting people in? Everything is emotionally intense and gripping. Katrell's story of how she is put into the parental role - when no child should have to be - and the desperation of poverty. We are able to see Katrell on the page in all her mistakes, loves, and doubts. To witness her emotional journey and character arc.
There are moments that break your heart from the small all the way to the large. From the internal narration in our own heads, to the fights with our best friends, to the toxic relationship with her mother. Bad Witch Burning is a book that has us fall so deeply in love with the characters, all their nuances and intricacies, and then watch the action take off. I struggle to figure out whether I love the story line - the supernatural - or the characters more. But they work so seamlessly together to create a narrative you can't put down.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Animal death, Domestic abuse, and Gun violence
allisonwonderlandreads's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
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? Yes
5.0
Well, shit. This book is unlike any other book I've read. Technically YA contemporary fantasy, this is the story of Katrell. Her power of writing letters to summon the dead gets a sudden, unexplained upgrade, seemingly leading to full-on resurrections. Katrell is the main money-earner for her and her mother and her mother's boyfriend, so she is relieved at the new potential business venture to make rent and keep the power on. Despite Katrell's best efforts to keep everything under control, both the living and the undead have other plans, and everything starts to spiral.
I see people write in reviews sometimes "this book wrecked/destroyed me," and I admit that is not a common reaction I have when reading, but in this case, exceptions must be made. I've been razed to the ground by this book. The gut-wrenching author's note and dedication at the beginning had me sitting up and paying attention even before page 1, and the story held my undivided attention for the duration-- a great feat, indeed. This book is not for the faint of heart. I was crying before the 10% mark, and that was far from the last time. I didn't track every time I cried because how ridiculous would that be... but it happened again in the final pages of the book, so at least we can agree it was intermittent right until the bitter but hopeful end. I attribute the emotional reaction not only to the content of the story but also to the author's vivid, cutting writing and matter-of-fact narration. There are no frills, just brutal honesty.
Let me give you some less emotional, more cogent points about why you should read this one: Katrell is savvy, hard-headed, and loyal. Her responsibilities weigh her down, with no horizon in sight. This is her difficult, gruesome journey towards something better. It's about accepting help and support, and realizing there is something better to look forward to, an unconditional love that is reciprocated and deserved. In a rare move for a young adult book, there is no romantic plot, the focus on friendship and (found) family and self-love.
This book is not meant to be an easy read. Trigger warnings include physical and emotional abuse, neglect, animal death, murder, and extreme poverty. If you are in a place to pick this one up, it's a powerful read, one that has thoroughly lodged itself in my mind, maybe my soul.
Thanks to Delacorte and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, out 8/24.
I see people write in reviews sometimes "this book wrecked/destroyed me," and I admit that is not a common reaction I have when reading, but in this case, exceptions must be made. I've been razed to the ground by this book. The gut-wrenching author's note and dedication at the beginning had me sitting up and paying attention even before page 1, and the story held my undivided attention for the duration-- a great feat, indeed. This book is not for the faint of heart. I was crying before the 10% mark, and that was far from the last time. I didn't track every time I cried because how ridiculous would that be... but it happened again in the final pages of the book, so at least we can agree it was intermittent right until the bitter but hopeful end. I attribute the emotional reaction not only to the content of the story but also to the author's vivid, cutting writing and matter-of-fact narration. There are no frills, just brutal honesty.
Let me give you some less emotional, more cogent points about why you should read this one: Katrell is savvy, hard-headed, and loyal. Her responsibilities weigh her down, with no horizon in sight. This is her difficult, gruesome journey towards something better. It's about accepting help and support, and realizing there is something better to look forward to, an unconditional love that is reciprocated and deserved. In a rare move for a young adult book, there is no romantic plot, the focus on friendship and (found) family and self-love.
This book is not meant to be an easy read. Trigger warnings include physical and emotional abuse, neglect, animal death, murder, and extreme poverty. If you are in a place to pick this one up, it's a powerful read, one that has thoroughly lodged itself in my mind, maybe my soul.
Thanks to Delacorte and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, out 8/24.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Bullying, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Drug abuse