Reviews

The Women Could Fly by Megan Giddings

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yellow_library's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective 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

passthedetritus's review

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dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

3.5

dahud's review against another edition

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challenging reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

The premise is interesting and had some great potential, especially the theme of relinquishing expectations how others will as we would wish. Not to mention the witchcraft trope, which should speak to my heart. Sadly the book is racist. Yes, racist - just read the scene where Jo and her best friend are making fun of white/midwestern girls. Racism is not always toward the darker skin colours. The book is also misandristic. The main character makes a list how all men (yes, she says all, even strangers, passers-by etc.) hurt her this or that way. There is just one decent male character in the whole book. And lastly, with the mention of trans community just thrown in there with no follow through and using „cis women” and „cis men”, I was wondering whether the author really was so concerned about certain issues or just trying to capitalise on the current social trends.

Content Warnings

martha_is_reading's review against another edition

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There was nothing wrong with this book at all, I still like the premise. I just noticed that I had several days where I could have reached for it and didn’t so it’s obviously not the right one for me

kat7890erina's review

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4.0

The women of the modern world are afflicted by magic. Especially women of colour. They are witches. Men can't be witches (unless they are homosexual, or poor, or not-white). Women must be married by the age of 30.

Jo is a complex and relatable bi-racial woman trying to exist in this closed-minded world. Her insights into the people around her are engaging and the social commentary woven through the story is smart and direct. Giddings's magic realism grew on me like a delicious psychedelic fungus.