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guessgreenleaf's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Racism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and War
Minor: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Kidnapping, Abortion, Murder, and Pandemic/Epidemic
spineofthesaurus's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racism, Sexual assault, Excrement, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Deadnaming, Slavery, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism
third_bookworm's review
- 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
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Slavery, Outing, and Classism
lolajh's review against another edition
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Abortion, and Pregnancy
Minor: Outing
jennay's review against another edition
4.5
Would love to see this become a movie - if the producers can capture the emotions of the book accurately.
Graphic: Death and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Child abuse, Hate crime, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting
Minor: Animal death, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Religious bigotry, and Pandemic/Epidemic
lady_valhella's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Genocide, Hate crime, Misogyny, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting
Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Racism, Abortion, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
ladynavalon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, and Violence
queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
The Once and Future Witches is the second by Alix E. Harrow that has me spellbound (pun intended). Harrow is so good at atmospheric settings and giving the magic just enough realness and familiarity that it's easy to get lost in.
We follow the Sisters Eastwood: James Juniper, the youngest and most wild sister who is aroace and disabled; Agnes Amaranth, the middle sister and the strong one; and Beatrice Belladonna, the eldest and wisest sister who is a lesbian librarian. Each of these characters is fleshed out so well and feel like whole people with many layers. We get a lot of themes on duality through the sisters, and subversion of fairy tales and witch stories. Juniper is the best. She is such a sassy badass and has enough will to bring the world to its knees. Their growth together and apart had me glued to the page. We also get a trans woman side character and black secondary character, Cleo, who I loved (and so did a certain librarian).
I loved the magic in this. Harrow uses fairy tales, children's songs and stories as the words for magic, all a woman then needs is the ways and the will. The reason for storing the knowledge of magic in this way was because men wouldn't think to look in children's books or a woman's sewing kit. Ultimately, this is a feminist witch retelling of the women's suffrage movement in the summer of 1893. It's angry and wronged women taking power in any small way they can. I loved the theme of perseverance and making a way where there is none. Harrow tells us any woman can be a witch if she is wronged and has the words, the will, and the way.
The villain was creepy af and kept you guessing, but in the end you almost feel bad for him (almost). We get a lot of references to the Maiden, Mother, Crone trope which is used throughout the story. I also just loved how simple the magic was. The characters really made this story worth it. And bless Mr. August Lee!
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Racism, Self harm, Transphobia, Abortion, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, and Sexual harassment
apersonfromflorida's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Child abuse, Homophobia, Racism, and Transphobia
Minor: Abortion
haunted_jackalope's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Racism, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Torture, Abortion, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment