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A review by thebakersbooks
The Babysitters Coven by Kate M. Williams
3.0
3.5/5 stars — a promising premise turned into a disappointing Buffy crib
The first half of The Babysitters Coven was really good in a nostalgia-mixed-with-modernity kind of way. The second half deteriorated into an unapologetic copy of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in a way that felt boring at best and like a cheap knockoff at worst.
the good
- funny, clever prose that didn't undervalue the teenage characters' intelligence or their invalidate their struggles
- the characters themselves, particularly main character Esme, whose interest in quirky fashion was as fun to read as her moments with the kids she babysat were heartwarming
- the way the book doesn't flinch away from cheesiness—Esme, her best friend Janis, and new girl Cassandra are seventeen-year-olds with a professional babysitting business, but Esme in particular takes it seriously and is wonderful with kids. It was lovely to read a teen protag who wasn't written as defaulting to cynicism to prove their self-aware maturity.
- the magic, which was surprisingly unique, with spells built out of everyday items from erasers to a cucumber vape cartridge
the bad
- the Buffy parallels. Most of the pop culture references worked well, but the similarities to BTVS weren't okay because the author/characters acknowledged them in-text. We got passages like this: "It's like a Watcher, but for Sitters," I said. ... "He's the Giles to our Buffy," I explained. "Though he claims he's never seen the show." To me, copy-pasting worldbuilding from a TV show felt lazy.
- a (fairly harmless, as these things go) misuse of the concept of triggers. The text seems to liken triggers to annoyances. (The relevant passage is at the beginning of Ch. 3 in my ARC.)
- Esme's mother is mentally ill and lives in a care facility. At the end, her illness is magically lifted and then restored. Not to single out this book for a trope common across genres, but as someone with a mentally ill mother, I'd just once like to see the mom stay the way she is without it being magical or played for scares.
Aside from those standout positives and negatives, I found The Babysitter's Coven a quick and entertaining but largely unmemorable read. I'd recommend it if you were/are a serious fan of The Baby-Sitter's Club series and Buffy. Otherwise, it might not be worth your time.
The first half of The Babysitters Coven was really good in a nostalgia-mixed-with-modernity kind of way. The second half deteriorated into an unapologetic copy of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in a way that felt boring at best and like a cheap knockoff at worst.
the good
- funny, clever prose that didn't undervalue the teenage characters' intelligence or their invalidate their struggles
- the characters themselves, particularly main character Esme, whose interest in quirky fashion was as fun to read as her moments with the kids she babysat were heartwarming
- the way the book doesn't flinch away from cheesiness—Esme, her best friend Janis, and new girl Cassandra are seventeen-year-olds with a professional babysitting business, but Esme in particular takes it seriously and is wonderful with kids. It was lovely to read a teen protag who wasn't written as defaulting to cynicism to prove their self-aware maturity.
- the magic, which was surprisingly unique, with spells built out of everyday items from erasers to a cucumber vape cartridge
the bad
- the Buffy parallels. Most of the pop culture references worked well, but the similarities to BTVS weren't okay because the author/characters acknowledged them in-text. We got passages like this: "It's like a Watcher, but for Sitters," I said. ... "He's the Giles to our Buffy," I explained. "Though he claims he's never seen the show." To me, copy-pasting worldbuilding from a TV show felt lazy.
- a (fairly harmless, as these things go) misuse of the concept of triggers. The text seems to liken triggers to annoyances. (The relevant passage is at the beginning of Ch. 3 in my ARC.)
- Esme's mother is mentally ill and lives in a care facility.
Aside from those standout positives and negatives, I found The Babysitter's Coven a quick and entertaining but largely unmemorable read. I'd recommend it if you were/are a serious fan of The Baby-Sitter's Club series and Buffy. Otherwise, it might not be worth your time.