jilliereading 's review for:

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

4.5

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It's not every day I find a book like this. Some moments along the way are well-worn tropes in stories where witchcraft and magic are real, but between them are sparks of originality and an author who is focused on talking about witchcraft as the political act it has been throughout history. You'll find yourself in a world where witches are aligned not just with the interests of women, but all justice causes. You watch white witches learn how limited their worldview has been regarding what types of cultural magic exists and what's worth recording. The protagonist witches are in alignment with freedom of people of the global majority and dismantling racism, as well as working women, LGBTQIA+ rights, and union organizers. Magic is used as both something mundane (take stains out of a shirt) and truly extraordinary (familiars summoned from beyond). The ending is satisfying without being a storybook happy one, and there's lots of fun prose.