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A review by plantbasedbride
The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
In The Year of the Witching Alexis Henderson imagines an alternate puritan history where witches are real and are hiding in the dark wood. And as much as I wanted to love this book, it just fell a flat for me.
The characters were bland, including our protagonist, Immanuelle. She, and all of the other characters, were younger than I expected and as a result, the book read like YA. Now, there's nothing wrong with YA, I've read several YA horror/thriller novels lately that continued to deliver on meaningful thematic content and engross me despite the young age of the main character(s), but this one felt too simplistic and lacking in depth for my taste.
I did love Immanuelle's lesbian grandma and would have LOVED to read this story from her perspective. Alas, she had a cameo at best.
While Henderson hinted at some interesting themes tying in race, purity, sexism, and misogyny within a religious context that scapegoats (and tortures) women for the sins of men, the commentary didn't quite land. Not only is Emmanuelle saved by a white man with power, the son of the most powerful man in their community, but the ultimate scapegoats - the witches in the wood - continue to be blamed for all of the evil done by misogynistic and violent men and are portrayed as evil until the last page. I kept waiting for the reveal that the witches were actually misunderstood and vilified as the women in the community continued to be, pushed out for the crime of being strong women who challenged the totalitarian power of men, but the book didn't go there.
All in all this book tried some interesting things, and I enjoyed the atmosphere, but its message was garbled and frustrating to read.
The characters were bland, including our protagonist, Immanuelle. She, and all of the other characters, were younger than I expected and as a result, the book read like YA. Now, there's nothing wrong with YA, I've read several YA horror/thriller novels lately that continued to deliver on meaningful thematic content and engross me despite the young age of the main character(s), but this one felt too simplistic and lacking in depth for my taste.
I did love Immanuelle's lesbian grandma and would have LOVED to read this story from her perspective. Alas, she had a cameo at best.
While Henderson hinted at some interesting themes tying in race, purity, sexism, and misogyny within a religious context that scapegoats (and tortures) women for the sins of men, the commentary didn't quite land. Not only is Emmanuelle saved by a white man with power, the son of the most powerful man in their community, but the ultimate scapegoats - the witches in the wood - continue to be blamed for all of the evil done by misogynistic and violent men and are portrayed as evil until the last page. I kept waiting for the reveal that the witches were actually misunderstood and vilified as the women in the community continued to be, pushed out for the crime of being strong women who challenged the totalitarian power of men, but the book didn't go there.
All in all this book tried some interesting things, and I enjoyed the atmosphere, but its message was garbled and frustrating to read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Racism, Rape, and Violence