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shelleyanderson4127 's review for:
Motheater
by Linda H. Codega
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Appalachian gothic horror is having a moment. There's Alisa Alering's eerie Smothermoss, and Kay Chronister's The Bog Wife.
Motheater by Linda H. Bodega, a nonbinary queer writer,
now joins this group. Their supernatural story brings together African-American Bennie Mattox, who is fighting the coal mining company that killed her best friend, and a holler witch who's over 100 years old.
A witch who was trapped inside a mountain for most of that time. Motheater understands Kire Mountain intimately, and knows the Mountain is waking up to wreck vengeance on the company, on the miners, and on everyone who lives in Kiron, Virginia.
I didn't expect to enjoy this novel as much as I did. The race for Motheater to reawakened her own power in time to save, with Bennie's aid, the townspeople turns into a real page turner. I loved the folklore and history scattered throughout the pages, and the visceral descriptions of the Appalachian landscape. Bennie's and Motheater's growing attraction for each other, and the book's final scene, were very well done.
In short, this was a very entertaining book that will appear to lovers of Appalachia and the emerging genre.