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A review by eed8
How to Hang a Witch by Adriana Mather
4.0
I read this book a year ago and still can't get over how much fun it was. Full disclosure: my expectations weren't too high for this book. Between the obvious, inevitable love triangle and the Disneyish clique of kids called the Descendants (so, what you're telling me is that every single living descendant of the original Salem witches has a sixteen-year-old child, that these sixteen-year-olds all get along wonderfully and are joined at the hip, and that every single living descendant still lives in Salem? Come now.) I genuinely did not think this was going to be anything special, save for the kickass title.
Oh, was I wrong.
Yes, the Descendants are a bit silly. Yes, the love triangle is obvious and in theory no more compelling than any other YA love triangle. But this book was so much fun - like Halloween candy in book form! Sam is a riot of a narrator and, for once, I actually understood why she felt torn between the cute boy next door and the hunky ghost in her house. Her relationship with the Descendants was refreshingly well-paced, and their strange animosity/alliance/friendship dynamic was arguably one of the most interesting facets of the book. Mather took what could have been a cringeworthy trope ("Families still hate each other for events that involved their ancestors literal centuries ago Because Reasons") and transformed it into a believable enemies-to-best-friends scenario - I was genuinely rooting for the girls to buddy up by the end of the story, and even though Sam still reads as the oddball in the group, it still feels that she *belongs.* Especially in the current political climate, it's a delight to see female characters reject the norm of antagonizing each other and instead become each others' biggest supporters. And despite the terrible Millennial spelling of his name (and I say this as a Millennial myself), Jaxon was a terrific character as both a friend and a love interest to Sam. His genuine kindness and friendly overtures to Sam were a breath of fresh air, especially considering how often characters like him turn out to be the Jerk Who The Girl Inexplicably Likes/Gets Friendzoned And Angry in YA books. It was especially nice to see this when he's up against a cute ghost with old-timey speech patterns and an oh-so-tragic backstory: for once the competing figures in the love triangle actually felt like, well, a competition, and this was a lot of fun for me as a reader.
And even though I've tagged this as a spoiler, I'm not going to say anything about the Bad Guy of the story, because oh man, that was something. Mather planted a delightful red herring within the first ten pages of the book that got me hook, line, and sinker, and boy did it pay off.
Is this my most articulate review? Not by a long shot. Is this world-class literature for the ages? Nope. But this is the most fun I've had reading a book in a long, long time - silly and suspenseful and genuinely moving at parts, and perfect for settling into the Halloween season.
Oh, was I wrong.
Yes, the Descendants are a bit silly. Yes, the love triangle is obvious and in theory no more compelling than any other YA love triangle. But this book was so much fun - like Halloween candy in book form! Sam is a riot of a narrator and, for once, I actually understood why she felt torn between the cute boy next door and the hunky ghost in her house. Her relationship with the Descendants was refreshingly well-paced, and their strange animosity/alliance/friendship dynamic was arguably one of the most interesting facets of the book. Mather took what could have been a cringeworthy trope ("Families still hate each other for events that involved their ancestors literal centuries ago Because Reasons") and transformed it into a believable enemies-to-best-friends scenario - I was genuinely rooting for the girls to buddy up by the end of the story, and even though Sam still reads as the oddball in the group, it still feels that she *belongs.* Especially in the current political climate, it's a delight to see female characters reject the norm of antagonizing each other and instead become each others' biggest supporters. And despite the terrible Millennial spelling of his name (and I say this as a Millennial myself), Jaxon was a terrific character as both a friend and a love interest to Sam. His genuine kindness and friendly overtures to Sam were a breath of fresh air, especially considering how often characters like him turn out to be the Jerk Who The Girl Inexplicably Likes/Gets Friendzoned And Angry in YA books. It was especially nice to see this when he's up against a cute ghost with old-timey speech patterns and an oh-so-tragic backstory: for once the competing figures in the love triangle actually felt like, well, a competition, and this was a lot of fun for me as a reader.
And even though I've tagged this as a spoiler, I'm not going to say anything about the Bad Guy of the story, because oh man, that was something. Mather planted a delightful red herring within the first ten pages of the book that got me hook, line, and sinker, and boy did it pay off.
Is this my most articulate review? Not by a long shot. Is this world-class literature for the ages? Nope. But this is the most fun I've had reading a book in a long, long time - silly and suspenseful and genuinely moving at parts, and perfect for settling into the Halloween season.