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A review by otherworlds
The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
DNF'ed this last year. wanted to give it another try. i regret it. a whole lot of build-up to... a really anticlimactic ending.
and, i'll be honest - nothing in this book rings true to me as a survivor of a cultlike group. not like the group in this book, but close enough to feel very put off by the way it's handled here. it's not outright offensive or anything, just... unrealistic in a lot of ways. the ending, especially.being victimized doesn't make you more enlightened or any less brainwashed than the rest of the group! the other women coming to immanuelle's aid made me roll my eyes tbh. also, there is the matter of leah's death. it was NOT handled with the gravity it deserved imo. losing a friend and long-term fellow victim like that, and then having to play nice with her rapist and murderers (absolutely including martha btw), is so, so much more intense than we see here.
i understand it's a YA novel and maybe henderson didn't want to go that dark with it. but if you bring up subjects like this, i think you need to be willing to face them head-on and not shy from the unromantic, unresolvable reality of what it means to be victimized in that way.
and, i'll be honest - nothing in this book rings true to me as a survivor of a cultlike group. not like the group in this book, but close enough to feel very put off by the way it's handled here. it's not outright offensive or anything, just... unrealistic in a lot of ways. the ending, especially.
i understand it's a YA novel and maybe henderson didn't want to go that dark with it. but if you bring up subjects like this, i think you need to be willing to face them head-on and not shy from the unromantic, unresolvable reality of what it means to be victimized in that way.