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faitherslibrary's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Grief and Gaslighting
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
bandysbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is a book about a young woman who discovers she’s a witch. She finds herself frustrated by the housekeeping and cooking spells She’s being taught and goes in search of more powerful magic and the truth about her brother’s killer. Eventually, she gets tied up with a bad crowd. It’s an okay story, but there are a fair few plot holes and the “twist” can be seen coming from two miles away. Enjoyable enough if you don’t think too hard while reading.
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Racism
amandalorianxo's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I honestly was a little bit afraid this was going to be geared towards a younger audience when I skimmed the synopsis but figured it wouldn’t hurt to give it a shot. I’m really glad I did. This story takes place in 1911 in New York and Frances is trying to deal with the sudden murder of her brother while her mother is locked in an asylum. She’s seventeen and knows there is no other alternative to her seamstress job minus a factory. The owner attempts to cause harm to Frances and this leads to her being taken to an academy… for witches. Frances slowly befriends an Indigenous girl named Lena of the Onondaga tribe and Maxine, a lesbian who has lineage tied to France. The trio discover there’s more than meets the eye when it comes to the magic they possess and it turns into a wild ride for roughly 400 plus pages. I’m happy that Smith didn’t sugarcoat or gloss over the treatment Indengenous people faced in the past as well as the lgbt community. Calling out on white privilege is also present a few times in the story. There were a few plot points that might be easy to spot and Frances at times irritated me when she didn’t take the advice of those that knew just a tad more than her but that’s kind of a guarantee when you’re seventeen right? Hoping for a book two in the future !
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Violence, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual assault, Torture, and Vomit
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