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graciejames's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death and Blood
calamitywindpetal's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Blood, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Confinement, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Sexual content, Stalking, and Alcohol
caitlin_doggos's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
elizajaquays's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
toofondofbooks_'s review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
It's the early 1900s, and Frances Hallowell is a seventeen year old seamstress reeling from the loss of her older brother who was murdered. One night, when her boss attacks her in the empty shop, something Frances can't explain happens and her boss ends up dead. Before the police can cart her away on a murder charge, she is taken by two nurses to HaxaHaven "sanitarium," but it's not a sanitarium at all, but a school for witches. Magic ensues.
There is a lot to like about this book! I thought the writing was simplistic, but beautiful. The vibes of the writing reminded me a bit of one of my favorite authors, Sarah Waters. I wrote down a ton of quotes from this in my reading journal. The side characters, particularly Frances' friends at the school, were probably the highlight for me. I appreciated that Haxahaven is a place that includes people from all backgrounds and identities (more on that later). This book was easy to get lost in and by the end of it, I was excited to read the sequel (releasing in October 2022).
I have some qualms though, and I wish I didn't. This was going to be a 5 star, and then a 4 star, and then a 3.5. Hear me out. While this book has characters from diverse backgrounds and identities, I don't believe that you can claim that this book is incredibly diverse. If the non-white , non-straight characters took center stage at any point, you could. However, that never happens. Two of the non-white or non-straight characters get significant page time, but only in relation to the white main character. At the end of the book, we get a bonus chapter about a lesbian character in the book, and while that's great, it would've been nice to see her actually get to be queer outside of passing mentions of it and then just that one chapter.
Another thing that cost this book a star was the twist. I hated it. I felt as betrayed as anyone else in the book did. I normally wouldn't take off a star for a plot point, but I feel VERY strongly about it, and that's why I'm doing it.
Despite my qualms, I really did like this book and I am interested in the sequel.
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
faitherslibrary's review
- 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
- 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
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Racism
louisegraveyard's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Gore and Racism
leahlovesloslibros's review
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
There were so many great elements to this book: witches, boarding school, murder mystery, women's rights/feminist movement - loved them!
What I liked:
- Diverse characters, though please be aware of some content warnings surrounding certain characters, especially a prominent Native American side character
- LGBTQIAP+ representation
- lots of feminist ideals throughout the book
- the twists and turns throughout the book (although some were predictable)
- imperfect characters
What I didn't like:
- some of the characters felt underdeveloped, especially some of the side characters at Haxahaven
- Frances was kind of whiny and impulsive at times, which I think was partially due to her age and struggles with grief (seeing as this is a YA book, I can't really hold it against her, as it seems that many of her reactions were age-appropriate for a girl in her situation)
- some of the plot twists were predictable
I'm definitely looking forward to reading the sequel.
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, and Alcohol
Minor: Homophobia and Racism
Additional TW/CW: Native American boarding schoolscheezyreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Vomit