A review by lite_academic
The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson

dark hopeful inspiring fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

The Year of Witching has everything that an engrossing novel should have: a relatable protagonist, a sweet and selfless best friend, a charming love interest, a power-hungry villain, and a haunting (and haunted) deep dark forest. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the audiobook, not the least because of a wonderful narrator, Brianna Colette, who did a fantastic job. 

I also genuinely appreciated the difficult themes that the book touched on. The Year of Witching explores religious cults both from the standpoint of their isolationism and of violence, especially violence against women, that’s perpetrated behind the barred walls of their compounds. Race, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and otherness get explored in a way that is very relatable and personal. Despite addressing these difficult subjects, The Year of Witching never stoops to gratuitous portrayal of abuse—the unspeakable is more often than not a fade-to-black scene where the reader is left to imagine the atrocities committed against the powerless and disenfranchised. 

Unfortunately, the book is not perfect. First, the world feels hastily built. The backstories of characters are left unexplored. Supernatural gifts are unexplained. The mythology is far from fleshed out. Similarly, the motivations of many characters, especially historical characters, are left unexplored. The narrative itself presents ample opportunities for worldbuilding and inexplicably chooses to pass them up. Why were the witches slaughtered by the first prophet? Does the story truly require their transformation from victims of unspeakable violence to animal-like agents of terror? What happens to “extra” boys in this polygamous community where nearly every man takes more than one wife? What is the relationship between the two gods? How do they choose when to bestow power and when to take it away? So much more could have been done to flesh out this parallel universe and to answer these questions, especially because both the writing and the characters are compelling enough to easily carry 100 to 200 more pages of much-needed context. 

To me, this was a sold three-and-a-half star read: enjoyable, compulsively readable, but missing that thoroughness and depth that could take it to the next level. With that said, I am absolutely a fan of Alexis Henderson and I look forward to see where she goes next. 
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