A review by adventurouspotato
White Is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi

dark slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I honestly don't know what was happening in this book, but the writing was really interesting, almost like poetry. I just felt like it didn't really go anywhere and the POV choices were confusing. 

There are definitely some interesting ideas, but they are underdeveloped and don't seem to combine well together. Many things are unresolved. For example,
Tijana kind of just disappears, why was she even included at the start of part 2? She just dates Ore for a bit then dips. I think it's implied that Miri was actually the one who hurt her cousin, but it's barely addressed.


And what about Jalil?
His inclusion in the scene with the Silver women seemed really random cause I thought it implied he was haunting Miri, but after reading about this book online I guess she ate him?? I literally thought it was a dream sequence! I love subtlety usually but I just didn't get enough from this text to understand what was happening, what was real, or what was important. Even now that I know it's supposed to be a sort of vampire novel, it just was too vague.


Miri's pica is certainly dreadful to read about, but I can't help but wonder why this book was focused on an eating disorder instead of a sleep disorder, since it would make more sense with
her guilt at falling asleep when her mom died. Why did her brother even say that stuff anyways?? He could just as easily have said not to eat and then I feel it would have been more relevant to the rest of the story.
Maybe I'm missing something? I have many other similar questions, but I will stop here. The writing was so good! It's a shame the story was so confusing.
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