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A review by queer_bookwyrm
The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
4 ⭐ CW: descriptions of blood and gore, violence, death/murder, animal sacrifice, animal death, misogyny, scarification, self-harm, menstruation mention, sex, racism, domestic abuse, child abuse, child sexual abuse mention, torture, childbirth/medical trauma
The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson is book 1 in the Bethel series. This is the first book about witches in a puritanical society I've read that features a black MC. This is the witch and Salem witch trial adjacent story I've been looking for! There is way more rep for black people in this book than I've seen for this time period other than slavery.
We follow Immanuel Moore, a mixed race black girl in land called Bethel, that is puritanical to its core. Women have no rights and they and the younger girls bear the burden of sin due to the belief in witchcraft. Except in Bethel, witches are real, and Immanuel's mother consorted with them. In Bethel, the only way to purge and purify a sinner such as a witch, means burning them on a pyre.
When Immanuel accidentally sets off plagues in Bethel, she realizes she's the only one that can stop the curse and save Bethel and all the innocent girls in it. Soon Immanuel realizes the threat isn't the witches, it's the system the Church and the Prophet created to harm and exploit women and girls, and the complicity bystanders who do nothing.
This was a very gruesome read, but fascinating nonetheless. Henderson examines themes around religious and patriarchal oppression as a means to gain power and control, the hypocrisy of the Church, and the endless cycle of violence. She examines how prolonged abuse and oppression can turn someone who used to be gentle into a violent, vengeful thing. She tells us that mercy is the only way to move forward and leave the violence behind. "Blood begets blood."
There were so many passages I tabbed, because the messages are just so good. It's nice to see a fresh take on puritanical witches and society. I will be reading the next book.
The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson is book 1 in the Bethel series. This is the first book about witches in a puritanical society I've read that features a black MC. This is the witch and Salem witch trial adjacent story I've been looking for! There is way more rep for black people in this book than I've seen for this time period other than slavery.
We follow Immanuel Moore, a mixed race black girl in land called Bethel, that is puritanical to its core. Women have no rights and they and the younger girls bear the burden of sin due to the belief in witchcraft. Except in Bethel, witches are real, and Immanuel's mother consorted with them. In Bethel, the only way to purge and purify a sinner such as a witch, means burning them on a pyre.
When Immanuel accidentally sets off plagues in Bethel, she realizes she's the only one that can stop the curse and save Bethel and all the innocent girls in it. Soon Immanuel realizes the threat isn't the witches, it's the system the Church and the Prophet created to harm and exploit women and girls, and the complicity bystanders who do nothing.
This was a very gruesome read, but fascinating nonetheless. Henderson examines themes around religious and patriarchal oppression as a means to gain power and control, the hypocrisy of the Church, and the endless cycle of violence. She examines how prolonged abuse and oppression can turn someone who used to be gentle into a violent, vengeful thing. She tells us that mercy is the only way to move forward and leave the violence behind. "Blood begets blood."
There were so many passages I tabbed, because the messages are just so good. It's nice to see a fresh take on puritanical witches and society. I will be reading the next book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Misogyny, and Blood
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Sexual content