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Book Review: How to Succeed in Witchcraft by Aislinn Brophy

 

How to Succeed in Witchcraft by Aislinn Brophy

G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readees, 2022

ISBN-13: 978-0593354520

Available: Hadcover, paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook

Buy:  Bookshop.org | Amazon.com

Shay is one of the few students of color at T.K. Anderson Prep. In a world where only licensed magic users can get top jobs, she is a striver. She has a higher level of magical strength than anyone else in her class,  and the second highest GPA. Her rival, with a slightly higher GPA and slightly lower magic level, is Ana.

 

At a meeting about the application process for a scholarship the school offers for a student to attend the University of Wilmington, which offers magic licensing, theater teacher Mr. B, who heads the scholarship committee, suggests to Shay that if she wants the scholarship she should participate in the school play, which is intentionally “diverse”. Shay is a terrible actor, but discovers she has been assigned the lead role of Valeria. Ana, also a student of color, is cast as her sister, Gabriela.

 

As the year goes by, Shay stumbles into friendship with Ana, and then into a (closeted) romance. Mr. B. continues to single Shay out for special attention and private rehearsals, violating her physical space (she does not like to be touched: based on this and other behaviors I think she is coded as autistic). She is uncomfortable, but none of the other kids seem to be bothered by Mr. B. When Shay is accidentally outed, he is cold to her, turning his attention to Ana, until Shay convinces him she isn’t a lesbian, so she can keep his attention and win the scholarship.

 

One night Shay’s dad’s car dies while he is on his way to pick her up from school, leaving her on campus alone. While she is walking the school grounds, she sees Mr. B. and student choreographer Brittany kissing. Brittany is sharing her magic with him, which makes him stronger, but leaves her open to manipulation. Shay decides she has to tell, even if it means losing the scholarship, and does so in such a public way that the administration is forced to act.

 

There’s a lot of subtext on privilege, systemic racism and classism, college admissions, the impossibility of the American dream, and the way sexual and emotional abusers take advantage and get away with it. Mr. B is a truly predatory character and Shay’s eventual confrontation with him is terrifying, At the same time, this is a really sweet rivals to lovers sapphic romance with some great world-building. It’s not truly horror, but it is a wonderful, witchy read that should be relatable to teens.

 

 

Posted on November 15, 2023 by , Reply

Book Review: The Pineys, Vol. 9: The Witch Hunter Piney by Tony DiGerolamo

The Pineys, Book 9: The Witch Hunter Piney

The Pineys: Book 9: The Witch Hunter Piney by Tony DiGerolamo

South Jersey Rebellion Productions, 2022

ISBN-13: 9798833186749

Available: Kindle, paperback

Buy:  Amazon.com 

 

The Pineys is a series, and I have to admit, I have not read the previous 8 volumes, so I am coming at this as a brand new reader. Frankly, starting where I did makes me want to go back and read the previous volumes, as well as keep up with the series in the future.

 

This story opens in 1730 New Jersey, with an amusing account of Benjamin Franklin witnessing a failed witch trial, where the women are set free, and a near-fight ensues between them and a mysterious woman hunting them. The tale then switches to present day in Abe’s Hat, NJ. Shy Lewis Galloway, a witch boy, is getting ready for a date, and the rest of the Galloway family plan to have a Trivia Night. Lewis is trying his best to avoid the family finding out about his evening plans, but ultimately fails when he gets some hollered advice from a few of his relatives.

 

The Galloways are not an ordinary family, with an ordinary hunting lodge. They hunt hellspawn, and manage well. Lewis meets his date, Nikki, who herself has a unique family, and they have a great evening. Lewis is in love and wants everything to be normal. Unfortunately, during a family get-together, loudmouth Hemingway lets some information out about valuable, old, and very rare books they have in the lodge. That piques Nikki’s interest. When she spots a first edition Malleus Malleficarum, she is sure she has found the solution to a big problem of hers. After all, she hails from a long line of witch hunters, and that book holds the key to a dangerous weapon. The local museum houses the weapon, but the place is surrounded by numerous covens. What is a witch hunter to do?

 

I found the pacing to be quick, and the action was well done. There is a scene of particular interest because of a fight scene in a tearoom. I thought the many covens would be hard to track because there are so many that DiGerolamo included, but thankfully I was wrong in that. He made them unique enough that it was easy to follow. Keep an eye out for the Coven of the Basic. They’re tricky.

 

Recommended, but don’t do what I did: read the previous volumes first.

 

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Posted on May 16, 2023 by , Reply

Into the Forest: Tales of the Baba Yaga edited by Lindy Ryan with a foreword by Christina Henry

Cover art for Into the Forest; Tales of the Baba Yaga edited by Lindy Ryan

Into the Forest: Tales of the Baba Yaga with a foreword by Christina Henry, edited by Lindy Ryan

Black Spot Books, 2022

ISBN-13 ‎978-1645481232

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook, audio CD  (  Bookshop.org |  Amazon.com )

 

This anthology collects stories inspired by the Slavic folk character Baba Yaga, a child-eating witch with iron teeth who lives deep in the woods in a house with chicken feet, rides in a mortar and pestle, and can either help or hurt visitors, especially women, for a price, and depending on her whim. All the stories are by women writers of horror.

 

Standout pieces include Stephanie M. Wytovich’s vivid poem “Dinner Plans with Baba Yaga”; Gwendolyn Kiste’s “Last Tour into the Hungering Moonlight”, a real estate pitch that draws neighborhood women into the woods; Sara Tantlinger’s “Of Moonlight and Moss”, a fairytale that isn’t; “Wormwood” by Lindz MacLeod, and “Flood Zone” by Donna Lynch, both with the witch as justice-bringer, in very different ways; “Sugar and Spice and the Old Witch’s Price” is a dread-inducing counterpart to Kiste’s earlier story; “Herald the Knight” by Mercedes M. Yardley is Baba Yaga’s love story; Jill Baguchinsky’s “All Bitterness Burned Away” is an interesting reversal of Hansel and Gretel; “A Trail of Feathers, A Trail of Blood” by Stephanie M. Wytovich is a heartbreaking story that explores the true meaning of sacrifice; “Baba Yaga Learns to Shave, Gets Her Period, and Comes Into Her Own” by Jess Hagemann reflects the teenage girl’s experience of being trained to conform;  EV Knight’s memorable and powerful “Stork Bites”, in which Roe vs Wade has been dismantled, leaving an unusual method of illegal abortion, with disturbing consequences, as the only resort for ending a pregnancy; “Where The Horizon Meets the Sky” by R.J. Joseph is a sort of “Monkey’s Paw” tale; the vivid and gruesome “Maw Maw Yaga and the Hunter” by Alexandrea Weis; and the descriptive, poetic stories “Baba Yaga in Repose” by Heather Miller and “Shadow and Branch, Ghost Fruit Among The Lullabies” by Saba Syed Razvi.

There is a lot of variety in approach and interpretation. If you have an interest in Baba Yaga, witches, folklore, or supporting women writers, this is a collection to enjoy. Recommended.

 

Reviewed by Kirsten Kowalewski

Posted on March 15, 2023 by , Reply
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