The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson

Content warning: this review does not go into it, but this book does contain rape mentions, intense child abuse, and domestic abuse. 

Disclaimer: I won this book for free as part of a contest on Goodreads. This review is my own opinion. 

In Bethel, a patriarchal religion mandates a puritain way of life also stoking a healthy fear of witchcraft reminiscent of The Crucible. Once curses afflict the land, Immanuelle must tackle supernatural entities and her own reluctance in order to prevent the ones she loves falling victim as well. 

I do not often read YA. Really, it is the last genre I would choose to read, however I really wanted to give this book a fighting chance because I am weak for anything with a Salem witch hunt inspiration. The chance paid off. 

The pacing of this book allows breathing without boredom. There are multiple times events began to fizzle out, but I looked and 200 pages remained. The suspense built from that feeling of dread, knowing there has to be something propelling the book 200 more pages but not knowing what it was left me wanting to read more.

At the core, there was a feminist vibe similar to that of The Handmaid’s Tale. It is overt and obvious, considered and reconsidered multiple times. As Immanuelle struggles, this is a core problem she grapples with. Who is to blame for the sins of the many? Who is innocent? Does doing bad things make you a bad person? And so on with the questions. These issues are very real; it is refreshing to see her grapple even with giving up. When she is offered an out, a situation where she can say “forget these jerks, I’m gone” which she spends a moment fantasizing about. Wouldn’t we all? A person selflessly sacrificing themself without any or even very little doubts, while idealistic in genres such as superhero comics, is not realistic or relatable. Her ability to doubt is one of the aspects I enjoyed about her. 

Each chapter begins with an epigraph from a writing in universe as well, so the reader is given repeated glimpses into the past and scripture in Bethel without the author needing to spend time to remove the reader from the story and explain certain things. I think this was a good choice for this work. 

By the end, though, I did think back to what  exactly were witches. I realized there’s not very much explanation about what makes a witch a witch. It seems to be somewhat inherited, but Bethel citizens seem to think it can also be learned. Also, I was unsure of what it means to be a witch. Sigils seem to play a part and they seem to have some affiliation to the Dark Wood, but do sigils only work for them? Does the Dark Wood aid only them? Can they harness powers of some sort? I am not sure how to answer any of these questions. 

This is a fantastic debut novel that, though imperfect, brought me completely out of my comfort zone to a different genre. And I liked it. 

Rating: ★★★½