When I saw another offering by Amy Rose Capetta I was excited to see what the follow up to her novel The Brilliant Death was.  After all, the preceding novel was great, and I couldn’t wait to see the creativity that she is so capable of.  But admittedly, this book fell short of her previous offering and I was a little disappointed.

The premise of this book is that Danny, a high-school teenager, is having a difficult time finding her place in this world.  She seems to be drawn to wander but doesn’t really know why and its completely freaking both her and her parents out.  When she travels to a new town, she can’t really put her finger on why she felt pulled there.  However, upon meeting a group of self-described queer witches, she learns that she too has magical abilities and her unique skill set is needed to find a missing member of this group.

I love the finding yourself aspect of the book.  It will resonate with the intended audience as many young adult fiction readers are still looking to define their place in this world.  The novel did a good job of highlighting a journey of self-discovery and of pointing out that you don’t have to conform to the conventional norm to find that place.  Each of the characters is unique in their own way while still being part of a circle of friends and I found that a very appropriate way to cast these characters.

If you are looking for a very female empowering book, this likely would also fit the bill.  The entire cast of characters are female.  In fact, the only two males mentioned by name are only in the first few chapters of the book, leaving an all-female cast to continue the remainder of the plot.  These girls (as all are high school aged) are strong and confident, but they also show aspects of compassion and dependence on one another that are great themes to have in such a novel.

Overall, it’s an okay read for those into female-driven novels and magical abilities, but if you are expecting the spectacular character development and scene setting in previous novels, you won’t find it here.

Review of an Advance Reading Copy

This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Candlewick Press

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  5 mild obscenities; 1 religious profanity; 5 derogatory names (term “queer” used throughout book, but not considered derogatory in context of book and nature of use); 6 scatological words; 3 anatomical terms; a 13 f-word derivatives.

Violence/Gore:  Stabbed through chest with tree branch (death results); recall of fall resulting in broken leg; various cuts/scrapes; ghost possesses girl (creepy); near drowning when magical ability not controlled; drowning when magical ability not controlled (murder); attempted burying alive by magic; buried alive by magic resulting in death.

Sex/Nudity:  There is a strong sexual undertone to the entire text and therefore not all instances are perfectly captured.  Numerous instances of same sex kissing and hand-holding; depiction without graphic detail of girl skinny-dipping; girls run naked through woods with moderate detail; numerous brief discussions or references to sex or sexuality of character’s; reference to male erection; two instances of kissing with hands on waists or hips both clothed and unclothed; 2 page graphic scene of sex between two female minors.

Mature Subject Matter:

Death; abandonment; witches/witchcraft; sexuality/non-binary gender issues; paranormal; homosexuality; murder.

Alcohol / Drug Use:

Teens smoke, use marijuana and drink alcohol.