Publishers Weekly Review
| Following a disastrous falling-out with her girlfriend Chloe, which left her a social outcast, 17-year-old Eleanor Anderson--"easily the least witchy person" in Salem, Mass.--busies herself with taking care of her mother, who lives with Lyme disease; working at a family friend's kitschy witch-themed gift shop; and smoking weed to help manage her anxiety. Then she meets Pixie, who invites Eleanor to join a coven seeking to "save the soul of this town." Despite initial reservations, cynical Eleanor accepts, and soon starts dating more exuberant, open-minded Pix, as interstitials taken from a mysterious book sent to Eleanor reflect the story's progression and explain the tarot's major arcana. Employing a tongue-in-cheek first-person narrative and using flashbacks to shed light on Eleanor's complicated previous relationship, Scelsa (Fans of the Impossible Life) explores public opinion and self-perception alongside themes of forgiveness, relational toxicity, and commercialism. Symbolic magic lends an underlying sense of enchantment as Eleanor opens herself up to new ideas and possibilities, and a sweet, gentle central chemistry sells the central romance. Across the largely queer cast, protagonists are white; secondary characters are portrayed as racially diverse. Ages 13--up. Agent: Brianne Johnson, HG Literary. (May) |
School Library Journal Review
| Gr 8 Up--Seventeen-year-old Eleanor is the biggest skeptic in Salem, MA. She hates Halloween. A calamitous, tumultuous year has left her isolated and anxious, self-medicating with marijuana and with a complete lack of a social life. So when a mysterious, handmade Tarot guide arrives at the kitschy tourist store where she works to help support herself and her ailing mother, Eleanor finds something new to pour herself into. And when Tarot is soon followed by two honest-to-goddess witches--one of whom, Pix, she feels an instant attraction to--Eleanor wonders if it's actually possible to start over. But in Salem, everyone has secrets, and the two teenagers struggle to keep their fledgling relationship alive through Eleanor's past, and Pix's best intentions in this charming, heartrending LGBTQIA+ YA. Neatly laid foreshadowing makes an important but unexpected reveal all the more emotional, and the pay-off all the better as the narrative straddles the border between realism and the fantastic. The book features a white main character and love interest, with Black and Asian American characters in the secondary cast. VERDICT This title is an excellent purchase for teen collections.--Chrystopher Lytal |
