Review: B*WITCH (B*WITCH #1)

Title: B*WITCH (B*WITCH #1)
Author: Paige McKenzie and Nancy Ohlin
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Fantasy, LGBT
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Source: Purchased
Format: Ebook
Release Date: July 7, 2020
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

A lone witch has powers. A coven has a multitude more.

New girl and secret witchl Iris just wants to get through her first day of school without a panic attack. The last thing she expects is to be taken in by a coven of three witches-soft-spoken Greta, thoughtful and musical Ridley, and fiery and spirited Binx. They may be the first witches Iris has met IRL, but their coven is not alone in their small northwestern town.

The Triad is the other coven at their school. When the Triad’s not using spells to punish their exes or break up happy couples for fun, they practice dark magic. The two covens have a rivalry stretching all the way back to junior high.

When tragedy strikes and one of their own is murdered, the rival covens must band together to find out who is responsible before it’s too late. Someone’s anti-witch ideology has turned deadly . . . and one of them is next.

With an inclusive cast of teen witches who leap off the page with style, attitude, and charm, B*Witch is a singable read perfect for fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Mean Girls alike.

Review:

When Iris moves to a small town in Washington, she doesn’t expect to meet other witches. Greta, Ridley, and Binx have a coven. They have a rivalry with another coven at their school. All of them must keep their witchy powers a secret, because witches are currently banned in the country. An anti-witch group, Antima, have been gaining popularity, especially since the new President has been encouraging them. When one of their own is killed, the teenage witches must join together to find out who is targeting their covens.

The witchy politics in this book were quite relevant to today. The witches felt threatened by the anti-witch group, Antima, who would display their status with a patch in their shirts. This was reminiscent of how certain world leaders have made it acceptable to spread hate against people of different genders, races, or religions. I think teens who are interested in current events will like this aspect of the story.

This was a diverse story with different gender identities and races among the main characters. One character was transgender, though I didn’t realize that at first. This character used their preferred gender identity at school and went by the gender and name assigned at birth while at home. It can be a touchy subject to have a trans character referred to as their deadname, which is probably why I haven’t seen this happen often in books. However this portrayed how sometimes a new identity isn’t as acceptable at home as it is with friends at school. This character could use magic to change their appearance, so this was an easier adjustment to make daily than it would be in the real world.

B*WITCH is a great witchy story! I can’t wait to read the next one!

What to read next:

Other books in the series:

• Witch Rising

Have you read B*WITCH? What did you think of it?