The Year of the Witching
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- Create Date：2021-10-01 09:51:21
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Alexis Henderson
- ISBN：0552176680
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Summary
The Handmaid's Tale meets The Village in this stunning feminist debut 。 。 。
'A magnificent， raw slice of folk horror， dark with threat and clenched with suspense 。 。 。 a brilliant debut to chill the brightest summer day' DAILY MAIL
'Thrillingly brisk and bracing 。 。 。 it takes the best tropes of horror and witchcraft and gives them a refreshingly feminist twist' S。A。 CHAKRABORTY， author of The City of Brass
Born on the fringes of Bethel， Immanuelle does her best to obey the Church and follow Holy Protocol。 For it was in Bethel that the first Prophet pursued and killed four powerful witches， and so cleansed the land。
And then a chance encounter lures her into the Darkwood that surrounds Bethel。
It is a forbidden place， haunted by the spirits of the witches who bestow an extraordinary gift on Immanuelle。 The diary of her dead mother 。 。 。
Fascinated by and fearful of the secrets the diary reveals， Immanuelle begins to understand why her mother once consorted with witches。 And as the truth about the Prophets， the Church and their history is revealed， so Immanuelle understands what must be done。 For the real threat to Bethel is its own darkness。
Bethel must change。 And that change will begin with her 。 。 。
'A magnificent， raw slice of folk horror， dark with threat and clenched with suspense 。 。 。 a brilliant debut to chill the brightest summer day' DAILY MAIL
'Thrillingly brisk and bracing 。 。 。 it takes the best tropes of horror and witchcraft and gives them a refreshingly feminist twist' S。A。 CHAKRABORTY， author of The City of Brass
Born on the fringes of Bethel， Immanuelle does her best to obey the Church and follow Holy Protocol。 For it was in Bethel that the first Prophet pursued and killed four powerful witches， and so cleansed the land。
And then a chance encounter lures her into the Darkwood that surrounds Bethel。
It is a forbidden place， haunted by the spirits of the witches who bestow an extraordinary gift on Immanuelle。 The diary of her dead mother 。 。 。
Fascinated by and fearful of the secrets the diary reveals， Immanuelle begins to understand why her mother once consorted with witches。 And as the truth about the Prophets， the Church and their history is revealed， so Immanuelle understands what must be done。 For the real threat to Bethel is its own darkness。
Bethel must change。 And that change will begin with her 。 。 。
Reviews
elli
，
this feels higher than 4 stars， i just don't know quite how to place it。 this was a downright perfect read for heading into autumn。 this feels higher than 4 stars， i just don't know quite how to place it。 this was a downright perfect read for heading into autumn。 。。。more
Rachael Pirrie
，
This was not for me。 1） the messages are about as subtle as a brick （bad men sexist） 2） the writing drove me crazy - everyone breaks forward， the wind snatching their curls as they raggedly whisper in a hoarse voice， in the thick dark， before they let out a breath they didn't know they were holding。。。。 and so on。 I can see others loved it but it wasn't for me。。。 This was not for me。 1） the messages are about as subtle as a brick （bad men sexist） 2） the writing drove me crazy - everyone breaks forward， the wind snatching their curls as they raggedly whisper in a hoarse voice， in the thick dark， before they let out a breath they didn't know they were holding。。。。 and so on。 I can see others loved it but it wasn't for me。。。 。。。more
Kelly
，
This isn't an easy read， the pace is a bit too slow for me and the tone is quite somber。 It is however well written。 I can honestly say it's a good， well written， interesting story， even though it wasn't quite the one for me。 This isn't an easy read， the pace is a bit too slow for me and the tone is quite somber。 It is however well written。 I can honestly say it's a good， well written， interesting story， even though it wasn't quite the one for me。 。。。more
Andrea
，
definitely made it to the top 5 books i’ve read this year， this ish slapped
Evie Scotia
，
Skimmed the last five chapters or so because I found the writing gruelingThis book deals with very heavy topics （religion & it's affect on social/governmental structures， gender， and race） but is very garbled in its approach。。。 especially at the end。 At the beginning， I kept being taken out of the story because I was trying to figure out the world: is the spirituality/religion depicted *real*， is this a village like in "The Village" （i。e a Luddite cult surrounded by a more industrial world）， etc Skimmed the last five chapters or so because I found the writing gruelingThis book deals with very heavy topics （religion & it's affect on social/governmental structures， gender， and race） but is very garbled in its approach。。。 especially at the end。 At the beginning， I kept being taken out of the story because I was trying to figure out the world: is the spirituality/religion depicted *real*， is this a village like in "The Village" （i。e a Luddite cult surrounded by a more industrial world）， etc。 At times， the book seems to know what it wants to say: something along the lines of "patriarchy is bad and we should do better" but totally fails at actually saying it。 In fact， I would say the end of this book is telling us "the patriarchy is good--it's just the one guy who was in charge who was bad & also women are inherently evil， especially the ones wanting to topple the patriarchy"Also， the characters are pretty flat & one-note。 。。。more
Erin Crane
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 The strongest part of this book is the atmosphere， like many others have said。 It’s very gothic， eerie， unsettling。 The author did a fantastic job with descriptions。 The plagues were effectively creepy for me。 The descriptions got a bit flowery for me sometimes， but that felt appropriate for the gothic vibes。I also overall enjoyed the plot。 Curses， witches， a dark past。 It’s pretty straightforward but solid。 It was enough to keep me reading。 Some reviewers complain about the lack of world buildi The strongest part of this book is the atmosphere， like many others have said。 It’s very gothic， eerie， unsettling。 The author did a fantastic job with descriptions。 The plagues were effectively creepy for me。 The descriptions got a bit flowery for me sometimes， but that felt appropriate for the gothic vibes。I also overall enjoyed the plot。 Curses， witches， a dark past。 It’s pretty straightforward but solid。 It was enough to keep me reading。 Some reviewers complain about the lack of world building but I was absolutely fine with it。 I didn’t need a lot of explanation， that wouldn’t have added much for me。The primary way this book failed for me was with the characters。 Immanuelle and Ezra could not be more boring。 The first half of the book Immanuelle is an extreme goody-two-shoes who is always like， “but the scriptures！！” I was like， by now you should be questioning the scriptures at least a little bit， come on！ Then it’s like a switch is flipped and she’s suddenly not only a feminist but knows how to articulate her views on the oppression of women in her community。 I needed her to have a confused stage， some middle ground。 The romance was also pretty poor。 Her and Ezra’s interactions were 99% annoying bickering。 No sexual tension to be found。All the vividness of the atmosphere was completely missing in the characters。 I’m supposed to believe Immanuelle is a great friend of Leah’s but she hardly thinks about her。 We see maybe one substantial conversation between them at the beginning？ I was not sold on their friendship。 I think the best written relationship was between Immanuelle and Martha。 The ending was also meh。 I was disappointed that the witches were the villains。 We don’t get a lot of the story of the war， but I’m guessing the witches were wronged， and I’d have loved to see them treated better by the author。 The end is so pro-women but not /these/ women。I was also disappointed by how long it took Immanuelle to act at the end。 She makes a big deal about how she can’t just grab the dagger because she’ll be shot before she can cut the sigil into herself。 So she doesn’t grab it when could have with the Prophet in private。 Instead she does exactly what she said would be impossible - grab it and cut herself when she could be shot。 It made the story more dramatic but it didn’t make sense。 Because she doesn’t get shot。 😂 。。。more
Sophie
，
Super cool witchy imagery！
Joyreader
，
I really loved the voice and tone of this book， and as I was first reading it， it felt very timely。 The book centers around Immanuelle living in the town of Bethel in an alternate world that feels like Puritan colonial America。 The book tackles issues of race and gender by examining the rules of a society where women must submit to the Prophet。 This society， built on a strict religion， blames women for most of its problems and seeks nothing more than to control them， which all felt horribly fami I really loved the voice and tone of this book， and as I was first reading it， it felt very timely。 The book centers around Immanuelle living in the town of Bethel in an alternate world that feels like Puritan colonial America。 The book tackles issues of race and gender by examining the rules of a society where women must submit to the Prophet。 This society， built on a strict religion， blames women for most of its problems and seeks nothing more than to control them， which all felt horribly familiar。The only problem is this book got muddled in its messaging。 I didn’t really see women being treated badly by any other men except the Prophet。 I expected it to be a story of a young woman accepting feminine power， but in the end， that female power was the evil she had to overcome。 And there was a gigantic plot hole in Immanuelle’s strategy at the end of the book with an intricate plan that only needed one simple solution。 The ending also wasn’t quite as hopeful as I would’ve liked considering all that Immanuelle had gone through。 It just sounded like the cycle would begin again。 I never quite knew what Immanuelle wanted outside of stopping the plagues， and so it felt a little hollow and unsatisfying at the end in the epilogue。All that being said， I really loved the characters of Immanuelle and Ezra， I loved how evocative the world was in this book， and I enjoyed this as a fall read。 It had some flaws， but its strengths overcame them enough for me to rate it as a 3。5 rounded up。 。。。more
Nyah
，
This book was good。 I loved the mc and her love interest。 At this point， if anyone says that they didn't like a YA fantasy because it was boring， I am going to immediately pick it up。 It wasn't slow or boring。 I liked the idea of the darkwood and the witches。 The book reminded me of Fear Street 1666 （the vibes just kind of matched）。 The ending wasn't my favorite but it is the first book in a series， so I'm excited to see where it goes from there。I'm just going to pretend she killed that man at t This book was good。 I loved the mc and her love interest。 At this point， if anyone says that they didn't like a YA fantasy because it was boring， I am going to immediately pick it up。 It wasn't slow or boring。 I liked the idea of the darkwood and the witches。 The book reminded me of Fear Street 1666 （the vibes just kind of matched）。 The ending wasn't my favorite but it is the first book in a series， so I'm excited to see where it goes from there。I'm just going to pretend she killed that man at the end。。。 okay？ okay。 。。。more
Laura
，
A thematic mess and full of characters who poorly served their tropes。 DNF。
Samantha Winchester
，
The story was interesting enough for me to skim the last half rather than drop it entirely， but I could not get past the amateurish writing style。 I kept yelling at the pages， "Don't tell me， SHOW me！" Honestly， writing Abram's dialogue post-stroke with ellipses every few words， but writing another character with normal English and saying he had a "thick accent" with no other description is just lazy。 Physical descriptions were also quite uninspired。 I remember something about a woman being "str The story was interesting enough for me to skim the last half rather than drop it entirely， but I could not get past the amateurish writing style。 I kept yelling at the pages， "Don't tell me， SHOW me！" Honestly， writing Abram's dialogue post-stroke with ellipses every few words， but writing another character with normal English and saying he had a "thick accent" with no other description is just lazy。 Physical descriptions were also quite uninspired。 I remember something about a woman being "striking in a way that is different from everyone else" or something vague like that。 The characters were not well-formed and there was zero chemistry between the lead couple。 It reminded me more of silly fanfiction than a published hardcover book。Also， the whole women and dark-skinned people are oppressed plot was heavy-handed。 It's a common theme in both fiction AND reality so it's an accomplishment to make it so damn awkward。2 stars because I was obviously hooked enough to at least want to know what happens， but I really was not a fan。 。。。more
CMarie
，
4。5 out of 5 Stars。
Jen Spriggs
，
This book was very good with some twists and suspense。 It was unique and catching！
Jasmine
，
I really liked the atmosphere of this book， I was intrigued right from the prologue。 I liked the characters and the story itself， I was just expecting it to be a bit more witchy and creepy。 We didn't really get alot of witch action untill right at the end otherwise it probably would have been a four star。 I really liked the atmosphere of this book， I was intrigued right from the prologue。 I liked the characters and the story itself， I was just expecting it to be a bit more witchy and creepy。 We didn't really get alot of witch action untill right at the end otherwise it probably would have been a four star。 。。。more
Priya
，
Quite different from a lot witch books I have read。
Kirstra
，
Kept me turning pages until the very end， if sometimes a bit on the nose。
bookcat
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 So， let's get straight in。 I did not like it。 beginning:Immanuele is a strange girl。 For one， she really wants to go into the Darkwood， which is not allowed because "evil lurks there。。。" （*sinister tone*）。 And also， she hasn't menstruated yet even though she's 15， which seemed to matter until it didn't。 She lives with her grandparents because her mother became a witch and died birthing her。Now， at the begining， she's not a "sinner" and her best friend Leah just got married to the Prophet。 Which So， let's get straight in。 I did not like it。 beginning:Immanuele is a strange girl。 For one， she really wants to go into the Darkwood， which is not allowed because "evil lurks there。。。" （*sinister tone*）。 And also， she hasn't menstruated yet even though she's 15， which seemed to matter until it didn't。 She lives with her grandparents because her mother became a witch and died birthing her。Now， at the begining， she's not a "sinner" and her best friend Leah just got married to the Prophet。 Which means Leah got a star carved between her eyebrows。 Ya know， the USUAL。 I thought Immanuel was a lesbian but it turns out， no。 Then， one day， while taking a ram to the market， the ram runs into the forest and she sees to witches making out and they give her a diary， because the witches want her to be mindful and write at least one page a day。 No， seriously， it which turns out to be her mom's journal。 Then her grandmother stabs her with a buring iron to "clear her out of her sinsssss"。 And then she starts having weird dreams and then she runs into the forest， meets Delilah， a witch and is dragged to a pond。 By the waay there is a LOOOOT of slut shaming。 Every witch is a whore and a slut even though the people that got the women pregnant were the men， soooo。 And also， even though The PROPHET had sex with Leah when she was 13， no one tells HIM anything。 He's a nice guy but this b*tches？ Ooof。 And then there's lots of more things but no one really gives and then she befriends Ezra， who is the standard guy。 She falls in love with him。 Then more things happen:- She tries to stop a curse that came over Bethel。 - She fails。- She runs away and is caught by the Prophets + GuardsAnd while all of us cheered for Liith and her friends， waiting for the "She's actually good"。。。 We。Got。Nothing。 They call it feminist， and while it is in some way， it's not that feminist。 Even though the witches were right， and it was implied that they were innocent， just that the Prophet had banished them because they were too powerful to be a woman Imanuelle still fights them， wins and the ending is EXTREMELY lukewarm， flavorless and shitty。No。 Just don't read it。 I gave it zero stars。 。。。more
Leena
，
The first half of this book was super slow and had long sections of info dumping。 However， the second half picked up the pace a lot， and it was pretty enjoyable。 The society and rich history crafted is very interesting and well done， even though it took several info dumps to get all the information across。 The character growth of the main character was good as well。 She started off as a quiet and obedient girl， but developed much strength as the story progressed。 Originally I thought this would The first half of this book was super slow and had long sections of info dumping。 However， the second half picked up the pace a lot， and it was pretty enjoyable。 The society and rich history crafted is very interesting and well done， even though it took several info dumps to get all the information across。 The character growth of the main character was good as well。 She started off as a quiet and obedient girl， but developed much strength as the story progressed。 Originally I thought this would be a standalone， but it looks like it may become a series。 Overall， this was pretty good， but there were some slow parts which could have been improved upon。 Not bad for a debut author。 。。。more
Emily Kleinhenz
，
This is a great novel for Halloween （or any time you want something spooky）。 Set in a Puritan town where women are less than second class and racism abounds， a young woman accidentally finds her mothers diary that holds dark secrets about the town。 Then， the some very strange and dark things start to occur。 Can one woman change a whole town with a twisted past？Full of witches， curses， vengeance， and blood， this novel is a great read for those that want something darker。 I would highly suggest th This is a great novel for Halloween （or any time you want something spooky）。 Set in a Puritan town where women are less than second class and racism abounds， a young woman accidentally finds her mothers diary that holds dark secrets about the town。 Then， the some very strange and dark things start to occur。 Can one woman change a whole town with a twisted past？Full of witches， curses， vengeance， and blood， this novel is a great read for those that want something darker。 I would highly suggest this to anyone who wants a darker novel about witches， strong women， and/or Puritans。 。。。more
Krupa
，
I had barely two hours sleep last night and I dont regret it。
dianne （off seeking immunity）
，
“There are worlds beyond this one， Immanuelle。”And for that， we give thanks and praise to Kali。 And Yemanja。 And Maria Lionza。An interesting story， not particularly well written （blood for instance， of which there is an abundance， is always “slick”） but not so poorly written as to be distracting overall。 Some scenes went so sideways， however， that multiple re-readings were necessary。 Nonetheless， i needed a diversion， and here it was。 It seems a sort of morality tale about race， and nature， an “There are worlds beyond this one， Immanuelle。”And for that， we give thanks and praise to Kali。 And Yemanja。 And Maria Lionza。An interesting story， not particularly well written （blood for instance， of which there is an abundance， is always “slick”） but not so poorly written as to be distracting overall。 Some scenes went so sideways， however， that multiple re-readings were necessary。 Nonetheless， i needed a diversion， and here it was。 It seems a sort of morality tale about race， and nature， and controlling women。 Dark Things: the woods， Immanuelle’s skin， are natural， lovely; even the dark “saints” radiate beauty。 White men: evil， busily spinning falsities to justify their cruelty and domination。 How do they envision their ultimate victory？ Razing the forest！ No one can hide， or find power in a dead landscape！ Yay， destruction of everything that makes life possible！ That’s the ticket， boys - get on it。 So much for this being “a historical novel”; it’s just History。 On to Econ 101: “That was the great shame of Bethel: complacency and complicity that were responsible for the deaths of generations of girls。 It was the sickness that placed the pride of men before the innocents they were sworn to protect。 It was a structure that exploited the weakest among them for the benefit of those born to power。” tApparently， Bethel = capitalism。 Did i miss something？And finally， Women’s Studies with How Abusers Take Control: “It was not the Prophet who bore Bethel， bound to his back like a millstone。 It was all of the innocent girls and women - like Miriam and Leah - who suffered and died at the hands of men who exploited them。 They were Bethel’s sacrifice。 They were the bones upon which the Church was built…。。Men。。。who lurked and lusted after the innocent， who found joy in women’s pain， who brutalized and broke them down until they were nothing。。。the Church。。。 enabled them: with the Protocol and market stocks， with muzzles and lashings and twisted Scriptures。 It was the whole of them， the heart of Bethel itself， that made certain every woman who lived behind its gate had only two choices: resignation or ruin。”Unfortunately， the ending was weakened considerably by clearly being written in anticipation of a sequel。 It felt forced， and denied us the “ahhh…” needed after reading a Good versus Bad story， resulting in a one star reduction。 That's Protocol。 。。。more
Paul Garcia
，
4。5 stars。
Samantha
，
Not my normal genre but excellent writing。 I enjoyed it。
Olivia
，
4。5！！！ I loved this book and it was perfect for a fall read！ Really got me in the mood for Halloween even though it's only September。 4。5！！！ I loved this book and it was perfect for a fall read！ Really got me in the mood for Halloween even though it's only September。 。。。more
Tram Bui
，
"To be a woman is to be a sacrifice。" Alexis Henderson's The Year of the Witching was one of my favorite books I've read this year。 I love reading stories on witches especially through the feminist lens because they provide the perfect setting for which to talk about the politics of sex， power， and oppression as well as how religious communities treat what is evil and sinful from what is not。 This book expounded on these themes with an intersectional story at the forefront， an otherwise rarity "To be a woman is to be a sacrifice。" Alexis Henderson's The Year of the Witching was one of my favorite books I've read this year。 I love reading stories on witches especially through the feminist lens because they provide the perfect setting for which to talk about the politics of sex， power， and oppression as well as how religious communities treat what is evil and sinful from what is not。 This book expounded on these themes with an intersectional story at the forefront， an otherwise rarity in this genre。 Immanuelle and her family live on the fringes of Bethel due to the transgressions of Imanuelle’s mother， who became pregnant out of wedlock and was accused of witchcraft before dying in childbirth。 Compounding Imanuelle’s role in Bethel is that she is biracial in a society where segregation is justified through religious dogma and where her Black father was burned for his religious crimes。 This book was atmospheric， sinister， and enthralling。 It was well-researched and written with such care。 I like how the setting， time， and religions were ambiguous because the themes could be understandable to any woman living in oppressive circumstances。 Lillith an an antagonist was just darkly divine。 My only criticisms of this books aren't even criticisms。 One， I wished there was a visual map because the world building was excellent， and I wanted more。 Two， the ultimate battle scene was so enthralling and vivid， and I wanted more。 。。。more
Alex Howard
，
Felt very YA for what is supposedly an adult fantasy novel。I liked some of the creepy imagery， especially the witches， but the plot and the characters felt flat。 Also the worldbuilding was very uninspired
Kurly
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Ok… So I didn’t like this book， but I didn’t dislike it either。 I just had some issues that if they weren’t there， I’d have loved this book。Let’s start with Immanuel。 At first I thought， great！ She’s a young black girl， kinda naive and this is gonna be amazing character development。 But no， she’s young and dumb in the beginning of the story and is young a dumb by the end of it。She has all of these realizations about Bethel and the society it was built on。 Like， allllll these innocent women and g Ok… So I didn’t like this book， but I didn’t dislike it either。 I just had some issues that if they weren’t there， I’d have loved this book。Let’s start with Immanuel。 At first I thought， great！ She’s a young black girl， kinda naive and this is gonna be amazing character development。 But no， she’s young and dumb in the beginning of the story and is young a dumb by the end of it。She has all of these realizations about Bethel and the society it was built on。 Like， allllll these innocent women and girls had been killed and tortured and raped just to keep men in power。 He own father was burned alive for literally nothing。 So when she finds out that her mom began a curse out of vengeance， you’d think she’d be with the shits right？ Save the innocent people still in the town and let the rest suffer and die？ Help the witches who were clearly evil because of what they were put through right？Nope。 Instead， she feels like the witches are the bad ones。 The people/souls/ghost/demons or whatever they are， that want to end the tyranny once and for all， she goes against them。 After the final “battle” she literally says （again） that it’s the people’s fault and that all the tyranny from the past has been allowed to continue and that’s the real evil。 She said it earlier before the battle， but still no。 She defends the horrid evil town。She’s so boring and basic。 What I really don’t understand is how does she， this girl who has never been a witch or casted any sort of curse manage to take down 3 undead demon witches。 How？？？ Like literally how？ There was nothing that showed progress to her sudden power。 No explanation other than she cut an emblem into her arm。 Wtf ever 🙄Great plot， great ideas， and while some words were used repeatedly for no reason， the story was well written。 All that for a boring heroine who “kills” undead powerful witches out of nowhere。 Like， Lilith literally has cracks in her skull。 She’s already dead！ How tf does Immanuel bring her down？ Ugh 🤦🏽♀️ 。。。more
Femi
，
I felt like the author was going for suspenseful but I just found the story slow moving。 There was also not enough critique from the characters about the oppression of women which was rampant in this book。
Beth
，
*3。5/5
Stephanie
，
This was okay。 I just wanted more from this。 Maybe it is because I put too much stock in the blurbs about it being like Handmaid’s Tale…。It was also a bit too much of a YA for me when I was expecting an adult novel。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Year of the Witching
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Year of the Witching&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft