AWAKENED

A tightly knit coven of transgender witches joins forces against AI and late-stage capitalism in New York City.

On the morning of their half birthday, an otherwise unremarkable day in New York, Wilder—a 31-year-old trans Brooklynite—wakes up with the ability to comprehend and speak multiple languages. What Wilder doesn’t realize is that they’re being watched. For days, unbeknownst to Wilder, they have been showing signs of magical ability, and it has drawn the attention of others with similar Awakened Powers. Soon, Wilder meets the members of a clandestine coven of trans witches. There’s Artemis, the leader of the group and a powerful Seer; Mary Margaret, a teenager with impressive telekinetic abilities; and Quibble, a charming and handsome portal traveler whose job it is to convince Wilder to join them. Soon enough, Wilder finds themself feeling at home within the coven and comfortable knowing that magic is real, but when dangerous AI threatens to dismantle their newfound community—and reality as they know it—the group struggles to coexist and to hold on to one another. Osworth has crafted a clever, thought-provoking, and surprisingly philosophical tale about the importance of community, the dangers that reliance on AI presents to humanity, and identity in a world that can so often feel homogeneous. Told in a tongue-in-cheek, snappy voice by an omnipresent narrator, this is a compulsively readable novel that hammers home the idea that magic can be found anywhere and everywhere as long as you’re looking for it.

A charming, magical romp with a focus on the importance of finding and building queer community.