THE WITCH HAVEN

What good is powerful magic when society demands submissiveness?

One night in New York City in 1911, Frances Hallowell, a 17-year-old seamstress, stays up late to finish a coat in the communal workroom. Her boss, stumbling in drunk, tries to assault her but ends up with Frances’ shears in his neck. They flew across the room, as if by magic. Before she can be arrested for murder, she’s whisked away by two women posing as nurses who claim she has tuberculosis and must be treated at once. Frances discovers their ruse was cover for being taken to Haxahaven Academy, a girls’ boarding school where students dressed in black uniforms are kept safe as they learn about their various inherent magical gifts. However, safety apparently means focusing on magical housekeeping techniques and quietly learning to control their urges. Frustrated and wanting to solve the mystery of her brother’s recent death, Frances accepts an offer of lessons from her brother’s friend Finn, an Irish boy she’s been seeing in her dreams. Frances’ pragmatic, city-girl outlook keeps the story grounded despite only cursory evocations of the setting. This intensely dramatic story presents Gaelic-influenced magic as a means to empowerment and shows the strength in sisterhood. The academy operates with an inclusive definition of girl, and there is background queer representation along with some racial and ethnic diversity.

Intriguing.