Witches

by Amanda

Akata witch

Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu

YOUNG ADULT FICTION Okorafor-Mbachu, Nnedi
Young Adult, Fantasy

Twelve-year-old Sunny Nwazue, an American-born albino child of Nigerian parents, moves with her family back to Nigeria, where she learns that she has latent magical powers which she and three similarly gifted friends use to catch a serial killer.

What a gorgeous book! I'm a sucker for all things witches, and I love YA. I'm so thrilled to see a popular book by a Nigerian author about awesome Nigerian and African American kids saving the world. The mythology is beautiful, the world building is phenomenal, and everybody should read it.
- Amanda

The rules of magic

Alice Hoffman

FICTION Hoffman Alice
Fantasy

From beloved author Alice Hoffman comes the spellbinding prequel to her bestseller, Practical Magic. Find your magic. For the Owens family, love is a curse that began in 1620, when Maria Owens was charged with witchery for loving the wrong man. Hundreds of years later, in New York City at the cusp of the sixties, when the whole world is about to change, Susanna Owens knows that her three children are dangerously unique. Difficult Franny, with skin as pale as milk and blood red hair, shy and beautiful Jet, who can read other people's thoughts, and charismatic Vincent, who began looking for trouble on the day he could walk. From the start Susanna sets down rules for her children: No walking in the moonlight, no red shoes, no wearing black, no cats, no crows, no candles, no books about magic. And most importantly, never, ever, fall in love. But when her children visit their Aunt Isabelle, in the small Massachusetts town where the Owens family has been blamed for everything that has ever gone wrong, they uncover family secrets and begin to understand the truth of who they are. Back in New York City each begins a risky journey as they try to escape the family curse. The Owens children cannot escape love even if they try, just as they cannot escape the pains of the human heart. The two beautiful sisters will grow up to be the revered, and sometimes feared, aunts in Practical Magic, while Vincent, their beloved brother, will leave an unexpected legacy. Thrilling and exquisite, real and fantastical, The Rules of Magic is a story about the power of love reminding us that the only remedy for being human is to be true to yourself.

The prequel to Practical Magic, this book follows siblings Franny, Jet, and Vincent, as they deal with a centuries-old family curse and explore their magical powers in the 1960s. Hoffman's writing is exquisite, and the story she weaves is breathtakingly beautiful. This is by far one of the best books about witches that I've ever read. The backdrop of the 1960s works so well with this tale of witchcraft, and the themes of loss, love, and longing are so universal it will appeal even to readers who don't usually like fantasy.
- Amanda

Uprooted

Naomi Novik

SCIENCE FICTION Novik Naomi
Fantasy, Romance

"Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life. Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood. The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows--everyone knows--that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn't, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her. But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose"--

An original feminist fairy tale! A girl discovers that she's a witch, and has to fight for everything she loves. Naomi Novik's writing reads almost like a 19th novel, in the very best way. This book feels like Jane Austen with witches, magic, and mythology. Yet another book I stayed up too late reading...
- Amanda

A discovery of witches

Deborah E. Harkness

SCIENCE FICTION Harkness, Deborah E.
Fiction, Fantasy, Romance

Witch and Yale historian Diana Bishop discovers an enchanted manuscript, attracting the attention of 1,500-year-old vampire Matthew Clairmont. The orphaned daughter of two powerful witches, Bishop prefers intellect, but relies on magic when her discovery of a palimpsest documenting the origin of supernatural species releases an assortment of undead who threaten, stalk, and harass her.

This book is delightful! It starts a bit slow, but it's so worth sticking with it. It's part coming-of-age, part romance, part fantasy--and it's a series, so if you like it, there are more books!
- Amanda

Practical magic

Alice Hoffman

FICTION Hoffman, Alice
Fiction, Fantasy, Romance

Alice Hoffman writes so richly and beautifully--I could live in her prose for days. This book was published long before The Rules of Magic, and the two are wonderful companion pieces, but also stand alone just fine. Read this book for witches, romance, sisterhood, and strong women coming together to save each other.
- Amanda

Practical magic

DVD MOVIE SF/HORROR Practical
Fantasy, Romance

The wry, comic romantic tale follows the Owens sisters as they struggle to use their hereditary gift for practical magic to overcome the obstacles in discovering true love.

With an all-star cast, this movie is gorgeous. While the plot is very different from the book, the movie is still filled with wonder and awe. Every time I watch it, I find something new to love.
- Amanda

Akata warrior

Nnedi Okorafor

YOUNG ADULT FICTION Okorafor Nnedi
Young Adult, Fantasy

Now stronger, feistier, and a bit older, Sunny Nwazue, along with her friends from the the Leopard Society, travel through worlds, both visible and invisible, to the mysterious town of Osisi, where they fight in a climactic battle to save humanity.

Sunny is a young witch just coming into her power in Nigeria. This book is even better than the first book in the series, Akata Witch, because now Sunny is comfortable among the Leopard People (witches and wizards) and doesn't have to learn the basics of her new world. Now, she gets to spend more time doing serious, amazing magic. I can't wait for the 3rd book!
- Amanda

Literary witches : a celebration of magical women writers

Taisia Kitaiskaia

809.89287 /Kitaiskaia
Nonfiction, Literary Nonfiction, Poetry

"Literary Witches draws a connection between witches and visionary writers: both are figures of formidable creativity, empowerment, and general badassery. Through poetic portraits, Taisia Kitaiskaia and Katy Horan honor the witchy qualities of well-known and obscure authors alike, including Virginia Woolf, Mira Bai, Toni Morrison, Emily Dickinson, Octavia E. Butler, Sandra Cisneros, and many more.

This book is a lot of things--biography, poetry, grimoire. The illustrations are gorgeous, and the poetry is deliciously odd. Plus, it's all about incredible female writers!
- Amanda

Queen Victoria's book of spells

SCIENCE FICTION Queen
Fiction, Fantasy

""Gaslamp Fantasy," or historical fantasy set in a magical version of the nineteenth century, has long been popular with readers and writers alike. A number of wonderful fantasy novels, including Stardust by Neil Gaiman, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke, and The Prestige by Christopher Priest, owe their inspiration to works by nineteenth-century writers ranging from Jane Austen, the Brontë's, and George Meredith to Charles Dickens, Anthony Trollope, and William Morris. And, of course, the entire steampunk genre and subculture owes more than a little to literature inspired by this period. Queen Victoria's Book of Spells is an anthology for everyone who loves these works of neo-Victorian fiction, and wishes to explore the wide variety of ways that modern fantasists are using nineteenth-century settings, characters, and themes. These approaches stretch from steampunk fiction to the Austen-and-Trollope inspired works that some critics call Fantasy of Manners, all of which fit under the larger umbrella of Gaslamp Fantasy. The result is eighteen stories by experts from the fantasy, horror, mainstream, and young adult fields, including both bestselling writers and exciting new talents such as Elizabeth Bear, James Blaylock, Jeffrey Ford, Ellen Kushner, Tanith Lee, Gregory Maguire, Delia Sherman, and Catherynne M. Valente, who present a bewitching vision of a nineteenth century invested (or cursed!) with magic"--

This book of short stories was my first introduction to the world of Gaslamp Fantasy--historical fantasy set in a magical version of the 19th century--and I was immediately in love. The stories are all magnificent, well-written, and fun to read.
- Amanda

Howl's moving castle

Diana Wynne Jones

YOUNG ADULT FICTION Jones, Diana Wynne
Young Adult

Eldest of three sisters in a land where it is considered to be a misfortune, Sophie is resigned to her fate as a hat shop apprentice until a witch turns her into an old woman and she finds herself in the castle of the greatly feared wizard Howl.

I love this book so much. Diana Wynne Jones is one of my favorite writers of all time, and I'm sure I've read this book at least 10 times.
- Amanda