ACCESS DIGITIZED EDITION
Guide/Reviews Database
OLDER FICTION
Lewis, Jessica

Bad Witch Burning

352 pp. | Delacorte | August, 2021 | Trade ISBN 978-0-593-17738-9 $17.99 | Library ISBN 978-0-593-17740-2 $20.99 | Ebook ISBN 978-0-593-17739-6 $10.99
(2) YA Trell has the ability to communicate with the dead through letter-writing. Her skill brings comfort to the loved ones of the deceased and much-needed income to Trell. The teen is the breadwinner for an extremely neglectful and abusive household consisting of her unemployed mother and Mom's revolving door of unappealing, sometimes violent boyfriends. One of the dead she communicates with warns Trell to stop her supernatural activities. But when she discovers that she can actually raise the dead, it's hard to resist this lucrative prospect, as she is desperate for anything that might alleviate the horrifying emotional and physical violence she suffers at home (and hesitant to ask for help, as she fears being ­separated from her mother). Lewis's debut straddles the line between fantasy and horror, the latter coming from both the life this protagonist was born into and the dark magic she ushers in. Compellingly written with nuanced, fallible characters, the story is intense and at times heart-wrenching; relationships with a friend and a guidance counselor offer some bright spots for Trell. Alongside issues of poverty, parental neglect, and abuse, the novel provides welcome positive examples of resilience, friendship, vulnerability, and growing into one's personal power.
Reviewer: Monique Harris | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2021

RELATED 

OLDER FICTION

What Beauty There Is
by Anderson, Cory
OLDER FICTION

Between Perfect and Real
by Stoeve, Ray
OLDER FICTION

Zoe Rosenthal Is Not Lawful Good
by Werlin, Nancy
OLDER FICTION

Home Is Not a Country
by Elhillo, Safia
OLDER FICTION

All Our Hidden Gifts
by O'Donoghue, Caroline
More

Get connected. Join our global community of more than 200,000 librarians and educators.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing.

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?