The Scapegracers was another book that attracted me because of it’s cover. It’s simple but yet complex at the same time and I loved that about it. The story it self though left me disappointed. I loved the idea behind the witches and revenge but other then that I found the story to be weirdly paced and the relationship dynamic of the characters to be weird as well. Honestly, the characters behaved as if they were twelve rather than sixteen/seventeen year olds that they are suppose to be.


The Scapegracers is the first book in a series, so there is room for the author to have these characters grow and for the writing story to develop. Which I hope it does. But I don’t plan on continuing with this series

**Thank you to Erewhon and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.** 

“What the four of us could do was something else. I felt seasick and disgustingly in love with it, with them.” 

A girl gang, witches, and LGBTQ representation? This book had it all! Unfortunately, it fell a little flat for me. The concept was amazing, but the execution was shaky. There were several times when I was reading that I felt like there was dissonance between the writing and the actual story. 

While the writing style was meh, the character development was incredible! I love the way Clarke wrote the character’s friendships and emotions. It was so fresh and realistic; that part of the writing never felt forced. 

Because I loved the concept and the characters so much I really struggled with my rating. Four stars felt too generous, but three felt harsh. In the end, I decided that the awkwardness of the writing style is was too much to overlook. I have really high hopes for the second book, and I will definitely be picking it up to see what’s going on with Sideways and the rest of the gang!!

I’m not actually sure how I feel about this book. There were some parts that I liked and there were some parts that I didn’t like. I found myself enjoying myself and then I found myself skimming through parts because I was a bit bored. But that seemed to leave me as we headed towards the end of the book. I really did love the interactions between the MC and her newly built coven, so every part they were not together I wasn’t interested in. Those I think were the strongest moments in this book. 

Overall not a bad book, will definitely look out for book 2.

I really love the premise of this book. Witches, high-school drama, friendships, queer and poc rep? Sign me up! If this type of book sounds appealing to you-- it's worth the read. However, the major issue I had with it was pacing. I wanted to enjoy this book so much, but often found myself frustrated or confused because there were whole sections where nothing was happening or developing. I also think there might have been more depth to the book if the side characters had been explored a little more as well. Overall, I think I would have enjoyed this more if it was a single book with a resolved story arc, rather than a first book in a series, but as is-- I am happy I picked up the book and gave it a read.

Thank you Netgalley and Erewhon for the advanced readers copy to read and review!

I give this book 4.5 out of 5 stars! I highly enjoyed this wonderfully witchy read! I was drawn into the plot from page one! This book is about Sideways, a lesbian witch who was hired by the popular clique of girls at her school to preform a spell at a house party. The night of the house party everything goes haywire and Sideways’ life is now intertwined with the lives of the popular girls (Jing, Daisy, and Yates). The girls must stick together to solve a magical mystery as well as protect each other from dangers lurking in the shadows. This book is all about complex female friendships, girls power, and LGBTQ+ representation.

The only reason this is 4.5/5 stars instead of 5/5 stars is that I think the magic system could use some more building, so hopefully we get more explanation of the system in book two!

The Scapegracers is a fast paced thrilling book following Sideaways, a teenage witch who was always the outsider in high school due to acting all goth-like. She find friends through demonstrating her powers and finds herself trying to navigate the struggles of now being in a coven like situation. The Scapegracers kept me hooked and excited to read more, although some of the plot twists were a little predictable it was able to keep me reading chapter after chapter. 

I liked the fact it fits into many genres, fantasy, contemporary and young adult being the main three. It focus’s a lot on new friendships and naturally has a very diverse character range. I would recommend this book to the exact age is targeted for young adults, its vocabulary was ambitious enough that it would make a teenager think but not so much that they becomes muddled and begin to hate the story. Overall a very good book.

Teenage girl gang, witches, lesbians and queer girls, what more can you ask for?

It took me some time to get used to the first person POV and the writing, but once I got to know Sideways a little better I fell in love with her and her crowd. I loved reading about the girls growing friendship, how they were all ride or die, how they all had one another's back no matter what. Friends groups in books are one of my favourite thing, romantic relationships are nice of course, but friendships are what really make my heart melts. And Clarke writes friendships so beautifully.

All these girls feel like such clichés and I love them for it. They're so unapologetic, ruthless, and merciless, and I've adopted all of them as my daughters. 
I also loved how Clarke talked about finding out your sexuality, about finding out who you are, and coming to terms with it.

At some points I had some trouble keeping up with the plot or where it was going, which is why I didn't rate the book 5 stars. It's quite a fast paced book, all the action happens over just a week, and a Lot happens, which can make you feel a bit lost sometimes. But overall the whole witchcraft plot is really interesting and makes you want to know more about witches and covens and magic.

I'm really excited for the next book, I can't wait to see my babies Scapegracers growing and becoming amazing and powerful witches.

First and foremost, can we talk about how gorgeous this cover is? The colors? The design? Incredible.

Besides that, this book didn't really hit the mark for me. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I didn't like it, I just felt kind of meh about it. I liked the mix of teens and occult-y stuff, but at times I felt lost. The writing was good and the story was fine, but I can't say this story is one of my favorites.

The friendships in this book are so wholesome! I loved the magic and the relationships and I really liked Sideways' dads. It took me a little while to really get into this story but I did like it in the end. There was a few unexpected twists that made the story more interesting. Due to the ending I kind of expect there to be a sequel, because there were a few loose ends that need tying up.

I had such high hopes for this book. I really liked the synopsis and the cover. I was rooting for it, and still am, I think there are many people who will find this book enjoyable. 
The first few chapters were ok, I was never really drawn in but I was finding it enjoyable enough. I managed to get to the halfway point and I had just really lost interest. The story didn’t grip me enough, I felt as though there wasn’t any character development going on. The plot at this point felt a bit stagnant and I found that I wasn’t too bothered about finding out how the story ended. 
I really wanted to enjoy it and I’m so sad that I didn’t!

In The Scapegracers, an outcast witch makes friends with the three popular girls, and they make a coven to protect the world from shitty people. There’s obviously a lot more to it than that, but you should read for yourself to find out. This is Hannah Abigail Clarke’s first novel, and it was honestly a promising debut. It didn’t feel like a first novel to me, and I honestly am looking forward to whatever they write next, whether it’s a sequel or a new world (I hope sequel). 

The quartet of main girls in this book are all wonderful - they were representative, badass, fierce, and overall just super lovely. I couldn’t pick a favourite because at points in the novel they were each my favourite. It’s also SO NICE to see a group of popular girls who aren’t villains/horrible people, because I feel that’s always the trend. Girls support girls! There is also a sassy talking book, and I loooooooove sassy talking books.  

The book was also well written. I’m pretty picky about writing style, but this had one that I loved. If you’re looking for teenage queer witches fucking with the patriarchy and throwing hella spooky parties, this is the book for you!

Overall, I enjoyed The Scapegracers, but it was as a struggle in the beginning. I wasn't fond of th characters, and in the end, I still didn't love them, but the story held me in there. I will definitely continue the series though, just because I think it has the potential to grow into something great.

My Rating: 2/5 Stars 

I was given an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

I was really excited to read it, as the plot really interested me and the cover is super cool but unfortunately I just couldn't get on with the writing style.

DNF

Whilst the file was easily downloadable, I transferred it to a few devices to see how it would affect formatting and it wasn't very good.
I would not have minded this, however in the actual file (and I tried it in many applications to check), there are lots of random words missing with blank spaces. These aren't swear words or something that could be part of the text, but either single words or chunks of text are blank and it is not always possible to discern the context of what is missing. Was getting increasingly more frustrating over time as it really disconnects you from the story. Unfortunately I've decided to stop reading this book as it became too difficult to read.

Scapegracers is a messy book about Sideways, a teen lesbian witch who, when asked to preform magic for the school popular girls, ends up making friends and building her own coven. This book is gritty and beautiful in the way the writing sets the tone for a messy group of girls breaking from the status quo.

In many ways, this book feels hard to describe because it feels like a lot happens, even though the timeline only takes place over a week or two. I thought it was interesting how quickly Sideways is included in the group with Jing, Daisy, and Yates, but at the same time that kind of quick kinship feels fitting for teen years. I love the anger and messiness of all four girls, and how they’re different but so deeply bonded. Daisy, Yates, and Jing have such a deep friendship, and I love how Sideways is able to become friends with them - her first true friends because Sideways is an out lesbian who is known to get into fights and comes across very intimidating.

Some aspects of the plot were predictable, but I still really enjoyed the magic and the world building. Everything feels rich with possibility and magic seems real while reading (though who’s to say magic isn’t real!). I’m looking forward to reading more in this world and seeing the friendship between the Scapegracers deepen. This took me a little bit to get into, but once I was invested this book ended up being so intriguing and I hope others read it and enjoy it!

2.5/5 stars

It pains me to do this, as I had really high hopes for loving this book! The synopsis gave me everything I never thought I needed, and I was all on board. Unfortunately, the characters, pacing, and the writing style fell flat for me. The flow of the story was odd to me, and I never truly got into it. There were moments that it piqued my interest, but they were few and far between. The writing style wasn't my cup of tea either. There were pages of little dialogue, especially in the beginning, and it made the characters seem distant from the reader. It didn't give the characters enough room to prove themselves, even if they did have some interesting moments or characteristics. I also think this book should've been written in 3rd person. I'm not one to lean towards a certain POV, but this book should've definitely been written in 3rd. 1st person doesn't give you enough, and it left me feeling like so much was missing.

An Advanced Reader’s copy has been provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Release Date: May 12th, 2020

Please keep in mind that just because this book wasn’t for me, does not mean that it’s not for you. Someone out there is going to adore this book.


Overview: The one good thing I will say about this book is I did love the chapter titles. Specifically 2 and 13

The writing was…a no for me. I’m not huge on first person fan anyway, but this felt like it should have been in third the entire time. There was a odd feeling about the writing and so many jumps it was hard to tell what was going on. There were some amazing moments that were lyrical and quotable however they were highly overshadowed by the fact the entire thing tried to read like a prose. And it was not working for me. The teenage slang and other ways of describing current events and trends felt like the author went on twitter and just followed a bunch of teens and copied what they said to each other. It wasn’t emotional, it didn’t feel authentic and it fell flat.

I felt like the plot was there however the magic system fell…apart. I understand we were in the perspective of a character still learning, but even what she was learning…didn’t make sense.

Which leaves me lastly to the characters. I found them indistinguishable and boring. I could not connect to a single one, which is the main reason this book was not for me. I cannot get into a book if I can’t get into it’s characters.

SPOILERS BELOW

Kinda spoilers? It starts with the first chapter. Don’t be lured by the beautiful cover. Those are dead deer and I do not handle the death of animals well.

END OF SPOILERS

The Scapegracers has a very gripping synopsis and I wish this had been everything it promised.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read The Scapegracers. Even though I received this through Netgalley all thoughts and opinions are my own. 

I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys some spooky reads. The entire plot development is amazing. I love the movement throughout the novel. Character development is great. I enjoyed the twists. At times I was unable to put it down. I had to know what was next. I cannot wait to read more by Hannah Abigail Clarke.

The synopsis gave me everything I ever wanted... but unfortunately, the story did not do the same. The dialogue, the plot, the characters all felt very unrealistic or somehow a pantomime of real life. That normally doesn't bother me but I found myself cringing at the super cheesy, super cringy conversations between the characters. None of it felt authentic. I'm so glad others found this book interesting... I just wish it would have worked for me, too!

Queer and diverse characters, witches and magical creatures—The Scapegracers by Hannah Abigail Clarke sounds like an answer to my 'I need more books like this!' after I read Rory Power's Wilder Girls last year. Unfortunately, my expectations were perhaps too high and this book fell short of those expectations.

The Scapegracers starts with a bang that quickly softens to a whimper which lasts for a very, very, very long time, only to explode again near the end. Because of this, the pacing felt off even though the plot was progressing steadily. Moreover, despite the fact that this book is the first of the series, I think that there are way too many loose ends. This book felt more like a prequel instead of a proper start. I understand that Sideways isn't all that knowledgeable about the things around her and that we are limited to what she knows because the story is told in her point of view, but there is such a thing as too many secrets and too little answers. Parts that appeared to be important quickly lost their significance because of Sideways' lack of knowing and the detours taken by her as well.

The magic system is a little poorly established here. I'm not saying that no efforts were made when it came to it, but as mentioned earlier, we're limited to what Sideways knows and she isn't the most knowledgeable character around. I'm certain that this would improve as the series progresses, though it's still a little disappointing, especially considering that she's a confirmed witch who gets involved with three other girls and will form a coven together with them. On the other hand, I appreciate that Sideways is as green as she is when it comes to magic, and of her flaws. It makes her more realistic and relatable, though she and the other characters are still pretty flat.

Other than that, give me a moment to gush over the author's writing style. I admit that it sounded too try-hard initially but once I got used to it, it became easy to admire the diction. There are certainly more than a handful of the most beautiful metaphors and imagery I've read in some time.

All in all, The Scapegracers is an average read for me. It reminds me of Scream Queens (that 2015 TV series) which I'd only watched a few episodes of before dropping it from lack of interest, but I'd definitely pick up the next book in this series just to find out where the story goes.