If I were to describe my experience as I read this book, I would have to say it was like watching a teen drama on TV. I'm not fond of teen dramas and can barely make it to the second season but this book makes me want to read more.

The Scapegracers follows teenage witch Sideways Pike and her new found friends, three popular girls who initially hired her to perform magic during a Halloween party. Yet when the magic becomes something Sideways didn't expect, she, along with Daisy, Yates, and Jing, delve deeper into the world of magic and covens and witchhunters and hopefully, find more about the strength and power they have in themselves and with each other.

The book is really character-driven and Sideways is such a good main character. She's true to herself, she has her flaws, and well, she's just your typical teenager: young, reckless, strong, and determined. I love her perspective and her personality and how she is just relatable and honest. Also I really appreciate the LGBT+ representation in the book as seen in Sideways, who is also a lesbian. Throughout the book, we see her growth as a witch and as a social being as she slowly finds a group of people and even a love interest. Sideways is such a good character and even if there are times where she can be quite frustrating and stressful, she still manages to make me keep on reading because her growth throughout the book is so fun to watch.

Other than Sideways, I just absolutely loved her friend group. Initially, I thought they were going to be like the Heathers but I was wrong. Daisy, Yates, and Jing are a diverse set of characters who are all different yet work well together. In the book, we are also introduced to their pasts and each girl has their own set of characteristics that make them stand out as individuals. Put these four girls all together and they just work so well and their power and sisterhood is just so nice to read.

The fantasy aspect in the book is quite interesting and complex and I was able to understand it easily. While this book has well-written characters, I find its plot to be quite lacking. I didn't exactly feel a sense of urgency or pull from the plot to keep me reading. The characters really got me to stay. The plot was a bit dragging and when it finally came to the climax, I didn't really feel anything. The ending was also lacking for me since it just ended abruptly and although I do like cliffhangers, I was hoping to get some closure or security.

Overall, I appreciate The Scapegracers for its characters and the way the author incorporated witchcraft into the story. Hopefully the second book would pull me even deeper into this world of covens, magic, and ghastly girls.

When you combine the words lesbian and witch, my queer little heart leaps for joy. This combination is my ultimate “have to have it” book. 

Let’s start with what I did like:
Other than the obvious, I love having lesbian representation in fantasy;
I loved certain dialogue aspects where the “pretty girl” tells our MC to never refer to herself as ugly. Ever. That she is beautiful. The MC has a lot of self deprecating humor and I love that the “pretty girl” tells her to knock it off. 
I loved the uniqueness of the magic system and some of the angst within. 

That said, the writing felt really disjointed at times. So much so that I’d have to re read a paragraph because MC is talking and doing something and the next thing I know she’s waking up and a new thing is happening. The language was also a bit high school for me, but I think would be fine for the audience it was intended for.

The Scapegracers is one of my new favorites of 2020!! I absolutely loved this book, it was incredibly good! The Scapegracers follows the misadventures of Sideways Pike: our sarcastic and angsty resident witch. Sideways connects with three popular girls at her school, who pay her to do magic at a party. When Sideways experiences magic like never before, she’s found her coven- just in time, as some very creepy witch hunters are in town. 

 As if witch hunters aren’t enough to deal with, Sideways meets a beautiful girl who seems to have an interest in her. But is it all too good to be true? Sideways is such a fun, angsty, and sarcastic character who can scarcely believe she’s found her coven and true friends. The supporting characters, from the girls in the coven to Sideways’ dads, are such lovely characters to spend time with. The characters feel real and personable! The portrayal and exploration of LGBTQ identity is extremely well done. 

The complex female friendship, interesting magic system, and well-paced story absolutely stole my heart. Sideways and the girls who make up her coven are utterly bewitching. I am living for this sisterhood - these girls have each other's backs and take no prisoners. The spooky atmosphere was delightful, with unapologetic writing, and filled with witchy details. It is so satisfying when an author completely nails the pacing of a book and leaves you eagerly awaiting the next adventure! This book has a piece of my heart and I highly recommend it. 

I can’t wait to see how the coven’s adventures continue and I’m already ready for book two! The Scapegracers releases September 15, 2020. Thank you so much to Hannah Abigail Clarke, Erewhon Books, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Oh wow, I can't even begin to express just how much I LOVE this book! The Scapegracers takes magic and witchcraft and describes it in the most electric and beautiful way I've ever read it. I felt the power of magic in this book and in these girls in a way that made me unable to put this book down. Sideways Pike is an incredible main character. She's full of flaws but she's true to herself, and her friendship with the other girls was deeply endearing while capturing the absolute power and ferocity and kindness of teenage girls in a way I've rarely seen in a book. All of these girls felt very real and genuine and complicated as people and I loved getting to know their personalities. I also loved the way the book rooted itself in the real world without ever feeling too stuck in it and the role of magic in the books was incredibly done. I also loved the way identity was explored in this books, especially with having many queer characters in the book who all felt deeply real and genuine. It was especially wonderful to have a powerful, quirky and wild main character who embraced her identity as a lesbian. I can't get over how great of a character Sideways is. I'm absolutely obsessed with this story, with its characters and with the way the plot moved so intricately that I was always left intrigued and always discovering something new. My only complaint is that I don't already have the second book in my hands! I can't wait to see where this story goes and I hope that anyone and everyone takes the time to meet the Scapegracers. I'll be recommending it to everyone I know.

From the Publisher: An outcast teenage lesbian witch finds her coven hidden amongst the popular girls in her school, and performs some seriously badass magic in the process.

Skulking near the bottom of West High’s social pyramid, Sideways Pike lurks under the bleachers doing magic tricks for Coke bottles. As a witch, lesbian, and lifelong outsider, she’s had a hard time making friends. But when the three most popular girls pay her $40 to cast a spell at their Halloween party, Sideways gets swept into a new clique. The unholy trinity are dangerous angels, sugar-coated rattlesnakes, and now–unbelievably–Sideways’ best friends.

Together, the four bond to form a ferocious and powerful coven. They plan parties, cast curses on dudebros, try to find Sideways a girlfriend, and elude the fundamentalist witch hunters hellbent on stealing their magic. But for Sideways, the hardest part is the whole ‘having friends’ thing. Who knew that balancing human interaction with supernatural peril could be so complicated?

Rich with the urgency of feral youth, The Scapegracers explores growing up and complex female friendship with all the rage of a teenage girl. It subverts the trope of competitive mean girls and instead portrays a mercilessly supportive clique of diverse and vivid characters. It is an atmospheric, voice-driven novel of the occult, and the first of a three-book series. 

I know The Scapegracers was suggested to me at some point on NetGalley, but the description above from the publisher just sounded too fluffy cliched high school-y to me (especially the second paragraph), despite an awesome phrase like 'sugar-coated rattlesnakes' and a gorgeous cover. Then I came across the author's article on queer visibility and coding in The Last Unicorn (my favorite movie for over 35 years) on Tor.com and...oh. They can write and they're making me look at a movie I can quote from memory in new ways. Yes, I will definitely request your book. I'm so very glad I did.

As described above, the book follows Sideways and her new friends as they discover their powers. It leaves out the dead deer, the mysterious auction house, and some very interesting spell books. As the first volume in a trilogy, The Scapegracers does end with some pretty big plot points unanswered, and I'm very much hoping that more focus will be on these in future books, especially the witch hunters. 

I loved this book. I devoured it in 24 hours, which has been par for the course during these Trying Times. Either all at once or abandoned half way through. No in between. This is the very best of The Craft but queer and without the betrayal (which as someone who was never popular I kept bracing myself for). It made me want to hug my female friends and braid their hair.

I'm including this quote because I think it gives a far better feel to the book than the summary that was provided. 'She and Jing and Yates were all feliform angels. They laughed and sneered and drank pink lemonade. They were vain, self-centered, overconfident. They ran riot and wrecked the world. Who was I, comparing myself to one of them? Daisy could murder someone with a glance. Holy hell, I wanted that. I wanted to be gorgeous and reckless and legendary, or at least somebody people liked. I wanted the privilege of being mistaken for someone like her. I wanted to be her.'

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Erewhon Books for the ARC. The Scapegracers will be out on September 15, and this review will be updated in regards to obtaining the book through Galesburg Public Library. 

This review originally posted at Books You Can Die in the Middle Of: http://lookgoodifyoudie.blogspot.com/2020/06/the-scapegracers-by-hannah-abigail.html

I liked this book way more than I had expected too, I ended up enjoying it alot!  The main character is angsty, and sarcastic and perfect!! Not mention diverse LGBTQ secondary characters as well, turned up the heat for this book!! The storytelling was very exciting and fast paced which didnt leave a lot of world building. However the characters development was on point!! Very relatable attributes in each character, for every individual reader!! 
Thank you so much to the author for my chance at an early copy!! It did not disappoint!! 

Either way it was still beyond enjoyable!! So glad I got the chance to read this from Netgalley and the publisher!!

4 stars
*Thank you to Netgalley and those involved with Spacegracers for my advanced readers copy.

LGBT witches in high school is the best description I can give to this book, though it is so much more than that.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book even though it had more than a few issues. 
The main character is a loner who due to circumstances in her early life finds it hard to make friends and the other characters are surprisingly refreshing since they are the stereotypical "mean girl" archetype deconstructed. 
I didn't expect to be so overjoyed that the "mean girls" were actually... nice. They were still popular but like every human had vulnerabilities which made me really happy. I love fleshed out characters that belong to archetypes and I found myself relating to them even though I was definitely NOT popular in school. They were vibrant and charismatic and I might have enjoyed reading about them more than the main character.Literally everyone is relatable in some fashion for me at least also so that's a plus!
Also, witchcraft. Let's talk about the other representation in this book. So witchcraft is an actual religious practice that is demonized or misrepresented in media and books most times, but it was not in this book.
The author either is a witch or did their homework when it came to this. Though magic is not seen as this potent in witchcraft (Practitioners usually don't levitate for instance) sigils and rituals are a big part of the craft. So yeah, good job on that!
Now for the reason this is not five stars.
Pacing.
The pacing was really disorienting because it went 1 to 100 so fast. For example, we are escaping the antagonists and then we go to school and it slows down drastically. Maybe that was just a problem for me but it really took me out of the immersion of the book but this is going to be a trilogy so I'm sure the author can fix most of the problems listed here. This is their first book to my knowledge.
Antagonists.
So early on in the book we meet the villains/antagonists and until the end of the book they don't even mention them really again. Also the twist was kind of predictable but I'll let that slide because it made me anxious for the main character and scream "No! Don't do that!"
Overall, I loved the book though and can't wait for the next installment in the trilogy.

I think this book had a great premise and a great cast of characters. I felt like there was some great diversity and representation in this book. I struggled with the clunky writing and the all over the place pacing in this book.

This was way more fun than anticipated!
I mean, I really hoped it would be fun, because there's not many things that are better than lesbian witches imo. 

I had my problems with it at first. I didn't particularly like the writing style, it felt fabricated and... stilted, I guess? It took me almost a third to get used to it. But once I did, and got really invested in Sideways and her newly acquired friends, I really liked this!
And since I somehow got even worse at writing reviews that aren't bulletpoint lists, I'm just going to list all the things I liked and didn't like. Maybe I'll revamp this review once the publication date (September 15) draws near.

- The characters felt real! Which is somehow very uncommon for books with teen main characters, apparently. But these teens curse, they are kind of dicks, but are still human and lovable characters!
- It's very diverse without coming off as forced (like, how some authors force in half-formed characters just for browney points). Sideways' a lesbian. She has two dads. There's casually characters with they/them pronouns, and casual characters with sexualities all over the place and that was just cool
- I didn't particularly like the part where The Clowns (you'll know who I'm talking about once you read the book) turn up. It felt very out of tune with the rest of the story, and just felt like an underdeveloped plot Point
- that being said, I loved that Clarke put enough thought into this to have Sideways emerge from that situation not a-okay, but shaken (re: cars)
- I'm a sucker for the Found Family trope, even more so if said found family are all super supportive girls that will murder anyone to protect each other. This is my jam!
- Some things were a bit too convenient, but I'll forgive that. Writing is hard. Coming up with solutions that work but that aren't convenient is even harder.

All in all, I really enjoyed The Scapegracers! More so than I thought I would! If you like the idea of The Chilling Adventure of Sabrina, but not the execution, and want it gay: Here you have the perfect candidate!


@Erewhon and Netgalley: Thank you guys for the ARC!

***Thanks to NetGalley and Erewhon Books Publishing Company for providing me an ARC of THE SCAPEGRACERS by Hannah Abigail Clarke in exchange for my honest review.***

3.75/5

This book is both an interesting and fun read (although it definitely isn't light). I was personally super excited to read it because of the female friendships and it certainly paid off. I loved the relationships that were established between Sideways and the "popular girls."  TOO many times in popular media the "popular girls" are portrayed as these awful people, when in reality that is oftentimes not the case. Also I don't know how accurate the coven/witchcraft aspects were, but I absolutely loved it. I am really enjoying that these are topics in so many new YA books.

Writing:
-The writing in this book is okay. There were some typos that I caught and sentences that didn't make sense, but since this was an ARC that should be fixed up for its release.

Pacing:
-The pacing in this book was a bit of a problem for me. At times it was super fast paced and fun, while at other points in the story I found myself to be kind of bored (I would recommend that you stick with is though).

Characters:
-I really liked the characters (LGBT+ and racial diversity), but I have to say that Jing is hands down my favorite. She is a cool, smart, badass and I love her.

-I will recommend and already have!!!

This ARC was provided for review, but in no way affects the following impartial and unbiased review:
•
2*
Pros: Queer lead and secondary characters. Creepy and mysterious. Features an awesome coven and full of witchcraft. Feminist notes included. Interesting characters and engaging dialogue.
.
Cons: Stilted and clunky description. Unnecessary and unimportant scenes. Messy plot and sequences.

I can’t wait to continue with the series!!! I can honestly see a Netflix adaption of this. 
Girl friendships that aren’t toxic and lesbian representation, what else do you need?

First things first, I appreciated how diverse this book was. The main character identifies as a lesbian, another female character in her friend group identifies as bisexual, and another identifies as queer. The main character also has two fathers. I also enjoyed the atmosphere the book created. It’s set in a small, sleepy town where everyone knows one another, and being different isn’t so acceptable. I like that kind of spooky feeling when I am reading a book, especially one that includes witches. I appreciated the discussions about femininity and the way teenage girls are treated in society. How vital female friendships are for women, especially young women.

The stuff I didn’t care for: the writing style didn’t really mesh with me. The characters were very unlikeable and I found them to be pretty annoying, even the main character. The little jokes they shared with one another I didn’t find funny. I believe the female relationships in this book were supposed to seem a little off, similar to the female relationships in movies like Heathers and Mean Girls, but that’s not the kind of relationship I was looking for. I was hoping for something more wholesome since that’s what I enjoy reading the most. Since this was a character-driven book, not liking any of the characters made my experience while reading this book not really enjoyable. I also felt like the climax happened too quickly to be satisfying for me. 

This may seem strange, but the three popular girls the main character becomes friends with gave off cult-like vibes for me so if you enjoy cults in books, you may want to pick this book up. I think this is a book many people will enjoy and relate to, I’m just not one of those people.

3.25/5

This book is queer as hell and I'm here for it. One thing I didn't like was how often it was expressed that someone was queer. It made it feel forced rather than authentic. With that put aside, I really enjoyed the storyline of badass chicks creating a coven. I adore all of the characters and sideway's dads are the cutest.

Have you ever read a book that you were like “what did I just read?” at the end of it, but it’s not in a bad way? That was me with this book.

Throughout reading this novel, I was like “what?” but by the end of it, so much had pieced together nicely, and now I am dying for book two! I need to know what happened!

I think some of my confusion was because the synopsis led me astray ever so slightly. I was expecting a novel about a lesbian witch who befriends some other witches and kicks some pathetic male arse and ends up smooching an awesome girl.

However, things weren’t quite like that.

Sideways, our main character, is a witch who just happens to be a lesbian. It isn’t a main focus of the story, which is awesome itself – more lesbian main characters whose storyline isn’t just about coming out, please. And while Sideways is attracted to another girl, there is pretty much zero romance in this novel. There’s far too much else going on. I also love this, too.

The three most popular, fierce, and scary girls from school pay Sideways $40 to do some magic at their Halloween party since Sideways is kind of known for being a witch, but people aren’t exactly sure if they believe.

The night of the party, Sideways does her magic, also meets a cute girl, but wakes up the next day with no idea why she had blacked out.

Enter some the creepy Chantry brothers who are witch hunters. In fact, their entire family are witch hunters, who want nothing more than to take a witch’s power, and subsequently her life, since witches can’t live without their magic.

I did expect the story to focus a little more on them, since it’s mentioned in the synopsis and all, but I’m also glad that it wasn’t a huge focus, too.

The main focus of the book was Sideways becoming friends with Jing, (Lila) Yates, and Daisy. Sideways hasn’t had real friends before, so she isn’t exactly sure how to have friends, but they fit together seamlessly.

I love that the friendship between the four girls was such a massive focus in the book – it made my little heart sing. It also sets things up nicely for book two, I think, too. And with what happened after the second Halloween party, I am so eager to find out what is going to happen next!

On the whole, I really enjoyed this book, and I will definitely be getting myself a copy because that cover is divine. I’m excited to see where book two takes us. I believe this is a trilogy, so I know I’m going to be left wanting more after the second book as well.

The Scapegracers follows Sideways Pike, a teenage lesbian girl that makes spells for money. With an atmosphere and a writing style that reminds of a mix of Mean Girls and some generic brand of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, we're slowly getting into a plot with a boy cursed, a girl and some witch hunters.

All of this may sound good but the execution is confusing and poor. We get bombarded by the L word on the summary and at the beginning but then it comes to nothing, really. So the inclusion of a lesbian witch main character ended up being less like some diversification and more like a pamphlet. The super forced romance at the very start of the story also didn't go anywhere and was mostly unbelievable.
Plus the beginning is like super basic: a lesbian whose parents are both male and she ends up being the target of a fake rumor that says she's a radical vegan who hates humans and specifically men so her personality has to be like a badass loner witch to be cool and kind of feared. And she learns magic from the Internet and from some mysterious volumes that appears from nowhere.

There is a lot -and I mean A LOT- of empty subplots. What I mean is that there are loads of scenes that add nothing to the general story, like telling the reader the whole plot -dialogues included- of a movie they go watch to the cinema, or extensive dialogues between characters the author puts too much emphasys for we to despise them but not really. Sparkle some random mysoginistic messages and slogans to make it more pro-feminist and there you have it.

If you're a fan of Riverdale, the TV series, and Thirteen Reasons Why, with a touch of teenage witchery, then this book would probably be for you. But if you're looking for better script and more logical plots maybe you should try reading another book.

I guess my point is that teenage girls aren’t supposed to be powerful, you know? Everybody hates teenage girls. They hate our bodies and hate us if we want to change them. They hate the things we’re supposed to like but hate it when we like other things even more, because that means we’re ruining their things. We’re somehow this great corrupting influence, even though we’ve barely got legal agency of our own. But the three of us – the four of us, counting you – we’re powerful.

Every so often I come across a rare diamond in the rough among YA, and this year, that book is The Scapegracers. I would like to begin by thanking NetGalley and Erewhon. I received this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Part of me is still reeling. Part of me is still on a co-mingled high of genuine love for this book, and a post-read crash - a kind of mourning - now that it's finished. The Scapegracers is the sort of raw, dark, witchy read I would have loved - and desperately longed for - during my own teenage years. The magic in this book practically slithers off the page. It's the sort of magic that always held an allure for me; wild, dangerous, raw. It isn't pretty. Despite the giddiness that grips the cast of characters - and the reader - at times, it is still unmistakably seething with teeth and anger. Hannah Clarke's works crackle on the page. They've written a gorgeous book.

At it's heart, The Scapegracers is as much about embracing, even celebrating your differences and strengths, as it's about strong relationships among young women and the perpetual high school trope of being an outcast. There was a lot to love about this book, and it was a fun ride. It gave off very strong The Craft vibes without being derivative.

Writing quality/readability - 4/5 I really clicked with the writing style. Hannah Clarke's writing is gorgeous and evocative, and it wrung emotions out of me like a magician pulling silk scarves out of a top hat. The description - though limited - was well written and beautiful. In some cases, however, the book suffers from a lack of description. (As an example, we're never told what Sideways looks like, although we have a clear, if concise, picture of virtually everyone else.) Ms. Clarke has a writing tic that becomes immediately obvious, in that Sideways has a habit of licking/scraping/dragging her tongue along her teeth, cheek, and gums. This phrase, or some variant of it, appears often enough through the book to be noticeable, and unfortunately distracting. (20+ times, at last count.) Overall, though, the book is an easy, enjoyable read, and keeps you turning the pages.

Plot - 4.5/5 As mentioned previously, there are heavy The Craft vibes. As someone who loved The Craft, this is the opposite of a problem. However, the plot isn't infallible. Is the plot wholly original? No. It's your standard witches vs hunters trope common among most urban/high fantasy novels. The setting is the only key difference, in that respect, as it's set in high school. However, the plot is fresh and unique enough - and twisty enough - to keep you guessing, while being fun and engaging. Never trust a pretty girl.

Characterization - 5/5 The Scapegracers is one of those rare books where falling in love with the characters is, if not necessarily immediate or a matter of course, something that just happens. Sideways and Yates were immediately likable. Sideways because of her coarseness, pluck, and off-kilter, 'this is who I am, fuck you' attitude, and Yates because, well. Lila Yates is a ray of sunshine. I was not a fan of Jing or Daisy, but I respected the hell out of them. In a society where women are too often encourage to be quieter, softer - that strong emotions are unbecoming and embarrassing, and that angry women are practically an original sin, the way these two reveled in their strength and anger was inspiring and refreshing. In short, it's hard not to like everyone, even if you're not necessarily a fan of them.

World building - 3.5/5 This is one of the only areas where the novel stumbles. There were times where, as glittering and exciting as the world of The Scapegracers is, it felt lacking. There are glimmers of intrigue as far as the other covens, and even regarding the witch hunting Brothers Chantry, but none of this really goes anywhere or is really explained. Granted, that may be because this is the first book of a series, but the ambiguity of things like how witches came into their power (are they born or made?) covens and their roles, and the rise of the witch hunters was frustrating at times.

In general, though, I really liked this book. I'm already talking to all my friends about it, and I'm hungry to return to the world of the Scapegracers. Until then, this is a perfect introduction to the season of the witch.

Hmm, the Scapegracers was a bit of a weird one for me. Lesbian witches? A coven of outcasts? A loner called Sideways? I mean, it all sounds amazing, but it just didn't completely add up for me. I think I had two main issues: 1. For the most part, it was hard to actually like any of the main characters. 
2. The writing style was a bit disjointed which left me feeling lost at times. 

If you like slow-burning plots this could be for you, though. I did enjoy parts of it, and by the end, I was glad that I didn't put it down on the few occasions that I wanted to. I  liked the diversity of it, and it did a good job of evoking that sort of lost, yet rebellious teenage spirit. It kind of felt like reading a really weird daydream, and I guess that's pretty cool!? Maybe.

I so wished I loved this book. It just wasn't for me. The main issue I had was with the writing, it just didn't grip me. The conversation bored me, and there were too many swear words on a page. The plot fell flat for me after 100 pages, and I would have loved to see more of the main character's life outside the cult, but it remained the main focus throughout the book. I did like the macabre atmosphere the book gave me, and that is the only reason for giving it 2 stars.

I'm going to admit that this wasn't my favorite book. I couldn't connect with the characters or the story. There were a few times that things would happen and take my interest, but then I would lose interest again. I'm not sure if this was the writing or just the story.