I loved this book so much and it made me so happy to see a black women as a main character especially since I’m a black women myself. I just loved it. I thought the writing style, plot, and characters were immaculate.

Thank you to Netgalley for this arc ebook!
I requested this because I felt like it was something my students would read and j like to preview books before mentioning new titles to them. This did have some sensitive topics in it, but I think that they could be used to spark meaningful conversations in our student/teacher book club!

This story was intense and emotional in a way that gripped me and kept me compelled the entire time. The characters feel so real that even when I didn't agree with them, I understood them. The fantasy aspect was interesting and felt real in how unexplainable things about it were. Definitely recommend.
Trigger warnings for abuse, death, death of a pet, and possibly others that I'm forgetting.

Bad Witch Burning is a contemporary fantasy by Jessica Lewis that is slated to be released in August by Delacorte.
I received this as an ARC and have tried to make sure my review is as unbiased as possible. That said, I absolutely love this book.


Trigger Warnings: animal death, physical and emotional abuse of a minor, gaslighting, murder/manslaughter with some gore. It’s not super graphic, but it does happen.


This book is light on the world building and heavy on the characters, immersion, and emotional response. It hit me hard from the author’s note/dedication and continued until the end of the book (and beyond, really, because the book hangover for this was real!) It’s unapologetically #ownvoices and #BlackGirlMagic, and shines a harsh light on real world issues faced by teens every day, with a new spin on zombies/undead/necromancy and ghosts.

I never thought of myself as someone who enjoyed contemporary fantasy because I love lots of worldbuilding, but I’ve read a string of contemporary fantasies lately that are changing my mind and this one is no exception. It doesn’t suffer at all from the real world setting, and in fact, that aids the story because the focus is on the characters, who feel multi-dimensional and fully realized.

The magic is not a hard magic system, but it isn’t prone to info-dumps either. While the main character, Katrell, already has her powers at the beginning, they’re easily explained as we see them in action, and the exposition is delivered in brief snippets that are strong with voice, so it didn’t feel like exposition. And then when her magic suddenly does change, the nature of those changes are discovered by the reader and Katrell hadn’t in hand.

The plot is easy to follow and straight-forward, delivered in a single point of view, first person (Katrell) present tense. Normally I don’t love first person, but it really worked here to pull me in. The storytelling is straight-forward without tons of descriptive language. There are descriptions, but they aren’t poetic. They’re mostly focused on Katrell’s emotional response to the events and the motivations for her choices, which make this a fast-paced, tightly woven story without fluff but which packs a lot of emotional punch.

Quick bit about the plot: Katrell is our protagonist, a 16 year old who’s balancing so much trouble and responsibility that high school seems like the least of her concerns. She is far more worried about having a roof over her head and something to eat, even if it’s just a couple of Pop-Tarts or some crackers and peanut butter (hidden in her room) for a meal. She juggles (badly) school and two part-time jobs, taking as many hours as she can get because her mom is “in between jobs” (and has been for months), and her mom’s deadbeat boyfriend-of-the-month comes over, eats all their food (which is why she hides food), and never helps with any bills. They’d have been homeless by now if it weren’t for her side-scheme. Katrell can talk to the dead, and people are willing to pay money for conversations with their dearly departed loved ones.

But then a ghost tells Katrell to stop talking to the dead or she’ll “burn everything down”. Katrell tries, but then her hours get cut and rent is due. As if that wasn’t bad enough, her mom’s boyfriend threatens her and hits her, and her mom won’t defend her, just telling her to respect him so he won’t get angry and hit her more. Katrell has no one to turn to. Her mastiff is her loyal companion, but he wouldn’t hurt a flea, and her mom tells her it’s her fault, but also promises that it’s “you and me, forever” and “things will get better soon”. Things spiral from there.
I’m not going to go more into the plot because I don’t want to spoil anything. From here on I’m going to talk in vague terms.

But the characters are where this book really shines. Let me tell you about the characters.

Katrell’s voice is so strong and she’s easy to root for even when she makes awful decisions. Her desperation comes through, and her relationship with her toxic mother is the first time I felt really seen, from how she lies to herself to allow herself to keep holding on, downplaying her mother’s abuse and focusing only on the rare good times, believing her mom despite her lies. She’s desperate to prove she’s the good daughter, desperate to keep them financially afloat, and killing herself with too much responsibility and nowhere to turn.

But it’s not just Katrell. Every character’s motivations made sense, and each had their own goals and struggles.
Will is her best friend, and Will’s tragic experiences in the foster system reinforce Katrell’s determination to stick with her mom. Will’s facing her own struggles too, slowly learning to trust her newly adoptive parents, even with such things as being able to look them in the eye or speak to them. She’s got her own goals too, pursuing an art competition even in the face of bullying (mostly due to Katrell refusing to let her give up). And nothing is wasted in this book as even Will’s struggles with learning to drive play a role in impacting the plot. Will is the light shining for Katrell on how things *can* be.

Katrell and Will’s friendship is awesome. Even when they fight, even when Katrell goes and does the very thing Will tells her not to do, they clearly care about each other. Katrell pushes Will to keep improving, to not let fear stop her, but also she’s patient with her, tries to protect her, and tries to think of Will’s wishes and safety—at least, until she's drowning under her mountain of mess (that she built herself) and sets her world on fire. And Will is fiercely loyal to Katrell, including delivering hard words to Katrell when she needs them.

Mike the guidance counselor is amazing. He doesn’t know exactly what’s going on with Katrell because she can’t bring herself to trust him, but he’s pretty sure her home life isn’t good (though he has no idea how bad it is) and he tries to help. He role-models healthy boundaries for Katrell and good goal-setting, which she then uses with Will to encourage her. Mike and Katrell’s scenes are short but sweet and full of impact.

I loved how even minor characters impact the plot, whether they’re setting fires and contributing to Katrell’s burning her life away, or whether they’re there helping to slosh water on the flames. If it was just Will, things would’ve ended differently (even though Will is amazing), because the lifeline wouldn't hold up to the fire. It's too easy for something to go wrong, or to rationalize that you're really still all alone. But four lifelines, all from different people who are showing her what love really means, that's why she can fight back to the surface.

This book was incredibly emotionally engaging for me and deeply immersive. It’s possible that it’d be less emotionally intense if I didn’t see my own childhood in Katrell’s relationship with her mom. I don’t normally cry with books but I did with this one, and I cried after too. I struggled to put the book down to do anything else. The chapters are short and snappy, and there’s no filler. I think every plot point that came up was used, as I mentioned above with Will and Mike. The cover is probably the thing I like least about this book. It’s good, but it’s just not my favorite. But I did come away from the book with further musings on the impact poverty can have on kids especially, as these concerns drive so much of the book and ring with truth.

This book is heavy but it's a good kind of heavy. The troubles Katrell's really dealing with are troubles people deal with every day. The Revenants are just the figurative piece. And Katrell is so determined and Will is phenomenal and their interactions are so wholesome, it keeps it from being too heavy in my opinion.

I'd heard amazing things about this book. After reading it, I can confirm that all the hype is warranted! Bad Witch Burning is stellar. Like all books, I started from the beginning. There is an author note there by Jessica Lewis, and after reading it, I felt every line more fully which makes the book that more satisfying. Katrell is an angry teen, living in a "bad" neighborhood with her mom and her mom's abusive boyfriend. She has to worry about things most teens don't, like paying rent. But she also has the ability to talk to the dead. Cleverly, she uses this skill to help pay the bills and chaos ensues when she accidentally brings her dog back from the dead and realizes this could be a way to make more money.

Lewis does a great job of slowly increasing stakes, tension, and Katrell's desperation, making this a fast read. I saw myself in Katrell, in her anger and her desperation. I'm all for main characters making reckless decisions, and this did not disappoint! Every character had a ton of personality, even the dog. They leapt right off the page, making it feel like i was with Katrell every step of the way. I felt so strongly for her, that I never wanted the journey to end. The themes in this book are timeless and relevant. I 100% would recommend.

16 year old Katrell can communicate with the dead through letters. She uses her powers as a side hustle to keep her and her mom afloat with covering rent. One day, after a strange warning, Katrell's powers advance and she can bring the dead back to life. However, this new power comes with severe consequences to Katrell and those around her. There's something wrong with the people she brings back and Katrell can't seem to stop herself from performing more rituals since it means she makes more money each time. Centered on themes of abuse, toxic relationships, and poverty, Katrell must undo the damage she's done and accept the help from those around her. Overall, this was an enjoyable read and the friendship between Katrell and Will was a highlight. I pictured Katrell as a character similar to Chilling Adventures of Sabrina's Prudence and I have no idea if that's accurate but I loved it anyway.

I more than enjoyed this book, I was truly touched by Katrell and her struggles. She was a fantastic character and I teared up more than once while reading. I loved the writing and the pacing in this story made everything go whirlwind fast. I honestly can’t think of a single negative thing about my experience.
This book was raw and reading it was like cleaning out a wound. I definitely recommend it, but I also think that readers should prepare by looking at the trigger warnings that other reviewers have mentioned (i.e. abuse, animal death, etc).

I had an enjoyable time reading this and it held my attention the entire way through that I finished it within the day! I enjoyed every page and thought that the plot/story was very unique. Would recommend to anyone!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but this read like an excellent stand alone. A heartwrenching witch story. So much harsh truths with just a touch of magic.

This book was a tough one. I think that the perspective and situations within the book were presented in a very raw, real way. The depictions of physical abuse and emotional manipulation were painful to experience as a reader and my heart hurt for Katrell. I admired her determination to get things done and her drive to succeed and her desire to help her mom, no matter the cost. I enjoyed the focus on relationships within the story and how these relationships grew and struggled over the course of the narrative.

I do wish more time had been spent exploring the magic of the world. Why did Katrell's powers suddenly change? Will they ever go back to normal? How do they work? And the way the plot was resolved felt a little rushed and convenient.

I will say that a lot of reviewers cover trigger warnings around abuse and manipulation and suicidal thoughts, but another thing worth mentioning is the murder of a pet and how graphic some of the animal attack scenes were. Overall, I really appreciated what this book was trying to do, but the lack of rules and structure within the magic of the world left me wanting a little more.

This is a book that I can see the teens I work with really enjoying, so even though it wasn't my favorite, it is definitely something I'll recommend. I did think the concept of the book was interesting, and it was written in an engaging way even though some of the plot twist were pretty obvious. The thing that really kept this from being a 4 star read for me was that Trell was so difficult to like for much of the book, and I found myself more curious about Will's past and present and wanting to know her story instead.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Chikdrens for the ARC of this book. All my opinions are my own.

I finished this last night and woke up this morning still thinking about it. I couldn’t put it down. This was SO GOOD.
TW: abuse, domestic violence, suicidal thoughts, death

Can I just start by saying what an insanely cool concept? I loved the idea of this book from the second I heard about it and it exceeded all of my expectations. This is one of the most different, intriguing, un-put down-able reads I’ve ever read. From the minute Kantrell’s narration starts you get sucked in. Her voice is strong and leads this story in a way you feel like you are Kantrell. What brilliant writing. The plot is fast paced. It starts from the very first chapter and it’s pedal to the metal. I couldn’t even tell you what I loved the most because I loved it all.

One of my favorite parts of this book was the solid friendship Will and Kantrell had. Despite having their differences, they were there for each other. Great friend/friend groups is one of my favorite things in books, so seeing such a solid friendship was so nice. I really think their friendship was one of the strong points of this book. Will wasn’t afraid to call Trell out, and Trell wasn’t afraid to do the same. But it came from such a deep love for the other, it always made them better.

My heart broke various times throughout the book for Kantrell. What an incredible young woman. Her story arc is fantastic and she really grows a lot, even in little ways. Her magic is so interesting and watching it unfold and change was awesome. I really wish i could go on, but i don’t want to spoil this for anyone. Read it in August when it comes out!! You won’t regret it!

I plowed through this book very quickly! Katrell is an extremely interesting character to read, and is very well written.

This story handles very real issues impressively, combining many aspects of trauma with fantastical elements to craft a powerful narrative that tackles actual issues as well as gives a darkly entertaining supernatural story.

Solid writing, and good characterization throughout the book solidifies the already good story.

Very good book! It took me a little bit to get into the book because of how it is a chillingly realistic account of a girl who has been failed by society, by the system, and by everyone she knows. It is dark and gritty at times and can be hard to read because too many people have grown up in similar circumstances and experienced abuse and trauma. The story shows Katrell's determination to succeed no matter what and I loved the concept of her unique powers with the dead. It was interesting to see how her powers evolved, what they meant, and what were the costs to her and those around her. This is a story of a girl who puts everyone else first, who is always working and hustling to make money to raise herself out of poverty, even when the cost might be her life.

I received an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ecopy of this book for me to review. I would give this book 4 stars! When you get beyond the cover (which is stunning and powerful!) you get to a story that is about a young woman finding herself and discovering the powers within herself...and how dark they can be. I loved that this book had a dark edge to it and that Katrell had to make some hard choices with regards to her magic, that made the story very compelling for me.

I would rate this book 4 stars based on the storytelling and the character development alone, but the execution of the authors idea and emotions in this book are what really made it. 4 stars!

3 stars.

I want to start of by saying I think this book is really unique in a lot of ways. The author gets deep into the realities of living in poverty and how gaslighting and emotional abuse can look like from a parent. This book really drew me in on how developed the setting was.

However, this read much like reading the middle of a story. There isn't much in terms of explanation of Katrell's powers or why they suddenly changed. There's not even much to explain how they solved the problem. Will simply "seeing a burn" was the linchpin on how to fix it. Why did people forget? Why did Will remember more than the people's actual families? There seemed to be so much on the relationships that Katrell has that not enough time was focused on the actual plot of the story.

I think this author has a lot of potential, so I look forward to what they write next. This diversity in fantasy/horror/supernatural genre is MUCH needed so 3 stars.

I was througly entertained when reading this, it was a beautifully done tale. I enjoyed getting to know Katrell and her powers, I really felt for Katrell and could understand her choices, those choices gave the book a spooky atmosphere that added to the novel. I was hooked from the beginning and was capivated to the end.

I really really liked "Bad Witch Burning". I thought Katrell was a interesting protagonist and I could definitely understand her motivations for creating the Revenants. (I mean, raising dead people on exchange for desperately needed money so she doesn't starve? I do it too.)I really liked Will as well. Her soft spokeness was a nice balance for Katrell's assertiveness.

Trell is burdened beyond her years, living in an untenable situation. She discovers she has the ability to reanimate the dead and attempts to use that ability to solve her problems

At its heart the book is about an isolated 16 y.o. girl coming to terms with her troubled life.

The difficulties of traversing a difficult adolescence is well depicted. An excellent young adult novel.

I received an ARC courtesy of Netgalley. I'm leaving my honest review.