When I read the synopsis and requested a ARC of Bad Witch Burning, I had expected to enjoy the book. What I hadn't expected was for the book to punch me straight in the face, leaving me sobbing for at least the last 30 minutes of reading.

While the book deals with heavy subjects from the start--child abuse and neglect, for instance--Lewis is able to combine these with fantasy in a way that will leave you gutted when realization hits in the end. While there were some shortcomings--development of side characters, vague magic rules--the truth is that even despite these small issues, Lewis has written a book that will stay with you for a long time after you finish reading.

4.5 of 5 Stars
--
I was engulfed with this book as soon as I started reading it. It took me through a rollercoaster of emotions, from sad to angry to hopeful. I love the contemporary fantasy elements of the book and how letter writing was the magic system. This book allowed me to truly relax after starting my new job a month ago.

Content warning: physical and emotional abuse by family members; violence; suicidal ideation

Growing up Black and a young woman is not for the faint of heart. Jessica Lewis, author of Bad Witch Burning, attests to this fact, pulling details from her own life to share Katrell, the protagonist of this novel, with the world.

Katrell is 16 going on 17 in modern day Alabama and her world is nowhere near as idyllic as the life led by Liesl von Trapp, although the love she has for those near her is just as complicated. As we begin the story, Katrell is still reeling from her mother’s decision to rely on the meager earnings she and her mother’s boyfriend, Gerald, bring in months after being laid off from a retail job. Though recent, nothing about this dynamic is new for Katrell, who has found herself consumed by concerns about making rent and enough money to cover utilities and other basic needs for most of her life. Because of her restaurant job and phantasmal connections she makes for clients, Katrell is unable to truly focus on school and plans to drop out as soon as she turns 17 in order to keep her mother from going to court. Circumstances take on a more dire dimension when Katrell stands up to Gerald and her powers amplify from simple communion with the dead to their resurrection. Seizing an entrepreneurial opportunity in bringing people back from the beyond, Katrell is soon raking in enough money to cover rent for the year in addition to the other expenses she’s been worried about. However, using her powers in such an extreme way puts a lot of wear and tear on her body—clouding much of her thinking and how well she manages school and work—something that does not go unnoticed by those who care for her.

Luckily, Katrell is not alone as she faces these issues. Her best friend Wilhelmina—Will—and her adoptive family are supportive of Katrell and make sure she has somewhere to stay and food to eat. Distressed by the idea that she is a burden to Will’s family as her mother is to her, Katrell does her best to only seek this support during emergencies, and even when abused does her best to protect her mother from consequences. Understandably, Katrell’s feelings about her mother are complicated and she comes into conflict with Will whenever her mother’s lack of care is brought up. This loyalty to those closest to her leads to some strange occurrences with those that she resurrects. Her once docile dog, Conrad, is suddenly ready to attack any threat he perceives after his resurrection. Later, some of the people she’s resurrected even go out of their way to help her build a safety net of sorts—leading Katrell to question her own morality. Katrell’s struggle to balance the emotions tying her to her mother, Will and her family, Mike (a school counselor who has shown concern for her), and the people she’s resurrected, while also dealing with the toll that resurrections have on her body, is the primary conflict of this story and leads to several unexpected consequences.

This book resonated with me on so many levels, particularly because being around 17 and broke is a feeling that I don’t think you ever recover from. You’re old enough to know exactly which factors in life have you in this desperate situation—especially in understanding who and what you can count on—while also feeling the weight and responsibility of needing to do something about it. It’s a tenuous time where childhood is practically over, yet still unfinished and worthy of its own observance. I appreciate seeing multiple adults in Katrell’s life have this exact concern about how she balances her life even while she points out that she is the only person she can count on in her life to make sure they can survive without being ripped apart. It is only when the person she feels closest to, Will, brings this up that we see the fullness of Katrell’s inner conflict, which feels true to the teenage experience.

All in all, this book is perfect for the reader who is looking for a story with strong, conflicted, characters leading imperfect lives who are fine with narratives that include abuse and other triggering moments. The pacing, emotional beats, and conflicts in this story feel real although the story hinges on the surreality of the dead being back to some semblance of life. How real is life if we don’t confront the emotions we’ve tried to bury?

Oh how I love this book… This story knocked my socks off and elicited so many emotions from me. Katrell’s back story is one that will definitely resonate with a lot of young people growing up in the hood. Her situation with her mom and her mom’s boyfriend is a sad reality that far too many young black kids go through and Lewis portrayed this situation very thoughtfully and tactfully. Katrell is pushed really far in this novel physically and mentally and there are rare moments when she is happy and content. However, her resilience comes through very loudly and I was rooting for her the entire time. She was such a likable character and I really wish there was a way for me to give her a hug. There were quite a few scary elements in this book as well. The ‘Revenants’ were not my cup of tea, but they added a nice frightening undertone to Katrell’s dilemma. The imagery concerning these monsters was astounding. I would definitely recommend this book to people who liked Blood Like Magic and Wings of Ebony, the vibes are sooo similar! I am so excited to see more from Jessica Lewis.

Thanks for the free book prhinternational.

𝐁𝐚𝐝 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠, Jessica Lewis’ debut novel, is out today.

𝗧𝗪: 𝗮𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗱𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀, 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹, 𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝗼𝗿𝗲

As the author herself writes, this is a story for all of those girls that, like her, have had to struggle in life without ever seeing a way out of the dark. She wrote this story to let her anger out and tell people like her to never give up, even when it’s hard, even when everything seems lost.

This was not just an entertaining read about a girl with the power to resurrect the dead, it was also a book about toxic and abusive families, what one is willing to do when is desperate to get out of a bad situation and the consequences that choice brings with it.

It was upsetting and frustrating to read as Katrell kept excusing her mother’s toxic behaviour, yet it also was understandable that a teenager would cling to her mother, her denial of the situation a way to protect herself from the harsh truth. As things started to unfold, Lewis' writing perfectly conveyed the girl’s anger growing stronger and uglier together with her despair, and how these feelings, instead of helping her get out of that situation, ended up eating at her and throwing her into one even more dangerous.

Katrell had to literally face the worst parts of herself and her fears before she could finally see that despite it all, there’s people who actually care about her, that after all the sadness and the hopelessness, things do get better. One only has to muster up the courage to ask for help.

⭐4-~4/5
...
Grazie per il libro in anteprima, Penguin Random House

𝐁𝐚𝐝 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠, il romanzo debutto di Jessica Lewis esce oggi in lingua originale.

𝗧𝗪: 𝗮𝗱𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶 𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶, 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗲 𝗱𝗶 𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗲, 𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘇𝗮 𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗲.

Come scrive l'autrice stessa, questa storia è per tutte quella ragazze che, come lei, hanno dovuto lottare nella loro vita senza riuscire a vedere mai la luce in fondo al tunnel. Ha scritto questa storia per dare sfogo alla rabbia e per dire alle persone come lei di non arrendersi mai, anche quando è difficile, anche quando tutto sembra perduto.

Questo libro non è stato soltanto una lettura interessante su una ragazzina col potere di resuscitare i morti, è anche un libro su relazioni tossiche e famiglie violente, su cosa si è disposti a fare pur di uscire da una brutta situazione e le conseguenze di tale scelta.

Leggere mentre Katrell continuava a giustificare l'atteggiamento tossico della madre mi ha fatto sentire frustrata e turbata, eppure è comprensibile che una teenager si aggrappi a sua madre e che usi la negazione per proteggersi dalla sua verità. Con lo svilupparsi degli eventi, la scrittura della Lewis ha espresso perfettamente il sentimento di rabbia della ragazza che si faceva sempre più forte e cattivo insieme alla sua disperazione, e come questi sentimenti, invece di aiutarla a uscire da quella situazione, abbiano finito per nutrirsi di lei e metterla in una situazione ancora più pericolosa.

Katrell deve letteralmente affrontare i lati peggiori di sé stessa e le proprie paure prima di riuscire finalmente a vedere che, nonostante tutto, ci sono persone che ci tengono davvero a lei e che, dopo tutta la tristezza e la disperazione, le cose migliorano. Bisogna solo avere il coraggio di chiedere aiuto.

⭐4-~4/5

Bad Witch Burning put my heart through the emotional wringer. From Lewis exploring toxic family members to the fear and doubts of letting people in? Everything is emotionally intense and gripping. Katrell's story of how she is put into the parental role - when no child should have to be - and the desperation of poverty. We are able to see Katrell on the page in all her mistakes, loves, and doubts. To witness her emotional journey and character arc.

There are moments that break your heart from the small all the way to the large. From the internal narration in our own heads, to the fights with our best friends, to the toxic relationship with her mother. Bad Witch Burning is a book that has us fall so deeply in love with the characters, all their nuances and intricacies, and then watch the action take off. I struggle to figure out whether I love the story line - the supernatural - or the characters more. But they work so seamlessly together to create a narrative you can't put down.

4,5 stars

If you've taken a look at the trigger warnings for this book you will know right away this is a book that broke my heart. And it will break your heart too because everything about this book is so real. The author confirms she's dealt with similar situations in her own life in the past in the foreword. And you can tell.

Katrell can talk to the death with the help of letters. She doesn't mind and it earns her an extra penny to help pay with the rent. Which she mostly pays on her own. Her home situation is terrible. Her mom has no job and keeps with a dead beat guy who beats Katrell. They expect her to work and make money so they have a roof over their heads and can do 'fun' things. Katrells only break comes from her friend Will who lives with foster parents who adopted her. She is safe there, but only Will knowns the truth about her home situation.

After a horrible incident Katrell accidentally raises someone from the dead. And she realizes she can earn a lot more money to keep a house and maybe even get out of poverty. You can imagine how well that went.

So much about this book broke my heart. Of course we have the big themes but more than that it was the broken hearted girl in Katrell that she didn't want to show. The girl that couldn't believe Wills mom would hang up one of her pieces of poetry. The girl that didn't think she was worth of any kind of love. What her mom did to her was unforgiveable. But Katrell went back because that is the loyalty of a child to their parents. She didn't want to get her mom into trouble so she never said anything to the social worker at her school. Everything about this book was real and it hurt.

The only thing I have is that I would have liked a bit of world buiding on the magic. I realize this is obviously not the focal point of this book but if you are going to use it try and put in a little more. It was just a little too thin.

Having said that this book is heart breaking and so well written. One that you won't forget after reading.

Wheeeeew this book! I happened to pick this up out of mild interest, but low and behold; the quality shocked the hell out of me!

What I liked about this book is that it's modern. The fantasy aspect is that the main character, Katrell, is a medium that can talk to ghosts for a short amount of time. Other than that, she is a regular black teenager trying to stay above the poverty line. She doesn't escape into a magical realm, she doesn't inherit magical powers like Harry Potter, and there are no fairies or warlocks. There's the run-down side of town she lives on, her ain't shit neglectful mother and the boyfriend that beats her to establish dominance. She deals with life the best way she could.

As much as I liked this book, it also drudged up a dark side of thinking for me. Sadly I've seen a situation somewhat similar to Katrell's. Lewis portrayed this aspect of the book as horrifically beautiful. While I wish no child would ever go through what Katrell went through, I can say this shaped the character to be who she is from beginning to end.

Katrell has the ability to communicate with the dead. For most of her life this ability has been useful to her, especially since, it has allowed her to make money so that she and her shiftless mother could keep a roof over their heads, food on the table and social services off their backs. One day while communicating with her best friend Will's grandmother, she learns from grandma Clara that her powers are changing and that she may be seeing an evolution of her skills that may not be in her best interest, Will's grandma then commands that she not be summoned again, for Katrell's safety. At first Katrell heeds the warning, but when Trell tragically looses a beloved figure in her life, in grief she turns to her magic for comfort, unbeknownst to her, she resurrects him from the dead. Since this resurrection has brought her great joy, she wonders how many other people her gift may help, but more pragmatically, she wonders, how much money could this net her, with the rent do and the cubburds bare due to her mom'a new boyfriend, Trell, in her mind, has no other option but to try and find out. If you are intrigued and want to know how this situation pans out for Katrell then I highly recommend you pick up Bad Witch Burning, it's a wild, emotional, terrifying and satisfying ride.

Bad Witch Burning is really a beautifully told story filled with universal themes such as of the powers of love, friendship and redemption disguised as a bloodcurdling YA horror novel. There is plenty to necromanctic scares to send shivers down readers spine, but I suspect that is not what will keep the readers riveted to this book. Katrell's personal story, which includes her best friend Will, is the core of this tale. It is the traumatic horrors of this everyday natural life that will trump the horrors of any supernatural entity and appall the reader. Jessica Lewis does a wonderful job putting the reader in the mind of Trell and then keeping the reader vested in not just Trell's journey but her survival because as Katrell will learn nothing in this life is free not even magic. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Katrell has a rough life. It is just her and her mom, and her mom's boyfriend. The boyfriend is a jerk and hits Katrell occasionally. Katrell's best friend, Will, helps her hold it together.
Katrell is also a witch who is able to talk to the dead. She has people pay her to be able to speak to loved ones. This money goes to paying rent and other bills that her mother doesn't pay. When things go wrong with the dead, Katrell's life spins out of control. She must find a way to bring it back together.
Opinion
For those of you who follow my reviews, you know what I'm going to say next. I love paranormal stories. Give me witches, warlocks, vampires, shifters and the like and I'm a happy woman. This book takes a new spin on witches. The side effects of Katrell's contacts with the dead delve down a path that I certainly never would have thought of.
The story itself is written in short chapters and geared towards adolescents. The flow of the book was excellent. Jessica Lewis has a way of releasing just enough information at critical moments to keep the reader captivated the whole way through. I would certainly recommend this book to any fan of paranormal
Many thanks to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Well, shit. This book is unlike any other book I've read. Technically YA contemporary fantasy, this is the story of Katrell. Her power of writing letters to summon the dead gets a sudden, unexplained upgrade, seemingly leading to full-on resurrections. Katrell is the main money-earner for her and her mother and her mother's boyfriend, so she is relieved at the new potential business venture to make rent and keep the power on. Despite Katrell's best efforts to keep everything under control, both the living and the undead have other plans, and everything starts to spiral.

I see people write in reviews sometimes "this book wrecked/destroyed me," and I admit that is not a common reaction I have when reading, but in this case, exceptions must be made. I've been razed to the ground by this book. The gut-wrenching author's note and dedication at the beginning had me sitting up and paying attention even before page 1, and the story held my undivided attention for the duration-- a great feat, indeed. This book is not for the faint of heart. I was crying before the 10% mark, and that was far from the last time. I didn't track every time I cried because how ridiculous would that be... but it happened again in the final pages of the book, so at least we can agree it was intermittent right until the bitter but hopeful end. I attribute the emotional reaction not only to the content of the story but also to the author's vivid, cutting writing and matter-of-fact narration. There are no frills, just brutal honesty.

Let me give you some less emotional, more cogent points about why you should read this one: Katrell is savvy, hard-headed, and loyal. Her responsibilities weigh her down, with no horizon in sight. This is her difficult, gruesome journey towards something better. It's about accepting help and support, and realizing there is something better to look forward to, an unconditional love that is reciprocated and deserved. In a rare move for a young adult book, there is no romantic plot, the focus on friendship and (found) family and self-love.

This book is not meant to be an easy read. Trigger warnings include physical and emotional abuse, neglect, animal death, murder, and extreme poverty. If you are in a place to pick this one up, it's a powerful read, one that has thoroughly lodged itself in my mind, maybe my soul.

Thanks to Delacorte and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, out 8/24.

Bad Witch Burning by Jessica Lewis tells the story of Katrell, a Black, teen girl who has the power to communicate with the dead. Those who know about her power pay Katrell to communicate with their dead relatives. Katrell uses her income to help pay rent and support her mother, despite her mother's constant rotation of abusive boyfriends. One day Katrell's power morphs into something much stronger and more dangerous than communicating with the dead, she can now raise them. While Katrell realizes that this is a dangerous power, she also knows she can make a lot of money using it. Things begin to spiral out of control as Katrell attempts to balance work, friendships, school, and a growing number of undead walking the streets. Bad Witch Burning is a fun read with a unique plot and interesting characters. It comes recommended for fans of fantasy and horror.

Unfortunately I had to stop reading this book for personal reasons as the home life the main character suffered felt too close to what I had experienced in my own childhood. However what I did read of the book was very well written, captivating, and the set up for a brilliant novel. I wish the author the very best.

I really enjoyed Bad Witch Burning. It seamlessly includes interesting magic along with a lot of tough topics like poverty, hunger, emotional and physical abuse in a way that doesn’t feel forced but makes you feel for the main character and understand some of her questionable decisions. I would definitely recommend this book.

Bad Witch Burning fucked me up. I don't even know what to say about it. For whatever reason, I thought this was going to be a fun fantasy story, but it's kind of the opposite (and ended up being one of my favorite books this year).

Bad Witch Burning is grim, disturbing, and haunting. I would personally classify it as horror. Jessica Lewis is a great writer, and this is an impressive debut. I stayed up late reading it, and was a complete mess at the end. I think this might be the book that made me cry the most this year so far. This is a really painful read, so please check out the content notes below if you need to. I'll definitely be checking out whatever Jessica Lewis does next!

Content notes - domestic abuse, graphic murder of a pet (I didn't read this part, but other reviews have said graphic, so I included it), poverty, parental neglect, suicidal ideation

This is an amazing, hard-hitting paranormal contemporary story--I loved the main character and her best friend, as well as her dog companion (content warning for animal abuse/death, though the novel has a twist on this that makes the impact less intense). I really appreciated the introductory author's note about anger, family betrayal, and found family, too. Highly recommended, though, again, this is not a 'fun' romp by any means.

This is more a “contemporary with magic” than a fantasy, and I struggled with it as a result. There are some good elements here, like the bleak home life Katrell leads, even if it was a bit relative and frustrating. But considering my issues with contemporary fantasy to begin with, I didn’t feel this one incorporated the magic in a way that made it truly substantial or engaging.

A crossover between Practical Magic and a hard-hitting contemporary this book has so much heart. For as long as she can remember Katrell has been able to speak with the dead just by writing a letter, and opening communication. Money is tight for Katrell and her mom, and after her beloved dog comes back from the dead, she begins to think bringing back people's loved ones could help her pay bills and get out of her town.

With so much black girl magic it's unbelievable, this book gives you everything you were looking for, and more. Real and unflinching but also magical and whimsical. I loved Katrell's relationship with Will, the way they understand and support each other, and often have no need to convey things through words. They just get it. It's wonderful and nuanced and everything I never knew I needed. I wish I had this book as a 15/16 year old, and I'm excited for teens now to be able to read it!

Bad Witch Burning
by Jessica Lewis
Review


When I first heard the buzz about this book on twitter, of course I was intrigued, not too many YA books about black witches out there, and we can always have more!

But this is a story about so much more than a young woman coming into a great and dangerous power, this is a story about heavy, weighty topics, like homelessness, parental abuse and neglect, poverty, domestic violence, animal death, and while reading, a few times, I felt like I was drowning in despair and hopelessness.

That’s how much I was pulled into this book. That’s how much I grew to care about these beautiful characters just trying to make it in a truly cruel world, much like our own, with the mere scant pockets of hope, all mixed up in it.

This is a story of Katrell and Will, and Conrad.

Katrell’s been able to see ghosts for as long as she can remember, weird, sure, but she has other more immediate troubles to worry about, like if she’s going to work enough hours this month to pay the rent, and keep the light and water on. If she’s going to have to skip another meal. She’s not an adult, and she has a parent, if one can call a mother who’d have their 16 year old working 30 hours week, while she ‘looks for a job’ in the arms of another useless, violent man.

At least she has Conrad though, her big, lovable and a little dumb mastiff mix, and Will, the quiet, artistic force and sense of reason in her life, and her side business as a medium to fill any gaps her job can’t.

At least she had them. As with life, one by one, the few things she counts on, fail and leave and die, and Katrell slips over the edge she’s been tethering on and emerges on the other side with a new power — to bring the dead back to life.

Desperate, not seeing any other way out, she puts a plan in motion to use this gift? curse? for her benefit, and soon enough the bodies of the previously dead surround her and soon enough money isn’t an issue, it’s what to do when the dead don’t die.

This story made me angry, I know why it’s called Bad Witch Burning. Because the Katrell, swallowed all of her the anger, fear and near debilitating isolation and it blossomed as white hot flames in our hearts and in hers.

This story also made me cry bitter, cathartic tears, bitter because 16 year olds should be out living their best life, and that’s what I want for Katrell and Will, and cathartic because, in the end, she faces all the thoughts in her head she was ignoring, all those painful truths, and comes out on the other side, still needing a boatload of therapy, but a little more whole.

I love this story so much, and I think that it’ll make such an impact in the life of those who need to hear this! It’s definitely going to be on my best books of 2021 list!

Would I read this again?
Yes, I’m eager to! But not right away, I’m still processing this first read.

Would I recommend it?
Yes, 100% Please read this book! It deals with a lot of heavy topics and it may be triggering for some, so make sure you go over the tw, but this book is beautiful and you won’t regret it.


Many thanks to Netgalley and Delacourt Press for sending this arc to me for review!

Bad witch burning was an incredible book which showcased black rep, magic and perseverance. In the darkest of times, we all give in to the easy way out and that's what happened in this book as well. The book pulled me in and made me get so invested in all the characters. I wept at the atrocities committed against all the people in the book. This book is very heavy and is not for the soft hearted.

It deals with many issues such as abuse, abandonment and bad parenting. It is written so well and it all so flows seamlessly. The author has done an amazing job putting this story together. I loved all the witchy, fantasy aspects of the book. The story followed Katrell, who could see ghosts and summon them through letters. She had a good for nothing mom and her mom's boyfriend, Gerald thrashed her around. Yet, she clung to her mom, hoping someday she would choose her.

Katrell paid all the bills by working at a burger joint and by doing summoning. While her mom and free loading boyfriend did nothing. One day, she finds out she can actually resurrect people. She thinks of it as a money making scheme and everything gets worse after this. The more people she resurrects, the more money she gets, the worse her life becomes.

I loved Katrell's relationship with her best friend, Will. They had a beautiful friendship despite all odds. In all the ugliness, their friendship was the light. The ending was explosive. I would recommend everyone to read this one. It's brilliant.