Thank you so much for allowing me to read this book in exchange for a book review. Overall, I had a blast reading this book. It felt so easy to be absorbed into this book and its writing style. I genuinely felt impressed, and I highly recommend this book. 10/10.

I really enjoyed this book and I'm super excited for the second one. Hasani has such a great voice and she felt like a representation of so many pre-teen Black girls I know and even how I was. I felt the same when my parents got divorced and it made me wish that I had this book during that time in my life. I'm also extremely obsessed with the cover! I'm excited for more kids to get their hands on this book and the read this series!

The book was great! Marti Dumas did a great job of encompassing all of the struggles that 12 and 13 year olds face on a daily basis - making friends, social anxiety, bullying, divorce, trying to fit in, and more, all while telling a story that makes you want to keep reading. I am truly looking forward to book #2 as Hasani possibly learns more about her magic and herself.

Wildseed Witch is a gorgeous fantasy story that is perfect for middle grade readers. Hasani is an aspiring YouTuber that is whisked away to a magical summer camp after she publicly displays her magical floral powers. She is thrown into an exciting but intimidating world of high class and manners.

The story explores a number of themes that are intrenched in modern youth - fitting in, changing family dynamics, social media influence, bullying and cyber-harassment. And while these topics may seem heavy, Dumas weaves a story that is magical and light-hearted. This is a fantastic story for junior readers with a completely POC cast of characters. It is heart-warming and thoughtful, there is no doubt that this would be a great story to share and discuss.

I enjoyed this Middle Grade coming to age story about Hasani, a YouTuber that discovers that she is a witch while she also deals with her parents divorce. She is offered a spot at a charm school for other young witches. While there she deals with juggling her popular YouTube channel, trying to fit in and make friends, harnessing her power and working to get her parents back together. The magic system was interesting and I loved the history we learned about some of the secret societies and families. I will say that there are some mean girl catty moments, self esteem issues and classism. There was allot of plot lines happening and at times made it hard to focus. Overall, I enjoyed the story and it’s perfect for your middle grade readers.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you so much, NetGalley, ABRAMS Kids and Amulet Books, for the chance to read this book in exchange of an honest review.

Hasani had her summer planned: trying to make grow her makeup YouTube channel and to get her parents back together, but when an emotional outbrust reveals a latent magical ability, everything changes. She attracts the attention of witches and she's right away shipped off on a scholarship to a school for magical ladies. Les Belles Dememoiselles is a charm school where genaration of young ladies from old and powerful families learn to harness their magic, becoming later powerful women in all kind of industries. This school is exclusive and coveted and right away Hasani feels out of place.
While every other girl know they were destined to become witches, Hasani is a Wildseed, a witch from a family of non-witches, without knowing anything about her magic and how to use it. And even though many use "Wildseed" as an insult, Hasani will learn to use her magic and become even more powerful than them.

Wildseed Witch is the first book in a new contemporay fantasy series and I absolutely loved it. A middle grade fantasy with an all-BIPOC cast, a brilliant main character and a wonderful and evocative setting, an exclusive witch camp.
Hasani finds herself thrust into an unknown world, surrounded by people who know magic, while trying to understand how to use her own and to survive in an exclusive witch camp. The story is amazing, hilarious and wonderfully written. I can't wait to know what will happen next, because this first book is magnificent and unputodownable!

Hasani is a creative young girl with a budding makeup channel. When BOOM she finds out she's a magical girl, who needs a education. A teacher from the Les Belles Demoiselles offers a full ride. Only being a new girl at a very old school can be very hard.

Hansani deals with her parents devoice, being a new girl at school and growing a YouTube channel how you'd think a 12 year old would. By using her new found magic to solve her problems! What can go wrong! ALOT but hey I'm down to read.

For a middle grade book it was middle grade. And I'm happy about that. When Hasani got made fun of by the other girls. I felt that. Trying to fit in. Whooo. It's a easy read. Little messy at times. But overall good.

I really enjoyed Wildseed Witch! The magic system in this book is really interesting and I loved seeing how the characters grew and learned to use their powers. The flower tie-in was done so well and really added to the story! The story was very interesting and exciting from page one and everything in the story fell together perfectly!

This story was delightful and entertaining. I very much enjoyed it. It was a quick, fun, cute, and easy read. I enjoyed and got something out of it, but it would be a lot more enjoyable for a 12 yr old/Middle Grader. My 11-year-old loved it, especially with the part and talk of make-up and YouTube since Hasani has a YouTube channel with make-up tutorials and such. This is also about her figuring out who she is with her magic that she has to learn about and how to control and use it. There's also family drama with her parents being separated and working through the family dynamics and where she fits with that.
This is one that I was surprised by how lighthearted and great it was. I am looking forward to more with this series and hearing more about Hasani, her family, and friends with their adventures with the charm school and whatnot. Make sure to pick this one up and check it out. Thanks so much to NetGalley and Abrams Kids/Amulet Books for letting me read and review this wonderful book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Being a child of divorce is not the change that many of us are told to anticipate as we grow up, even less so for us who miss the signs of disquiet in the relations of the adults around us. In Wildseed Witch, a debut middle grade novel by Marti Dumas, young Hasani must contend with conflict on many fronts: in her family life, in her newly-noticed abilities, in the magical communities she finds herself part of, and in her presence online as a beauty influencer.

The conflicting feelings that Hasani has about the change in her family dynamic grows to a new height when her father introduces a new girlfriend, leading to the manifestation of magical powers no one in her family knew existed. From this major magic spurt, a program for Black girls with similar abilities is able to track her down and enroll her in their summer school at Les Belles Demoiselles, a hideaway outside of Hasani’s hometown of New Orleans. Hasani can’t help but be entranced by this whimsical opportunity, but has concerns about keeping her small YouTube channel, crafting beauty through dollar store makeup, running while she’s away. Her commitment to maintaining both passions while at Les Belles Demoiselles runs her into trouble and also becomes a point of derision for her classist classmates and instructors who look down on her for being a Wildseed Witch—a person with magical abilities that have no direct family lineage or traditions. Earnest and people-pleasing, this reception among her peers and role models leads Hasani down a path of uncovering what it means to be true to herself and which relationships are worth investment. This has repercussions in her family and her grasp of magic, which reverberate throughout each chapter of the story.

Wildseed Witch is a middle grade novel that thoroughly examines how classism within the Black community skews how we develop at a young age and the ways in which modern communication—mainly social media—exacerbates the worst aspects of normal desires. By picking up this book, readers are guaranteed a story equal parts joy, angst, self-reflection, and strengthening of key relationships. Give it a try then tell me what the story brings you!

Thank you to Amulet Books and NetGalley for the eARC to read and review!

"Wildseed Witch" was a good story, but it left me with mixed feelings.

I loved that this book takes place at a charm school for young witches to learn to control their magic (“Charm, not magic.”) and eventually become powerful women in high-profile positions. It’s enhanced by being located in New Orleans, Louisiana and back-dropped by the rich Louisiana Creole history.

The unique setting mixes with the classic outcast trope in which Hasani is a (potentially overpowered) wildseed among “normal,” generational witches. The people who pass through this school have a distinct idea about what a witch should be like, who counts as a witch, and the use of magic. Hasani is at a disadvantage economically, socially, and culturally the moment she accepts the invitation to attend Les Belles Demoiselles.

Up until then, she didn’t even know magic or witches existed. She is a wildseed among elitists attending a private school (figuratively, only for witches). She doesn’t have the benefit of learning from an experienced witch/relative. She’s not forewarned about the negative perception people tend to have about wildseeds.

Hasani’s time at the school is rough and disheartening. There were too many unlikable characters. Most of the girls were either outright mean or followers to the popular girls. Only was real with her. Hasani is belittled and talked down to even by a few of the teachers as an ignorant wildseed. Some judgments about certain mishaps Hasani had were harsh or uncalled for, such as when she found out her dad was getting married and lost control of her magic again. And she just had to accept these criticisms and play the game in order to graduate and be a belles demoiselles.

I somewhat liked Hasani’s character. I think she’s a relatable tween of today. I love her enthusiasm towards growing her makeup YouTube channel. But it was hard to continue to like and root for her as she kept making clearly bad/rash decisions (plus ignoring sound advice) about fitting in at school, her parent’s divorce, dad’s unexpected girlfriend, and her YouTube channel.

About halfway through the story the charm school part ends and Hasani focuses on her channel and getting her parents back together. From then on, the story felt over, like what could happen now? Nothing noteworthy really happened, which left me feeling disconnected. I kind of wish the story took place predominantly at the charm school.

"Wildseed Witch" was a miss for me. There are things that were done well and that I liked, such as the cats and how each person had their own flower. I loved the setting and the fact that this was an all-BIPOC cast. And the cover art is stunning! But I don’t have much interest in reading book 2. Based on the ending, I don’t know what more there could be to the story. It felt like the story was dissatisfying-ly over over.

DNF at 40%

This is a situation where I’m just not enjoying this as much because I’m not the target audience.

However, this book is perfect for preteens; especially preteen Black girls who want to see themselves in stories where their culture is embraced and they can do magic!

I struggled with this story mainly because of the cattiness amongst the girls at the magical school. I felt that it was a bit over the top, but that isn’t to say that this isn’t exactly what preteens are going through.

Hasani is into make up and her YouTube channel. She really wants to grow her channel and have a lot of followers. She also wants her parents back together again. When her dad picks her up and mentions his girlfriend, Hasani gets angry and weird things start to happen. The next morning, at home with her mom, a visitor arrives and informs Hasani that she is a witch and gives her an invitation to a magical summer camp.
There Hasani wants to make friends but her uncontrolled magic works against her. When one of her followers goes missing, Hasani must enlist some of the other girls to help.
Opinion
This book is great for upper elementary/lower middle school. With the promise of more to come, this book will be a hit for the younger reader. The story uses current slang and what children are interested in to captivate. The plot of the story is interesting with quite a few dilemmas going on at the same time. Had I read this book at a young age, I would have abandoned all outside distractions in order to finish it. (As it were, with me being an adult, I only did what I had to and then focused on finishing the book.)
Many thanks to Net Galley and ABRAMS Kids for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Wildseed Witch is a book with so much to love but sometimes falls flat. It follows Hasani, a girl who finds out she is actually a witch. She ends up going to a summer camp to explore her powers. I loved the summer camp/boarding school setting, and I love the type of magic this explores. All the magic is based in flowers, and each girl has their own flower they work with. I love magic that involves plants, so this was all perfect.

I do think this was all bogged down by the amount of girl drama that happens in this. There's a specific "mean girls" type clique and they take way too much time in this. Also taking up time is Hasani's recently divorced parents, who she is desperately trying to get back together. I think that readers who are actually in the middle grade age range will get a lot out of this, but it was just too much for me. I wanted more magic!

Overall, this is a middle grade novel that I liked and I think my students will love. Its sweet and the magic is interesting. Hasani is super easy to root for. Also this book has lots of kitten content! We love to see it.

WILDSEED!! What a stunning story. So many young people will be able to relate to Hasani. From having a YouTube channel, parent issues, and school concerns. As Hasani was trying to learn how to control her powers, she was also trying to find her identity like so many others her age. I appreciated the ups and downs of the friendships; it had an organic middle school vibe. Dee became my favorite character. Everyone needs that one friend who will tell you when you're wrong, be disappointed when you make obvious mistakes, and help you fix everything in the end. This is a must-have for classroom and library bookshelves!
Thanks, NetGalley and Amulet Books!

Hasani, a young black girl whose parents are recently divorcing discovers that as well as her skills with makeup and YouTube ambitions that she also has another talent -- for MAGIC. Hasani becomes enrolled in the Les Belles Demoiselles charm and witch school as she learns that with her newfound power complications may occur.

Things I enjoyed about this book;
-A magic, boarding school book with a BIPOC cast. This NEEDED to exist and I am so glad it does!
-The relationships and values throughout the book read very true for a Middle Grade Audience.

Things I did not connect with:
-The magic system in this book was tied with florals and plants, which made it hard for me to understand or have interest in.
-Many of the most interesting plot developments occurred in the final quarter of the book. If some of these conflicts had a more consistent presence throughout the book I felt it would have made the reading process more engaging. I found myself skipping ahead often.

I really loved the magic system in this book it was interesting seeing the girls learn to control and use their gifts and I loved how the flowers tied into it. The characters were well written and made the magic school really come to life. The way the story blended the magic and technology was also really cool and went well with the school setting as well.This was such a well rounded story with how everything fit together. I am really looking forward to more of this series.

Wildseed Witch by Marti Dumas is a coming-of-age story that combines the magic of witches and the lure of internet fame. Let us just say when the two meet, good things do not happen.
I liked how relevant this story is to today’s middle school population. The internet has opened a whole new world and it is not the best role model. Marti does an excellent job of incorporating history (sugarcane, Louisiana, Creole language and culture) into a magical story of witches. The book has some great teaching moments and gives the reader a firsthand look into the world of middle school girl; the cliques, the overall meanness, and the self-absorbed view this age group is so quick to grasp.
I have always wanted to be a witch, and the concept of a secret finishing school makes me want to pack my bags and head South!
Thank you to Net Galley and ABRAMS Kids for an eArc of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

3.5 stars

I am so glad to see that this is the start of a series because I am ready to read more about Hasani and her fellow young witch friends (and foes).

Hasani, the m.c., notices that strange things happen when she gets fired up, and these happenings make a little more sense when she gets a sudden invite (and full ride) to a special charm school...for young witches. The reception Hasani receives is less than enthusiastic, and for a variety of reasons, she has a hard time fitting in with both her classmates and many instructors' expectations. Readers watch Hasani grow, learn difficult lessons, and try to control her feelings.

There is A LOT going on in this novel. In addition to Hasani's magic/charm/introduction to the wonderful world of witchery, Hasani is a NewTouber whose goals for her budget makeup channel start small and expand exponentially. She is quite devoted to this pursuit, and while the tie Dumas creates between witchery and technology is super intriguing in theory, it didn't totally come together for me by the book's end. I'm really interested to see how this aspect evolves along with the series. Also, Hasani is going through some familial disruptions. Her parents have split, and as an only child, she's pretty isolated when it comes to understanding and processing. Her dad's new girlfriend fulfills her anticipated trope for sure, and she becomes an interesting focal point as the story progresses. Additionally, Hasani's fellow young witches, teachers, and members of the external witching community all will get (I hope!) more airtime in upcoming books. Some of the relationships need more development, and many of the characters' actions later in the book feel a bit inconsistent with who and what they are leading up to that point. I really enjoy the potential but found some info/explanation gaps at times that I hope will be resolved moving forward.

Hasani is a great character, and frankly, that's an uncommon feeling for me when it comes to middle grade protagonists: what an age! She's definitely flawed, but she's also complex, desiring of being a good person (and witch), and capable of making a positive difference in the world around her. I'm excited to see how she continues to evolve and hope readers get to know more about the ties between the region's roots and the movement to change the landscape in the future. Clearly, I'm already looking forward to upcoming installments in this series!

Enjoyed the book so much! Loved all the Louisiana references and the Black Girl Magic! I can't wait for the next book in the series.