Meet Hasani a YouTube make up loving girl who has just discovered that she is a 'Wildseed'. Thrust into the world of magic and a literal charm school that has seen the likes of generations of young BIOPIC girls. This middle-grade contemporary fantasy was a blast to read and gave me all of the feels of what it is like to grow up, learn who you are, and discover a whole new world around you. Marti Dumas does an excellent job connecting you to all of the characters, allowing you the ability to watch them grow and to fail and succeed at life with Hasani.

Thank you to #NetGalley ABRAMS Kids, and Amulet Books for an ARC of this amazing book. I cannot wait to see where this series and Hasani go next!

---

A fun middle-grade contemporary fantasy with an all-BIPOC cast, about a social-media-loving tween who gets sent to an ultra-private witch camp
Hasani’s post-seventh-grade summer to-do list is pretty simple: get a bigger following for her makeup YouTube channel and figure out how to get her parents back together. What she does NOT expect is that an emotional outburst will spark a latent magical ability in her. Or that the magic will be strong enough to attract the attention of witches. Or that before she can say #BlackGirlMagic, she’ll be shipped off on a scholarship to a fancy finishing school for talented young ladies.

Les Belles Demoiselles is a literal charm school. Here, generations of young ladies from old-money witch families have learned to harness their magic, and alumnae grow to become some of the most powerful women across industries, including politicians, philanthropists, CEOs, entrepreneurs—and yes, even social media influencers. Needless to say, admission to the school is highly coveted, very exclusive . . . and Hasani sticks out like a weed in a rose bouquet.

While the other girls have always known they were destined to be witches, Hasani is a Wildseed––a stray witch from a family of non-witches, with no background knowledge, no way to control her magic, and a lot to catch up on. "Wildseed" may be an insult that the other girls throw at her, but Wildseeds are more powerful than they know. And Hasani will learn that there are ways to use magic and thrive that can never be taught in a classroom.

I really liked this one at the beginning, it was catchy and I really liked Hasani. This book is LONG though. I felt like it dragged in places and that some parts we could without. I liked the friendships that developed and I really liked Dee! I liked the magic and how they learn to use it as charm not magic. And all the flowers and animals were delightful.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

Sweet story of a girl who discovers she is a witch and is swept off to witch school. Irritated that her budding summer career as a YouTube influencer is disrupted, and harassed by wealthier legacy witches, Hasani eventually learns to accept herself, her powers, her anger at her divorcing parents and the power of her new friendships. Happy to have this creative story of Creole magic.

Wildseed Witch by Marti Dumas is a middle grade coming of age story about a girl named Hasani. She doesn't know that she is a witch until she gets invited to a charm school for young witches.

This book touched on so many things that young modern girls go through. From finding where you fit in to trying to be ok in your own skin. The story also dealt with online bullying, social media ethics, and changing family dynamics.

Wildseed Witch takes place in a lush and magical New Orleans. A little bit of culture is infused with some French and Creole language speaking and a very diverse group of girls.

I only have a small nitpick in that I wish the story had balanced the whimsy of magic a bit more with the many real world topics that were explored. I have been reading a lot of middle grade for black and brown kids. They all seem to lean in to the difficulties these communities face. But I want our black and brown kids to have just as many light and fluffy fairytale as anyone else.

4 solid stars

A sweet and fun book about a school for witches in Louisiana.
Hasani starts her summer only concerned about her youtube makeup channel and her parents' separation. After failing to keep an emotional outburst to herself, and a bunch of flowers and weeds growing all over a major bridge, a finishing school for young witches offers her a spot in their summer program.
This is a great summer witch story - not scary, and the witchcraft is so colorful! I will definitely recommend it to middle grade readers who want something a bit sunnier than the traditional witch/wizard series. So much sweet black girl magic - great representation! There are some bullying instances discussed, as well as how social media plays into online bullying (particularly youtube and instagram) which offers a good teachable moment for young internet users.

One day, Hasani is planning out how to spend the summer growing her new YouTube channel. The next, a woman shows up at her house and claims that Hasani is a witch - and that she’s being whisked off to an exclusive summer boarding school for young witches, Les Belles Demoiselles. Hasani is fascinated by her magic, but she has trouble controlling it. It’s clear that most of the other girls, who come from long lines of witches and have learned to control their magic, don’t think much of her, but Hasani is determined to prove them wrong.

This book felt like it was two different parts, although it wasn’t set up that way. The first part is Hasani’s time at school, learning to be a belles demoiselles. Suddenly, school is over, and there’s still a good chunk of the book left. This second section deals with Hasani’s need to find a missing girl - who she fears may be missing because of her - and with her coming to terms about whether she’s been using her charm and magic well and if she’s a good or bad witch (which is to say, if she’s a good or bad person). The way the book switched from one part to the other was a little jarring; while the plot of the last section was set up which Hasani was at school, it still felt like a very different plot all of a sudden.

The book, however, was very well written in terms of readability. The writing style was smooth and enjoyable, and I never felt bored while reading. Hasani’s need to be successful, and her desire to make friends even with the girls who weren’t being particularly nice to her, will be very relatable to readers in the target age range.

There was a lot of character development for Hasani over the course of the book as she came to terms with certain choices she’d made. However, there were a lot of secondary characters who felt very one dimensional or whose personalities seemed to change depending on what would be useful for the plot in that moment. Sometimes the choices certain characters made didn’t really make sense based on what we’d already seen of them, though part of that was because Hasani had very strong opinions about the other girls that influenced how the reader might feel about them. I’d be interested in sequels or companion novels that delve into the other girls’ stories more.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read that I think could be very popular among middle grade fantasy readers.

Ok, but my MG self is still squealing about this book, so give me a second to collect my thoughts.

(Collects thoughts.)

Marti Dumas has written a magic, lush series-starter with WILDSEED WITCH, and I literally don't know where to begin listing all the things I adored! Not only is Hasani's voice PERFECT and loveable, but the writing itself just sang with magic. Welcome to the witch school that just screams "MAKE ME INTO A MOVIE" with all it's fantastic visuals (flowers everywhere! swans that tell the time! charms! kittens!), oozing girly goodness and masking a more serious conversation about access, heritage, and our ability to write our futures. WILDSEED WITCH does this balancing between pretty & serious fantastically throughout, with tying together a fresh new magic system with real-world problems like divorce, bullying, and the double-edged power of social media. Hasani goes through plenty of struggles as she comes into her own as a witch, but she never loses her charm (wink wink).

This is an atmospheric, richly imagined adventure with a fully BIPOC cast and addictive writing. Want to meet a Youtuber witch who gets recruited to a secret Louisiana magic school where magic actually blossoms from every crack? Read WILDSEED WITCH!

This is an adorable book for young readers (middle school age) that want an introduction to magic! Absolutely love and would recommend! I look forward to reading the next one.

I think this book is going to be such an important read for so many young girls. In WILDSEED WITCH we follow Hasani as she learns she's a witch, attends Les Belles Demoiselles charm school for young witches, and works through the trials of finally learning who she is at a later age than all the other witches at her charm school.

This is a lush, atmospheric summer camp/magic school setting, with a character driven story at its core. Hasani is GOING THROUGH IT in this book, and she definitely learns the hard way! She's imperfect and messy at times, and that makes this story and what she's going through both at home and at school (and online) that much more meaningful.

This is a FULL BIPOC cast, with themes of identity, friendship, growth, privilege, and morality. Hasani really and truly develops over the length of this book, despite so many tribulations.

My one drawback to this is it felt a bit unbalanced. We didn't get to enjoy very much of the charm school or Hasani's new-found identity as a witch. This is definitely a story focused on character development and growth and Hasani really goes through it (for good reason! and it's so well done) but I would have loved to see more moments of just JOY. And I think this setting and her newly-discovered powers could really lead to more joyful moments in a very natural way, and maybe we'll get to see more of that in the upcoming books in this series.

Overall. I recommend this book and can't wait to see where this series goes!

Thank you to the author, Netgalley, and Amulet books for an advanced e-reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.