Coven follows Emsy, a queer teenage girl who only wants to surf and hang out with her girlfriend in California. She definitely doesn't want to train as a fire elemental, but when mysterious murders threaten her family's witch coven, her parents decide to move back to New York where they will be better protected and she can hone her skills.

The illustrations in this graphic novel were stunning. Absolutely, completely show-stopping (and at times disturbing). I loved the use of color and the style felt very much the teenage-girl-with-fire-powers-solves-a-mystery that it had to be. Very much comic book vibes.

The pacing was really quick, which meant that it kept me on my toes and didn't give me too much time to figure out the mystery for myself. I will say that at times the characters felt one-dimensional, like they only had one focus and refused to see anything else (in more than just an "I'm stubborn" way), but as the book went on I felt it got better. Though there was definite character growth on the part of Emsy and a few of the side characters, I still wish there was less reliance on cliché teenager angst. I found Emsy annoying for the majority of the novel because it made her worries out to be overdramatic rather than just born out of frustration.

I loved how this book didn't center around Emsy's queerness. Not just in that she never labeled herself, but also in that she never came out and she never had to come out. I felt like that was definitely the right choice for a story based more on the adventure than the romance. Also? My little witch boys mutually pining for each other? So here for that.

I also think it's important to mention that there was a moment in the graphic novel where a conversation was had about a witch "civil war" and the actual phrase "witch supremacists" was used. Which? Feels very wrong to me? It sounds like a play on "white supremacist," and the main character and author are both white, so I really don't think that was an okay phrase to use. And to be clear, I'm white, so I'm not the best person to make this judgement call, but I still think this is something that needs to be more looked into by actual POC reviewers.

Coven fulfilled my sapphic witch comic book aspirations, and I recommend to anyone looking for an easy and intriguing read! Out September 6, 2022!!

Content Warnings: disturbing imagery (blood, fantastical creatures, injuries), discussion of death of family members, depictions of grief, hospitalization of a side character due to a coma

I really liked this graphic novel. The story was compelling and it keep me reading. I wish it was a little more flushed out but with it being a graphic novel, the author was probably limited on the world building.

This was my first read from Jennifer Dugan and it was SO good. I have been really into fantasy lately so this really fully helped me refind my love of it.

Thank you to Penguin Teen for an ARC of this graphic novel!

Coven follows Emsy, a 17-year old queer Californian girl. Oh yeah, and she's an elemental witch! After almost an entire family in her coven is murdered, her and her family travel back to New York to figure out who's after her coven.

I am absolutely shocked at how much I loved this graphic novel?? Considering this was a genre change and a media change for Jennifer Dugan, I expected this to be a bumpy ride. But it was so good!! I saw some comments that said it felt rushed, which is very common for graphic novels, but I couldn't disagree more. The pacing was VERY well done!!

I hope that Jennifer Dugan continues writing in this fantasy-magic realm because I think she really thrives in it!

Coven by Jennifer Dugan was an enjoyable read. I found the characters and story interesting. I felt like I could relate to Emsy quite a bit. I am hoping there will be some sequels, but I felt the story wrapped up nice regardless of if it is a standalone or a series. The art by Kit Seaton was beautiful.

I received an eARC from Penguin Teen through Net Galley. All opinions are 100% my own.

I love the idea of graphic novels, but I'm always disappointed with the execution. IDK if I'm just not finding the right ones or this genre just doesn't vibe with me. Either way, I didn't love this one.

My biggest issue was the pacing. It was so slow and had tons of talking scenes. I would've loved to see more magic and action scenes, especially from a graphic novel. I also didn't really see a lot of character growth. The MC just did what her new teenage friends told her to do. And I also wish the world was expanded a bit more. It's a fascinating concept with secret covens of witches who have different powers, but it still felt lackluster. Alas, this one wasn't for me.

Writing Aesthetic/Style: 3
Plot/Movement: 2
Character Development: 2
Overall: 2

Thank you, Penguin Teen and NetGalley, for the ARC!

Content/Trigger Warnings: death and injury due to magic

I enjoyed it overall! I did think there was a lot of time spent on Emsy continually saying she was confused and didn't know what was going on and no one telling her anything--so to me the plot was a little thin in that regard? But otherwise, pretty art, magic, queer.

A great story of reluctant found family and learning to cope with loss.

Our MC Emsy is angry at having to leave California to head to the east coast and a coven she doesn't know and frankly doesn't care about. Cali has her friends and her girlfriend and surfing - why ruin a good thing over the death of a family she barely remembers? After landing in the middle of what could be a witch war and agreeing to help fellow coven member Ben bring his family back from the dead, Emsy learns what the cost of life after death really is.

The art in this graphic novel is really gorgeous, especially at the climax of the book. I'd recommend for a quick, witchy read.

This graphic novel gave me vibes of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Emsy, a teenage witch, is forced to move across the country with her family to help out the coven they had left behind years ago. Another coven member, Ben, just lost his entire family (via gruesome murder) and he isn't coping well. Luckily he has Emsy, and his friend/maybe more than friend, Ash, to help him along the way. Coven was magical and creepy, with great illustrations.

A sweet, yet dark, young adult graphic novel about being a witch and the chaos that it brings. For fans of Isabel Sterling's "These Witches Don't Burn," comes another LGBTQ+ positive story about a witch finding her way in the world.
Forced to move from California back to the East Coast, Emsy lashes out at her parents and dreads whatever comes next. Until she is convinced by her "cousin" that if she just helps him perform a spell, everything can go back to the way it was. Then everything goes horribly wrong.
Great artwork, good characters, and a heart tugging romance, makes this YA Graphic Novel worth reading.

The book is about a girl who is forced to leave her life in the big city and her girlfriend behind to protect a coven that she does not really know, but her parents were part of. There, she learns about its history and where she is at in it, along with some powers that she did not really know she had.

This is something that is fun to read if you are into the magical fantasy and paranormal type. I found this to be a different type of book than any other because it is a comic book and it represents Pride Month. I normally do not read Pride books, but I think this book changed my mind, and will be reading more. Thank you!

Love the art style & the LGBTQIA+ rep more than anything else, but there were definitely parts of the story that kept me wanting to keep reading. It's a simple withcy story, but I feel like everything was resolved a little too quickly at the end.

so this was my first time reading from jennifer dugan, and after hearing so much praise, i guess i was expecting… more?

despite beautiful art, multiple queer relationships, and a great premise, it just failed to execute the concept in a way that really made sense to me. the characters (mainly emsy and ben) seemed to emotionally flip-flop on each other like a switch of a light. there were a lot of plot threads that weren’t all properly resolved by the end. and, my biggest issue, was the way time jumps occurred without any indicators, which was a bit frustrating to say the least. i still don’t really know if this took graphic novel took place over days or weeks (or months!) because we’d jump from a midday scene one day to another midday scene on, what i presumed, was another day without any clear indication.

while this might not have been the biggest hit for me, i still found it to be a quick and overall intriguing read. and i can definitely see the love others have for dugan’s work. i’ll definitely continue to keep their past and upcoming on my radar and will hopefully pick something else up by them soon enough!

Coven is a YA graphic novel with beautiful art, found family(but make it actual family), a cute cat, and lots of LGBT+ rep! I really enjoyed it. Small spoiler, the cat makes it to the end <3. I really liked watching Emsy learn about her ability and grow into herself. The character with butterflies was really intriguing and I feel like more could be done with this story! The art was also amazing. Tw for grief, horror

A gorgeous graphic novel that doesn't quite live up to expectations. Coven follows a young witch Emsy as she's abruptly uprooted from her life in California to return to upstate New York after members of her family's coven are brutally and mysteriously murdered. She initially struggles to fit in but befriends two other members as they try to find a way to reverse what's been done.

My main issue was that there was very little substance with regards to the plot. The story starts off slow, as Emsy whines constantly about missing California. Emsy as a main character is also frustrating because she is so inconsistent that the reader has a hard time grasping who she is and what her motivations are. Her decisions and allegiances (for lack of a better word) flip flop so rapidly and she goes from not caring and wanting desperately to return to California to suddenly agreeing to dabble in forbidden magic. The hidden antagonist is revealed at the very tail end of the GN with minimal explanation and backstory on why things had happened, and the final climax wrapped up so quickly and subtly that I had to check to see if there were pages missing in my ARC. For context, the entire graphic novel is 280 pages. There's so much potential in this story with interesting characters (other than Emsy, as I was clearly not a fan) and relationships, beautiful art, and an intriguing plot, but ultimately I finished the book feeling extremely disappointed and let down. There are little hints and snippets of things that could have been explored, which would've made this a great read.

Thanks Penguin Teen and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

CW (may be incomplete, may contain spoilers): Loss of family to murder, injury to animal, death of animal, fantasy violence

I have to say after reading ‘some girls do’ my expectations were high, and this book exceeded my expectations. The illustrations were absolutely incredible, the storyline was captivating, and the characters were relatable. I absolutely devoured this book in one sitting, and i have to say, I can’t wait for it to come out so I can get my hands on a physical copy of this book. This was hands down one of my favorite reads of this year and i hope there will be a second book

This was such a cute witchy graphic novel. Loved the scenes between Emsy and Joss. It wasn’t my favorite Dugan book but I still enjoyed it well enough.

The drawings in this book were amazing, however, I didn’t find the content to be as enthralling. I felt like the timing of some things didn’t quite make sense, and instead made some character development awkward. I also feel like the character development didn’t make sense in places, and there needed to be more of it.

Pure gay witchy goodness. Emsy is forced to leave California to go back to live near her family's coven after a terrible attack occurs, and like most teenagers, doesn't want to go. She's forced to leave her girlfriend and friends behind, and moves to New York to help the coven.

She makes new friends rather quickly, and slowly throughout the book we get introduced to the magic system involving witches who can heal, control the elements, and more. The characters are easy to love, and the romances are sweet. The story almost feels like a quick one hour tv show, and wraps up nicely at the end.

I loved the vibrant colors in the artwork, and the panels were easy to follow. Some of my favorite panels towards the end are absolutely lush with color, and the shading is done so perfectly that it immediately draws your eyes right in.

I usually do not read Graphic Novels but found myself really enjoying Coven. Emsy loves her life surfing in California and being with her friends and girlfriend but is forced to go east when her family's coven comes under attack. Emsy has avoided her family's witch connections her whole life but now learn to master her elemental powers. She must also try to connect with the larger coven including two teens, one of whom is grieving a deep loss. All while living under the threat of attack by another unknown malevolent witch. The artwork was bold and colorful. The characters were relatable, likable, and interesting. The story moved at a good pace and kept my interest. I did have some issues with the ending. Parts of it felt overly contrived and others were predictable. Despite that, I still recommend Coven.