The Year of the Witching

by Alexis Henderson

Book review by Susan Stradiotto

I picked up The Year of the Witching in October. At the time, I was in the mood for something Halloweeny and haunting. It fit the “haunting” part. And in the end, it reminded me of The Handmaid’s Tale and The Lottery. I sat on this review for a few weeks, because I wasn’t absolutely certain what I thought of the story. With a story like this, I hope for the characters or the feelings to linger a while. Unfortunately, they didn’t. I originally rated it with 4 stars, but I’m lowering to 3.5 and rounding down.

Description of The Year of the Witching

A young woman living in a rigid, puritanical society discovers dark powers within herself in this stunning, feminist fantasy debut.
In the lands of Bethel, where the Prophet’s word is law, Immanuelle Moore’s very existence is blasphemy. Her mother’s union with an outsider of a different race cast her once-proud family into disgrace, so Immanuelle does her best to worship the Father, follow Holy Protocol, and lead a life of submission, devotion, and absolute conformity, like all the other women in the settlement.
But a mishap lures her into the forbidden Darkwood surrounding Bethel, where the first prophet once chased and killed four powerful witches. Their spirits are still lurking there, and they bestow a gift on Immanuelle: the journal of her dead mother, who Immanuelle is shocked to learn once sought sanctuary in the wood.
Fascinated by the secrets in the diary, Immanuelle finds herself struggling to understand how her mother could have consorted with the witches. But when she begins to learn grim truths about the Church and its history, she realizes the true threat to Bethel is its own darkness. And she starts to understand that if Bethel is to change, it must begin with her.
From Goodreads

The Goods about the book

The Year of the Witching did go the extra mile with worldbuilding. The quotes from the holy texts at the beginning of each chapter showed how much effort the author put into the setting and history of the situation in the book.
It was a quick read
The concept was high enough for it to remain engaging enough to see it through to the end.

The “eh, maybe could be better”s

I felt it might have been trying to cram too many messages into one story. And as a result, I wonder if the story was a little lost to the message. Religion, oppression, family dynamics, etc. It felt a little scattered.
I could see too many other well-known stories baked into this one. I didn’t feel it was original enough.
The ending hints at the larger world and brought Divergent into my mind.

The Bottom Line

I started at 4 stars and lowered to 3.5 (3 where I can’t give 1/2 stars) for the reasons mentioned above. I will admit that Horror is not my preferred genre, so maybe that’s part of my issue. There are plenty of people who loved this book for the same reasons I didn’t. I also didn’t think as highly of The Handmaid’s Tale as many others. But after finishing The Year of the Witching, I just felt kind of…meh.