“Will you run away with us? And choose your own destiny?”
A group of teenage witches go on a road trip… That’s all I needed to know to pick up this book. I was ready for the bonding that comes from shared experiences and the hope our four witches would meet some interesting people along the way.
Thrash really wants the Gift of Sight. Her mother wants Thrash to have the Gift of Glamour. This is a problem for Thrash because, in this matriarchal society, mothers get to choose which Gift their children receive. What’s a girl to do?!
Well, if you’re Thrash, this is the perfect opportunity to go on a road trip with three witches from school she barely knows. They’re on a mission to liberate the Gifts they want. They didn’t expect things to spiral this much out of control.
I was entirely on board with learning how magic works in Thrash’s world. I thought some bonding time between myself and the girls was inevitable but didn’t connect with any of the characters. There were also fewer scenes involving Thrash, Saki, Em and Cresca bonding and more with a bunch of people chasing them across the Thirteen States than I expected.
This is marketed as a body positive novel and there are some elements of that. This was offset for me by many of the characters having significant struggles with their bodies, though, including those who use magic to change their appearance.
While this was an entertaining read, I wasn’t captivated by it like I’d hoped. I’m left with quite a few unanswered questions, the most pressing of which is, did Takoda survive?
I definitely need a magical bottomless trunk to store all of my books.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Sword & Rose Press for the opportunity to read this book.
Once Upon a Blurb
Sixteen year old Thrash doesn’t enchant eyeliner over her lids or clear her acne with magic. She is plus-size, but she doesn’t hate what she sees in the mirror – that’s the realm of her mother, Osmarra, a slim and elegant Glamour witch. When Thrash unexpectedly breaks a mirror with her mind, she discovers she has a knack for magic and will receive one of the three sanctioned Gifts: Glamour, Growth, or Sight. The only problem is that mothers choose the Gifts, and Osmarra is convinced that the Gift of Glamour will fix her daughter’s looks.
When Thrash fails to persuade Osmarra to accept her as she is, a trio of cool witches who call themselves The Lunes offer her an out. Their leader, fiery and charismatic Cresca, recruits Thrash for a road trip to New Salem University, where the girls plan to steal their own Gifts. As Thrash crosses the magical Thirteen States of America, Osmarra hot on her heels, she discovers bewitched diners, haunted tourist traps, and a secret about the Gifts that will change the Thirteen States forever.
Schizanthus Nerd 