October is my favorite month for many reasons. Fall finally starts to feel like it’s here. The leaves change. It feels like the calm before the major holiday storm. I can justify having candy in the house, particularly Brach’s candy corn pumpkins. (It’s for the trick or treaters! wink). And my witchiness can be out on full display without anyone batting an eye.
Witches celebrate all seasons, but only one celebrates them. And every year I lean into it, of course, with my reading. The book witch game has really hit a high point in the last few years, and I am here for it. Move over the boy who lived. There are more inclusive magic-makers in town.
Whatever your witchy mood, one of these fiction, graphic novel, or nonfiction (yes, witches are real!) picks is for you.
The Witches of New York by Ami McKay (Historical Fiction, Female friendship, Self-Discovery)
Borrowing from the very real spiritualist movement of the late 19th century, Séances are the entertainment of choice in exclusive social circles, and many enterprising women—some possessed of true intuitive powers, and some gifted with the art of performance—find work as mediums.
Tea and Sympathy is a shop owned by Adelaide Thom and Eleanor St. Clair, who provide a place for whispered confessions, secret cures, and spiritual assignations for a select society of ladies. When seventeen-year-old Beatrice Dunn answers their ad for a shop girl, little do any of them know that their lives are about to change. Atmospheric and mysterious, this book is an all-time favorite because of its well-developed characters and richly detailed setting.
Payback’s a Witch by Lana Harper (Contemporary Rom-Com, LGBTQIA+, Homecoming, Family traditions, Small town)
Emmy Harlow is a witch but not a very powerful one—in part because she hasn't been home to the magical town of Thistle Grove in years. Her self-imposed exile has a lot to do with a complicated family history and a desire to forge her own way in the world, and only the very tiniest bit to do with her ex, Gareth Blackmoore, heir to the most powerful magical family in town and casual breaker of hearts and destroyer of dreams.
But when a spellcasting tournament that her family serves as arbiters for approaches, it turns out the pull of tradition (or the truly impressive parental guilt trip that comes with it) is strong enough to bring Emmy back. She's determined to do her familial duty; spend some quality time with her best friend, Linden Thorn; and get back to her real life in Chicago.
On her first night home, Emmy runs into Talia Avramov—an all-around badass adept in the darker magical arts—who is fresh off a bad breakup . . . with Gareth Blackmoore. Talia had let herself be charmed, only to discover that Gareth was also seeing Linden—unbeknownst to either of them. And now she and Linden want revenge. Only one question stands: Is Emmy in?
Her Majesty’s Royal Coven by Juno Dawson (Contemporary Fiction, LGBTQIA+, Large cast of diverse characters, Fighting the system)
A Discovery of Witches meets The Craft in this epic fantasy about a group of childhood friends who are also witches. At the dawn of their adolescence, on the eve of the summer solstice, four young girls—Helena, Leonie, Niamh and Elle—took the oath to join Her Majesty's Royal Coven, established by Queen Elizabeth I as a covert government department.
Now, decades later, the witch community is still reeling from a civil war and Helena is the reigning High Priestess of the organization. Yet Helena is the only one of her friend group still enmeshed in the stale bureaucracy of HMRC. Elle is trying to pretend she's a normal housewife, and Niamh has become a country vet, using her powers to heal sick animals. In what Helena perceives as the deepest betrayal, Leonie has defected to start her own more inclusive and intersectional coven, Diaspora. And now Helena has a bigger problem. A young warlock of extraordinary capabilities has been captured by authorities and seems to threaten the very existence of HMRC.
With conflicting beliefs over the best course of action, the four friends must decide where their loyalties lie: with preserving tradition, or doing what is right.
Snapdragon by Kat Leyh (Graphic Novel, Tween/Teen, Discovering magic, Unlikely friendship)
Snap's town had a witch. At least, that's how the rumor goes. But in reality, Jacks is just a crocks-wearing, internet-savvy old lady who sells roadkill skeletons online--after doing a little ritual to put their spirits to rest. It's creepy, sure, but Snap thinks it's kind of cool, too. They make a deal: Jacks will teach Snap how to take care of the baby opossums that Snap rescued, and Snap will help Jacks with her work. But as Snap starts to get to know Jacks, she realizes that Jacks may in fact have real magic--and a connection with Snap's family's past.
In Defense of Witches: The Legacy of Witch Hunts and Why Women Are Still on Trial by Mona Chollet (Nonfiction, History, Women’s lives, Sociology)
Centuries after the infamous witch hunts that swept through Europe and America, witches continue to hold a unique fascination for many: as fairy tale villains, practitioners of pagan religion, as well as feminist icons. Witches are both the ultimate victim and the stubborn, elusive rebel. But who were the women who were accused and often killed for witchcraft? What types of women have centuries of terror censored, eliminated, and repressed?
Celebrated feminist writer Mona Chollet explores three types of women who were accused of witchcraft and persecuted: the independent woman, who were particularly targeted; the childless woman, those who claimed to control their fertility; and the elderly woman, who has always been an object of pity and horror.
These are just my top five. For more recommendations, check out this list on the Tulsa City-County Library catalog.
