Coven

Coven
Co-Authors / Illustrators
Age Range
13+
Release Date
September 06, 2022
ISBN
978-0593112182
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Emsy has always lived in sunny California, and she’d much rather spend her days surfing with her friends or hanging out with her girlfriend than honing her powers as a fire elemental. But when members of her family’s coven back east are murdered under mysterious circumstances that can only be the result of powerful witchcraft, her family must suddenly return to dreary upstate New York. There, Emsy will have to master her neglected craft in order to find the killer . . . before her family becomes their next target.

Editor review

1 review
Coven
(Updated: November 03, 2022)
Overall rating
 
3.5
Plot
 
4.0
Characters
 
3.0
Writing Style
 
3.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
4.0
What worked: Fun, engaging witchy tale where a teen is suddenly uprooted from her Californian home to a coven.

Emsy loves surfing and hanging out with her girlfriend. When her parents tell her they have to move back to a coven, she's shocked and then angry. Emsy's reactions and emotions are very realistic. Who wouldn't be upset to leave the only home they knew and their girlfriend? When Emsy and her family arrive at the coven, that's when things change. She finds out that her mother, who was next in line to head the coven, gave it all up for Emsy to have a 'normal' life. After the death of her cousin Ben's family, they rush back but not without some resistance from those within the coven.

Ben comes off as very ansty and rude at times. I get that he's hurting from losing his family and resents Emsy being there. Later, they do come together to try to bring his family back from the dead. Still, Ben goes from hot to cold throughout the book.

I only wished there had been more on what exactly was in the book THE ART OF NECROMANCY. There are hints on how to do the spells, but nothing more. Plus, Aunt Kat's role isn't too clear. I felt it should have been fleshed out more.

The illustrations and graphic novel format help move along the story.

Fast-paced witchy tale that shows not only Emsy first rejecting and then reluctantly trying to help Ben out with a spell that he hopes will bring his dead family back. Fans of THE CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA are such to enjoy this magical tale where a teen finds out about the truth of her family's part in a coven and the lengths she'll go to help those she loves.
Good Points
1. Fun, engaging witchy tale of a teen finding out her part of a coven
2. Fans of THE CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA will enjoy
3. Great illustrations
4. GLBTQA+ representation
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User reviews

1 review
Overall rating
 
4.3
Plot
 
4.0(1)
Characters
 
4.0(1)
Writing Style
 
4.0(1)
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
5.0(1)
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A good spooky, supernatural graphic novel
Overall rating
 
4.3
Plot
 
4.0
Characters
 
4.0
Writing Style
 
4.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
5.0
Emsy has always know that she's a witch, but her powers have never gone farther than lighting candles. She loves her girlfriend and friends in California, so when her parents tell her they have to suddenly move to upstate New York because of the murder of some of their coven members, her world is shaken. Once she arrives in New York, she befriends two other teenage members of the coven as they try to solve the mystery and reverse the damage. Emsy begins to realize the full extent of her power, and the teenage witches make decisions without fully appreciating the consequences of what they are attempting.
The illustrations are beautiful and vivid; facial expressions are portrayed skilfully as is the autumn setting and the magic. I really enjoyed the story and couldn't put it down, although I found the second half rushed and wished the book was longer. Emsy's treatment of her girlfriend, Joss, and her friend Garrett, is really poor and these relationships were not resolved well. Overall, a good witchy, supernatural graphic novel, just in time for the spooky season. I'm hoping there will be more stories about this coven. Thank you to BookishFirst for a copy to review.
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