For Girls Who Walk through Fire

July 15, 2023
A contemporary debut that deals with real-life issues head-on. Elliott D'Angelo-Brandt is making a list. Every week, as she sits in the Santa Barbara, California, kindergarten classroom where her sexual assault support group meets, she observes the other teens and considers who should join her coven. Eventually she settles on prim and proper Madeline, bubbly rich girl Chloe, and introspective and athletic Bea. With the help of Elliott's late mother's spell book, the quartet set out to get what society won't provide: revenge on their attackers. The spells and their repercussions astonish and begin to scare the young witches as their power--and its consequences--begins to grow. DeRose unflinchingly examines the impact of sexual assault on teens and the various paths there are toward healing. Each having experienced different types of assault, the girls relive their personal histories via shifting perspectives, providing nuance and complexity. Their healing journeys are both hopeful and realistic, as DeRose presents a cleareyed assessment of the subject, including society's dismissal of victims' stories and the difficult path to judicial justice. Their growing friendships are compelling and well depicted. Elliott and Madeline are cued white; Chloe is a transracial adoptee from Korea, and Bea is Black. The book explores the impact of race on the girls' experiences. A searing examination of sexual assault centering teen witches who fight back. (Paranormal. 14-18)

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September 1, 2023
Grades 9-12 After Elliott was sexually assaulted, her grandmother sent her to a support group where other girls like her talk about the traumas they've experienced. But Elliott isn't interested in talking. She wants to take action, and thanks to a book on witchcraft that once belonged to her mom, she might have found a way. To become a witch, she needs a coven, and Elliott has been carefully vetting the girls in her support group. Madeline, Chloe, and Bea are skeptical at first, but the truth of Elliott's magic wins them over, and before long each is taking her turn casting magical revenge on those who hurt her. But there's a price for sending negative magic out into the world--even against those who deserve it--and each girl has to grapple with the moral and physical repercussions of her attack and the truth of her own desires as their collective power grows. DeRose uses witchcraft to underscore both the lasting effects of trauma and the importance of community in healing. A bold and compassionate debut.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from November 24, 2023

Gr 9 Up-Elliott D'Angelo-Brandt has a list of girls she plans to ask to join her coven. She recruits her coven members-Madeline, Chloe, and Bea-from the support group for sexual assault survivors they all attend. Together, they use the mysterious spell book Elliott found in her late mother's things enact revenge on their perpetrators. With each spell cast, they see the consequences of their actions and they start to question their goals and intentions. As their powers grow and the girls start to share with each other, they learn what it means to be a coven and to lean on each other to heal and grow. DeRose's debut shifts perspective among each girl, bringing readers deeper into their lives and experiences as the girls' friendship and bonds deepen. The author presents a thoughtful depiction of how teens deal with experiences of sexual violence, how society is often dismissive of survivors' stories, and how the systems in place are not always just. VERDICT The rich depiction of all four girls and how each works to find the power of their interconnected magic, along with an attentive handling of sexual assault, make the novel an important one to add to any collection.-Rebekah J. Buchanan

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