A Witchy Book Review and a Character Deep Dive
Book Review: Weyward by Emilia Hart
Weyward takes a realistic approach to magic. No one casts any spells or brews any potions over a steaming cauldron under the light of a full moon. All the magic is rooted in the natural world, and a reader could argue that there is no magic at all: just women with a deep connection to nature. Still, the uncanny element is there; a crow that assists the characters at the right moments, a plague of insects on a character's rapist, an onslaught of birds and insects that chase another villain from the cottage. Certainly these moments have that flavor of magic to them, but I still wouldn't call this a "fantasy" novel. The speculative elements are secondary to the real story being told.
Ultimately, I found Weyward to be about the plight of women. Altha, in the 1600s, is tried as a witch. Violet, in the 1900s, is locked away from the world because she's perceived as odd. Kate is escaping an abusive boyfriend. Each woman faces the stigmas of her time, stigmas that are not levied against men (or at least not to the same extent). Their stories interlace beautifully, exposing how little has ultimately changed over the years. Kate's arrival at Weyward cottage is met with skepticism and rumors of witchcraft from the villagers, despite it being the 21st century and Kate having grown up in the city. She's escaping an abusive boyfriend, just as another character in another time period faces an abusive husband. The women face darkness, and they see how that darkness transforms those around them. They find solace in their connection to the natural world, something that makes them outcasts in the eyes of those around them.
This book is not kind to men. Aside from Violet's brother Graham, you have to squint to see the examples of non-toxic masculinity. There are a couple, but with so much of the novel resting on the horrific way the men in this book treat the three heroines, there isn't much room for heroes. To me, that makes Graham's role in the novel vital. He represents a shift, an opportunity. He, as Kate's grandfather, shows that a continuation of the Weyward line is possible through male descendants. He also shows that there is strength and honor in standing beside women, propping one another up, rather than climbing on the backs of women to further your own interests.
The book captured my interest from the beginning, and it was a thoroughly enjoyable read, but the ending fell a bit flat for me. It may have been because I didn't finish it in time for bookclub, and everyone was talking about "that epilogue" as if it had floored all of them. My expectations were set high, and I didn't feel that the reality lived up to them. It's a good ending, and it contextualizes the rest of the book, subtly shifting your perspective; but there were some details of it that didn't click for me. Also, because so much of the endings of Violet and Altha's stories are revealed earlier in the book, those endings felt more obligatory than anything. They didn't reveal anything we hadn't already learned through Kate uncovering the past.
Overall, I think this is a great book that fans of witchy, feminist literature will enjoy. The characters arcs are strong and the type of magic is entrancing because it's a magic that readers can bear witness to every time we step outside.
Free-writes are short scenes that come out of a short stint of writing time on a program called FlowState, which deletes everything I’ve written if I stop writing. I go into them blind, can’t stop to think while I write, and don’t edit them before they’re posted here beyond correcting any typos or punctuation.
Right now I’m focused on prepping for the 3-Day Novel Contest. The novella I’m planning to write has only two characters: a girl and a boy. This free write is exploring the character backstory of the girl. The characters in the novella will remain unnamed, and obviously this is still in the development stages, so it’s all subject to change. The nature of a Work in Progress!
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this sneak peak at my current project.
Character Backstory: The Girl
A 15-minute free write developing character backstory
When she was born, her mother and father could sense the fight in her. The flame burning bright in her chest.
They named her Lilith.
Her sister was eight years older, and took being a big sister very seriously. The moment she saw Lilith, she knew that this little bundle, with her tiny nose and squinty eyes, was hers to protect and teach and love. The two girls were inseperable, particuarly as Lilith grew old enough to play, to braid her sister’s hair, to have tea parties and shoot hoops in the driveway.
When it was time for Lilith’s sister to go to college, both girls cried, clinging to each other. But it was alright, because by that time Lilith’s little brother had come along, and the moment she saw him, with his tiny nose and squinty eyes, she knew he was hers to protect and teach and love.
Lilith found that being a big sister to her little brother was quite different than what she’d experienced with her big sister. She’d always wanted to be just like her big sister, but her little brother didn’t want to be like Lilith at all. He wanted to play with monster trucks, and crash them into the dirt so their wheels flew off. He wanted to throw himself headlong down a hill and see how fast he could roll. He also wanted to shoot hoops in the driveway, but he wanted to learn trick shots and as he got older he was more interested in practicing his ball skills than a casual game of H-O-R-S-E. He didn’t mind braiding Lilith’s hair while they watched TV, but he didn’t relish it like Lilith had.
Still, Lilith adored him. She played monster trucks, and put all the pieces back together over and over again so he could have the pleasure of smashing them over and over again. She rolled down the hill after him, a bit more carefully but still giggling like a loon. She sweated and panted as she tried to keep up with his improving basketball skills. She painted his nails blue and told him it was alright when he wanted to take it off because the boys down the street laughed at him. She painted his toenails blue, instead, and smiled fondly as he wiggled them out from under the far edge of the blanket while they watched Spiderman for the umpteenth time.
Lilith herself was a mix of things, influenced by her older sister’s love of clothes and makeup and princesses, changed by her little brother’s love of dirt and superheroes and sports, nurtured by her mother’s calm and organized nurse’s manner, and encouraged by her father’s businesslike ambition. She made friends with girls at school, and she made friends with the boys down the street, and she made friends with adults when her parents would take her along to parties. She was a social child, and she enjoyed making others happy. For herself, Lilith loved to paint her nails different colors, and she loved to read comic books, and she loved ballet. She never turned down an opportunity to climb a tree, and her favorite Disney movies were the princess ones. She did alright in school, getting mostly Bs, but she couldn’t abide math and always got a C. Social studies was her favorite subject, and she loved seeing the bright A+ adorning all her assignments. People, she understood. People made sense.
Until the day the virus came, and suddenly people didn’t make any sense at all.
The virus wrapped around the flame in her chest and exploded, a raging inferno that burned blinding and searing through her body, up her spine and into her skull, burning through the self-control, the restraint that kept the flame low and docile all her life, until there was nothing left but the fire and the fight, and Lilith in the middle of it, unable to contain it at all.
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