The Witch Boy by Molly Knox Ostertag
- Atticus
- Jul 15, 2019
- 1 min read
"If you're good at something, you should just be allowed to do it."
In Aster's large family, magic runs through their veins. Boys will be shapeshifters and girls will be witches. That's always how it's been.
Aster, however, can't get the hang of shapeshifting. His male cousins are eager, willing, already having prophetic dreams of the animals they will turn into. Aster is more interested in the magic that the girls learn. What's more, is he can actually do it. The only person who know he can cast spells is Charlie - a non-magical girl from their very normal town.
The Witch Boy is an amazing look at gender roles and the way they impact our lives. Aster is portrayed as softer, gentler than the other boys, and he likes the magic only girls learn. Yet he never once denies that he is a boy, just a bot who wants to do "girl" things. The limitations put on us by how people perceive us - and our gender - is at the heart of this beautifully drawn, inclusive book. Familial expectations are the center around which a story of action is woven, because when Aster's male cousins start to disappear and a demon comes to knock, every must use their own strengths to defeat an evil.
While the climax seemed rushed, it was still an amazing story with a protagonist that I personally wanted to adopt. 3/5 pickles.
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