A Witch's Guide to Burning
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- $18.99
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- $18.99
Publisher Description
Dhaliwal creates a land ruled by magic and fire, where the sky is thick with witches
A witch’s work is never done when she works for the people. With the success of her town relying on her magic, demands are high. But what happens when a witch can't keep up with the magical requests? She is burnt, of course—in a cruel ritual that extinguishes her magic and erases all her memories, making her just like everybody else. But when a burning ceremony is interrupted by rain in Chamomile Valley, a witch is left writhing at the stake. It's up to a witch doctor and her toad friend to save the singed witch and nurse her back to health. Can they help her before her magic is lost forever?
Aminder Dhaliwal’s A Witch’s Guide to Burning is a whimsical and humorous allegory for burnout in a society in desperate need of self-care. With a lavish blend of prose, illustration, and comics, Dhaliwal crafts an enthralling hybrid adventure story like you’ve never seen before. Follow Singe and her companions Yew-Veda and Bufo Wonder as they journey across dangerous landscapes, battling demons along the way in an extraordinary tale about sacrifice and healing.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Dhaliwal (Cyclopedia Exotica) conjures a sly and cutesy fantasy world in this tale of finding the strength to face the past. In Chamomile Valley, an amnesiac young service witch named Singe is rescued after being burned at the stake and left for dead when her magic dried up. With Yew-Veda, a witch doctor, and Bufo Wonder, a witch who's accidentally turned himself into a toad, Singe sets out to recover her magic and her memory. The trio is pursued by the demons Disgust, Doubt, and Despair, and aided by the Smoke Witch, the collective spirit of burned witches past. The format blends blocks of text with comics and illustration, and in a gimmicky design quirk, certain repeated words appear to burn, glow, wiggle, and drift away. Recipe spells are scattered throughout, ranging from chamomile tea to a self-love potion (actually chocolate-covered strawberries). Touches of whimsy lend to the middle grade fantasy vibe, though the pacing is uneven. It adds up to a charming albeit jumbled potion.
