The Scapegracers

It's been a while since I've fallen in love with a YA Horror, or even a YA work in general, but this queer, witchy, edgy, fast-paced, gorgeous cartwheel of a book caught me and held me in its thrall from almost the moment I began it. Clarke's characters--and in particular Sideways, that dark, lesbian witch of a main character, with all her flaws--took me back to high school and all of my insecurities and artsy-hopeful-cynical friends in a way that no other YA work has. Sideways' voice perfectly captured that impossible blend of cynicism and hope that defines so many teenagers--as it certainly did me and my friends--and the only thing I can say about it here is that it felt authentic. That voice, blended with the darkness of the show more witchcraft and the unflinching plot, made for such a vibrant read that I sped through the whole of the book, and immediately jumped online to order the next book.

On top of all of that, the cover is utterly gorgeous, and the book itself simply feels original. From here on out, I'll read anything Hannah Abigail Clarke writes.

Absolutely recommended. show less

If you love the vibes of Jennifer's Body and The Craft, give this book a try.

Sideways is not your average queer outsider who feels drawn to magic. She finds herself invited to a party to try because of rumors circling the school around Sideway's affinity for magic. The night quickly takes a hard turn after Sideways blacks out at the end of the night.

Sideways finds herself trying to piece together the night with the high school's "mean girl" trio that have attached themselves to her. The way the girls interact in almost a fluid state of matter felt so true to the lines that rarely exist and the confusion that can come with that type of connection.

This story took me a few chapters to get hooked into but I am very much looking forward to show more what happens next. The humor was very much my style and I'm hoping to see more of Sideway's parents in the next books! show less

I loved this book with all my heart. It made me sweaty and giddy and it made me laugh. It made me cry and scream out in frustration. It was weird and unpredictable in the best ways, it was an experience. Sideways, Yates, Jing and Daisy were nothing but a hurricane, strange and mysterious and an aesthetic for themselves. They were interesting, they had chemistry, the fit into each other while staying unique and true for themselves.

The setting was beautifully described, Sideways room is a work of art and there was a certain, graceful spookiness without being cheesy. The writing style is nothing but beautiful, poetic and entrancing, every word pulling you further in.

I loved Mr. Scratch, I loved his history, the way he spoke about his show more girls, the way he was revealed, starting off as this slightly foreshadowing, creepy presence to the sweet and feeling book devil he is.

The storyline is interesting and working out, every character build up perfectly. The girls are everything I always wished people could make the teenage girl protagonist like. Soft and terrifying, mean and pretty and fierce and loving at the same time, willing to do everything for each other. All those sometimes contradicting traits, that other stories pull up as the entire personality, but here are coexisting, creating a character that simply IS. Alive and real, growing closer and closer. And of course, the representation is wonderful.

I loved this book to pieces and there are a million more things I could say, but I won't. Instead I will just recommend to read it to everyone who is ready for a little magic and wish you a wonderful day show less

Honestly, the first half of the book was a little hard to get through. Clarke's prose is often a bit violent and visceral, which made it uncomfortable to read sometimes. I also wasn't fully sure what was going on, since some things happened very quickly (the friendship developing between the four) and other things took a while.

Once I got to the second half, it was a much easier and more enjoyable read. I'm interested in following the rest of the story. I'm especially interested in why Maurice doesn't trust Mr. Scratch.

I had expected this book to be a bit more Mean Girls/Heather's than it is, and I'm glad. I like that the girls don't tear others down just for the heck of it.

3.75 stars

Sideways is at a party and “plays” a little bit with magic. Three other girls from school are willing, and they recruit one more from a neighbouring school. But it’s dangerous. Sideways is not sure what happened when she wakes up the next morning. One of the girls is missing, and they find her at the bottom of an empty pool with three dead deer arranged closeby. Despite the danger and not knowing exactly what happened or how, the girls love the attention they get out of it and want to do more with magic.

I mostly liked this, though none of the characters was terribly likable (except Sideways’ two dads). It is quite graphic at times, as well (this is just an fyi… graphic doesn’t usually bother me, and it didn’t show more this time). Also a lot of profanity, which I disliked more than the graphic-ness. And it doesn’t quite finish, so not sure how long the series is (or will be) or if there is just one sequel or if it’s a trilogy, but I’ll read the next one. show less

3.5 rounded up to 4 because there's only one token straight girl in the book and that's the energy I'm looking for.

A fun, dumb, gay version of The Craft, with messy teen girls discovering their witch powers and generally being teenagers.

One quibble is that the entire book takes place over a single week, so there is a lot that feels quite rushed in a lot of ways.

4 stars
*Thank you to Netgalley and those involved with Spacegracers for my advanced readers copy.

LGBT witches in high school is the best description I can give to this book, though it is so much more than that.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book even though it had more than a few issues.
The main character is a loner who due to circumstances in her early life finds it hard to make friends and the other characters are surprisingly refreshing since they are the stereotypical "mean girl" archetype deconstructed.
I didn't expect to be so overjoyed that the "mean girls" were actually... nice. They were still popular but like every human had vulnerabilities which made me really happy. I love fleshed out characters that belong to archetypes and I show more found myself relating to them even though I was definitely NOT popular in school. They were vibrant and charismatic and I might have enjoyed reading about them more than the main character.Literally everyone is relatable in some fashion for me at least also so that's a plus!
Also, witchcraft. Let's talk about the other representation in this book. So witchcraft is an actual religious practice that is demonized or misrepresented in media and books most times, but it was not in this book.
The author either is a witch or did their homework when it came to this. Though magic is not seen as this potent in witchcraft (Practitioners usually don't levitate for instance) sigils and rituals are a big part of the craft. So yeah, good job on that!
Now for the reason this is not five stars.
Pacing.
The pacing was really disorienting because it went 1 to 100 so fast. For example, we are escaping the antagonists and then we go to school and it slows down drastically. Maybe that was just a problem for me but it really took me out of the immersion of the book but this is going to be a trilogy so I'm sure the author can fix most of the problems listed here. This is their first book to my knowledge.
Antagonists.
So early on in the book we meet the villains/antagonists and until the end of the book they don't even mention them really again. Also the twist was kind of predictable but I'll let that slide because it made me anxious for the main character and scream "No! Don't do that!"
Overall, I loved the book though and can't wait for the next installment in the trilogy. show less