This book has killed me and I am dead, typing out reviews from beyond the grave because I know how to live the best afterlife.



Originally, this piqued my interest because of the title and cover. Witches? Yes, please. Boy witches? Interesting! Cute kid + monster shadow? I'm in!

And if you like reading on the surface, that's exactly what this story is about - witches and shapeshifters, fitting in (or not), family, friendship, and terrible monsters.

If you're more of a Find the Symbolism/Read Deeper/A

This book has killed me and I am dead, typing out reviews from beyond the grave because I know how to live the best afterlife.Originally, this piqued my interest because of the title and cover. Witches? Yes, please. Boy witches? Interesting! Cute kid + monster shadow? I'm in!And if you like reading on the surface, that's exactly what this story is about - witches and shapeshifters, fitting in (or not), family, friendship, and terrible monsters.If you're more of a Find the Symbolism/Read Deeper/ALL THE ALLEGORIES! person, then you'll find a whole lot more going on including gender roles, societal expectations, diversity and acceptance, as well as witches and shapeshifters, fitting in (or not), family, friendship, and the making of terrible monsters and how that can be avoided.Here's what charmed me (I'm so clever with my words):1) The illustrations. They're adorable, colorful, well-rendered and, oddly, reminded me a lot of Noelle Stevenson 's* work, even though everything is less pointy and not as thin-lined. It's got a similar feeeeeel, though.(ok, that looks more like Calvin and Hobbes but trust me, there's a Noelle Stevenson vibe running throughout, too)2) There is one gender norm pushed in this book (and it's pushed so it can be shattered) and all the others are nearly erased. The protagonist, Aster, has a girl-typical name and when compared to his cousins, looks effeminate. But he's a boy and that only matters because he's supposed to be a shapeshifter. Boys are shapeshifters, girls are witches. Those are the only roles to which genders must conform in this story. Otherwise, everyone is who they are. Aster's mother, Holly, is the ultimate earth mother type, primal femininity, nurturing, running around barefoot in her country dress. She looks like some Irish goddess. Aster's aunt Iris, though, looks like she came from a punk rock band and is all emotion and reaction. Other than Aster's dad, a thoughtful, family-oriented, slender-but-strong brown man, we don't get to see as much of the male counterparts and what we do see seems typically masculine, mostly, all except Aster. The other boys tease him because he sucks at doing what they do, shapeshifter stuff, athletic stuff, physical stuff, not because of his name or his looks or anything else.Aster meets Charlie, a super sporty black girl WITH THICK ANKLES!** who didn't even know magic really existed until she saw Aster doing witchery in her neighborhood. She knows who she is, what she wants, and where she's going. She is the epitome of being herself without caring what anyone else thinks about her. She's also somewhat reckless, as evidenced by her broken leg. It's only natural these two would fit together so well.3) Aster and Charlie's friendship is perfect. There are no romantic under or overtones, they are so wonderfully comfortable with each other, they obviously love and admire one another a lot and they intentionally work together instead of doing that "I have to do this alone" nonsense. It's beautiful and I wish friendships like this were represented more often.4) There's one message that gets driven home, pointy end first. The rest of them are just there, lying around for the reader to pick up either intentionally or subconsciously. The cast is racially, genderly, sexually, aged-ly, all the other -ly's diverse. And it's unquestioned. Except for the storyline about defying gender norms, everything else is just accepted. What a great message to plant in the mind of the younguns: you're not like everyone else? That's fine. They're not like everyone else? Also fine. Find your commonalities and make friends among people with whom you connect while respecting everyone else even if you don't personally like them. And this simple message is there to witness but it's not preached, not at all. I loved that.I would recommend this book to everyone who likes books like Princeless #1 Nimona , hell even Rat Queens #1 if you're looking for something aimed at a younger audience, and for readers who love Raina Telgemeier and/or Faith Erin Hicks *soooo...I'm reading the acknowledgements and at the end, Molly thanks her partner, Noelle, for making their house a home or something. Now, aside from my sister's, I don't see the name Noelle that often so the first one that came to mind, because she was already in my mind due to the aforementioned illustration style, I wondered...could Molly be talking about Noelle Stevenson? I mean, they'd know each other from being in the same industry, and all. I stalked them this morning and guess what? They're couple! Which is kinda great because, in retrospect, I'd totally ship them even though I give no shits about people's relationships. These two are too perfect and adorable to not be together and they're melting my heart. I wonder if they need an aunt. I only have two nieces and two nephews, there's plenty of room for two more.**Thick ankles is something that is never talked about. Like, never! But it's such a worry for so many kids, mostly girls but also boys, especially athletic kids. You never ever see imagery of thick ankles on anyone who isn't pregnant, in which case it's shown as a symptom of pregnancy and is used to evoke sympathy or empathy, or fat, in which case it's shown as a symptom of being overweight and just think about how nice those legs would be if they didn't look like tree trunks, or old, in which case it's shown as a symptom of agedness when your body gives out and you can't be pretty anymore because you are ancient. But not everyone has thin ankles and some people, especially people who run and kick and use their legs a lot, have strong, hearty, not-thin ankles! It's not a terrible thing at all, it's not shameful, it's not a symptom of anything. It's a body part and unless you've got gout, you should not be worried about the size of your ankles so thank you, Molly, for bringing this up because more kids need to know that ankles aren't supposed to come in one size only.