With the final book of the supernatural trilogy completed, the book series Scapegracers has been an enjoyable read for the youth. Recently being awarded as a Locus Award finalist, author August Clarke has created a witchy read for all the outcasted misfits.
The story follows Sideways, a practitioner of witchcraft, who lies at the bottom of the social pyramid. However, after being paid to perform an exorcism with three other witches, the young witch grows to form their own coven-navigating high school and teenage life all while avoiding a group of witchhunters who are set out to destroy the long lineage of witches.
Lovers of the series have praised the series for its deep connection amongst female friendship. Although the first book was slow-paced and was a pain to get through, the rest of the series was consistent with the plot and kept a fun read through both the dialogue and interactions between the characters. Through the entire trilogy, people get the chance to know not only just Sideways, but also the associates within their coven and interesting background characters.
Some readers were rather quick to judge the story based on the descriptive tone throughout the trilogy. As it follows the tale of someone who is a teenager, there were complaints that there were some tidbits that a senior about to enter college would not say. Others stated that the actual acts of witchcraft were not based on historically practiced magic and that it therefore made the book inaccurate. However, in my opinion, despite the word choices within the story itself the book is an easy read to get through and I didn’t find myself stopping to re-read through the paragraphs as someone within the same age range as Sideways myself. This book series is clearly intended to attract the YA population, and it was overall memorable, referencing some of the more gothic works of media such as the 1980’s film ‘Elvira, Mistress of the Dark’, ‘The Addams Family’, ‘The Craft’, and more debatedly niche cult classics, including ‘Jennifer’s Body’, the select few of August’s heavy influences that brought this series to life. I have grown up with a lot of these films, and I was delighted to catch the quotes that Clarke had hidden in the books that had directly hinted towards these iconic works.
Overall, this book series is perfect for if you wish to relax to gothic-inspired young adult novels to your liking. Hopefully it will bring plenty of amusement-both in terms of plot and humor-towards others too.
