Twelve-year-old Maggie has relocated with her mom (who is queer) and her parent Moe (who is trans and nonbinary) from Brooklyn to a small town upstate. Her mom lost her job and her mom’s mother, Maggie’s beloved and quirky Nana, had a fall and needed care, so here they are at Nana’s old house. Everyone in the town, however, sees Maggie and her mom as just two more of the Havercroft witches, who have long had a reputation for being different and causing trouble.
Maggie soon comes to realize that some parts of the stories are true: Nana’s house is haunted, with the ghosts of the family’s ancestors trapped there by an old curse. Maggie’s mom, however, doesn’t want to acknowledge the spooky goings-on; she had left the town years ago to escape homophobic bullies, and doesn’t really want to be back.
Maggie, who is autistic and has ADHD and anxiety, is now dealing with bullies of her own, who see her only through the lens of her family’s purported oddness. She finds a friend, however, in goth girl Ivy, who is trans and is also the subject of peer bullying. Maggie resolves to break the family curse, and with Ivy’s help, dives into the family’s heritage of witchcraft that her mom had kept from her—but will the girls’ efforts be enough to stop the threats both supernatural and real?
Author Jen Wilde, who is queer and autistic her/themself, gives us a spooky story about facing the past, confronting oppression, and finding our own “magick.” Wilde weaves in thoughtful details and observations (both challenges and joys) about being neurodivergent or queer, without making this the sole focus of the plot. At the same time, the book is very much about how people of marginalized identities, neurodivergence, and other types of difference have been maligned and mistreated through the ages—and how we can heal from the generational trauma this has instilled. It manages to be empowering without feeling saccharine, though, wrapping its messages in a ghost story that’s also a just a shivery good read. Highly recommended.
Maggie and her family are White.
Content warning: Spousal abuse (by historic characters in the book).
