A Witch's Guide to Burning

by Aminder Dhaliwal

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.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Comics, Fiction, Young Adult, Witches, Magic

400 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2024

About the author

Aminder Dhaliwal is a native of Brampton, Ontario and received a Bachelors of Animation from Sheridan College. She now lives in Los Angeles, where she is the Director at Disney TV Animation. Previously, she worked as a Storyboard Director at Cartoon Network and Storyboard Director on the Nickelodeon show Sanjay and Craig.

She has serialized Woman World biweekly on instagram since March 2017 and has garnered over 120,000 followers. Woman World was nominated for an Ignatz Award for Outstanding Online Comic.

Reviews

[Whitney Atkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was so sweet and fun! it reminded me of animal crossing kind of, being a guide book on how to recover from hard times and lean on your friends with some witchy vibes and a talking toad. this was witty and cute but also had some tough themes and definitely stood as a metaphor for giving yourself grace and recovering from hard times.

not a full five stars because i didn't entirely understand the action at the end and this was sometimes a bit dry, but i applaud the art and narration style because i've never read anything like it. it's one of the most story-forward graphic novels i've ever read and the dialogue and typography was so unique.

i definitely recommend this if you want a witchy book with some deeper themes about self-love!

[Tarryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can tell that A Witch's Guide to Burning was a project filled with love for author & illustrator Aminder Dhaliwal. Not only is it very clear from how much fun she had with the storytelling, but by learning that she's been posting this story in segments to her Instagram since 2021 and has since amassed a good little following for Singe, Yew-Veda and Bufo.

I do feel that maybe I am lacking some of the affection for the story I may have felt had I been among the original following. While undeniably beautiful, it did lack that certain something that really should have hooked me. However, A Witch's Guide to Burning was still such a lovely, worthwhile romp. There's much to be said on burnout culture, as well as the societal longevity of woman's usefulness - namely how long society will allow for a woman to be deemed useful until she just isn't anymore.

Dhaliwal is both playful and poignant with this world and its messages. I genuinely hope to see a continuation of the story for these characters in the future.

[alyssa✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

a witchy book with GORGEOUS illustrations! it was a little too long at some parts but i enjoyed myself

[Me, My Shelf, & I]

DNF @ pg 55

I haven't picked this up in 9 days and I think it's time to admit I lost interest. It's not bad, but it's not gripping me. And I don't want to finish it just to finish... which is exactly what I'd be doing if I went on.

I think it's a bit more serious and less fun than I was expecting? I liked the idea of burning a witch being a metaphor for burnout, but I think it's just too simple + exposition heavy without a lot of fun art and colors to distract me.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A whimsical journey that reminds us of the importance of taking your time to heal.

[Ananya Garg · Rating 5 out of 5]

a beautiful allegory for healing from burnout! I appreciated all of the various rituals and also the discussion of how healing looks different for everyone

[Anna Wallman · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story is too slow for me but I love the format! So cool when the words are trailing away, blurred out or highlighted. And the pictures are well done.

[Halina Hetman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Якщо Cyclopedia Exotica була ДУЖЕ смішною - я гиготіла вголос над деякими моментами і потім була готова прочитати будь-що, що напише ця авторка, то данна книжка змусила мене засміятися лише раз (вже немало, враховуючи обставини). Проте вона показала мені, що в авторки є справжній талант підіймати складні теми, не роблячи їх при цьому тяжкими й травмуючими для сприйняття.

A Witch's Guide to Burning є не стільки дієвказом для відьом (я ж-бо очікувала щось енциклопедичне)), скільки історією про ментальне й фізичне зцілення після насилля. Головна героїня, яка опритомнює після власного спалення, повинна пройти довгий та складний шлях відновлення, протягом якого вона перестане звинувачувати себе в тому, що сталося, й знайде нову, обрану родину.

Описано і намальовано це все максимально затишно, авторка дійсно вміє створити унікальну атмосферу в кожній своїй книжці. В неї також можна повчитися тому, як пояснювати правила фентезі-світу, не вдаючися до інфо-дампів. Магічна система мені неабияк сподобалася, вона була дуже логічною й реалістичною.

Окремо треба відмітити пекельну верстку: особливість цієї книжки в тому, що текст є частиною графічного сторітелінгу. Це не традиційний мальопис, історія видана як звичайна ілюстрована книга, іноді - з баблами діалогів. Але багацько слів мають власне оформлення, яке відповідає їхньому сенсу (літера "о" в слові "подивилися" має очі, слово "туманний" розмите, слово "спалення" палає, тощо), що додає новизни в досвід читання й погружає глибше в атмосферу цього дивного авторського світу. Мені би дуже хотілося бачити українське видання, але шкода верстальників й дизайнерів, які будуть це оформлювати))

[Ashley Hana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was magical and beautiful and an amazing read for healing. I tend to hate reviews with quotes, but "You know, sometimes, I think back to the day I was burned with strange fondness. It wasn't the end - it was the beginning." That hit me like a TRUCK. In the best way possible. But it brought along a lot of feelings and was a very moving, yet light read.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Illustrations, text-effects, and overall message had me wishing I could give this 5 stars, but the story and characters fell flat for me. This could’ve been a much shorter book.

[kdburton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful story of collective power, the healing connection of others, and finding yourself. The perfect book to be reading while my grandfather is in palliative care, to remind me of the legacies of we hold and create.

— library book

[Alex Vega · Rating 5 out of 5]

The beauty of this book is the illustrations. The writing was a bit tough for me but I did enjoy it the entire time ✨

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

It never ceases to amaze me how Dhaliwal can take what seems like a really ham-fisted metaphor and make it something beautiful and poignant and painfully true.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a treat!

[Sammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This took a bit to find its footing, but once the tone was locked in I was stunned. The magic is so beautiful and creative. The art is a great mix of cute, funny, scary and breathtaking. I was surprised by the emotional depth of the story. I would read any book set in this world.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Witch's Guide to Burning is a found-family quest story which winds themes of burnout and healing from past trauma with gender roles and societal expectations. It's much darker than either of Dhaliwal's earlier works and the format was, unfortunately, not for me. This story is very text-heavy with illustrations and autologlyph text (the best way I can describe it is onomatopoeia but for words, but an example can be viewed here). While this wasn't a bad story by any means, I went into it with different expectations, and the story I found was not the one I really wanted to read.

[J.L. Thornton · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very unique book with some interesting and creative ideas. I did appreciate the unconventional graphic novel style and the use of the visual text for storytelling. But overall, the part that really made it a "novel" fell pretty flat for me. The characters weren't terribly compelling or likeable, and the plot was more a series of events that felt like an extended analogy for ideas of healing. Again, a cool idea with some nice moments but just sort of ok overall.

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adore everything about this book. What an immensely lovely story centered around kindness, self-love, healing, friendship, and nurturing your magic. Beautifully illustrated, down to the decorative and fluid fonts. Will definitely revisit this one! 🔥✨

[Sam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dnf about 60 percent in. I struggled the entire time to get through this. I could not get invested in the story or characters and I just didn’t want to read on.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to love this book more than I did. If I was awarding stars for the illustrations, that would definitely be 5 stars all the way. Sadly it was the story which let it down.

Our main character, Singe is a witch. She looks after her own village, making magic so that her people will prosper. But, Singe lives in a time where, if the village folk believe that their witch isn't performing as they should, they will burn them, to cleanse them of their magic. Singe's burning ritual is interrupted, leading her to encounter Yew-Veda and Bufo. Yew-Veda offers her help to Singe, to help her heal. Bufo... well, Bufo is another matter.

Overall this graphic novel has a good message at its heart. Healing from trauma is a powerful message. I just don't think Dhaliwal managed to pull it off. I felt that the story lacked cohesion and depth. I'm not sure the run length for the book, but I felt that it could have easily been edited, without losing anything. Because there was little depth, I struggled to connect to the characters at all, and this meant that I struggled to care what happened to them. I pushed on with it because of the quality of the art, but I would struggle to let someone know why they should read this book.

Having now finished it, it leaves me with a heavy heart. I wanted - I thought - that I was going to love this. Sadly, I was disappointed by it.

[Kat Chadbourn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a wholesome read.. and the graphics were beautiful. I was conscious of it being a young adult book - the story was quite simple and in places even maybe a little flat - but I came away feeling all the cosy feelings.

[Chandra Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, I had to pace myself with this one because it really got at my tender parts. This book is an allegory for burnout and it definitely held up a mirror and said, “Hey Chandra, maybe you are still healing from all your burnout/secondary trauma… and that’s okay. Also, take care of yourself!!!” In addition to the allegory this graphic novel also offered whimsy, coziness, and found family - so really I didn’t stand a chance! This is for sure going to be one of my favorites this year!

[Liz Warners · Rating 3 out of 5]

So incredibly lovely with poignant messages that I needed to hear. Loved the story and the illustrations, but for some reason I just didn't want to pick it up and it took longer for me to get through than I had thought it would.

[Tricia Cupp · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book sums up the agony of burning yourself to keep others warm, how we're replaceable by the system that light flame, and the importance of holding space for yourself and others to rest after the ashes have all but blown away. This one is going to sit with me for a while.

[Paige (pagebypaigebooks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a beautiful story of healing, self-worth, and the power of our connections to others. The world of witches was intriguing and rich, especially it's magic system. The illustrations were cute and made for an engaging read.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gorgeous artwork and imaginative playing with font. However, dense text and a fairly convoluted storyline may deter readers.

[Audrey The BookBook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just absolutely beautiful- the story and the graphics. A must-read.

[Carolyn Whitzman · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very visually clever graphic novel, but not at all my bag. A group of witches do various quests, fight Despair, drink herb tea, practice self-healing, yadda yadda.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not for me

[Ashley Daviau · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so stinking cute and SO much fun! I love a good coming of age story and when you make it spooky cute, I’m ALL in. The illustrations were adorable and the story was so much fun. Just an all around enjoyable experience!