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The Black Witch

(The Black Witch Chronicles #1)

Laurie Forest (Goodreads Author)

4.10 · Rating details · 25,678 ratings · 3,505 reviews

A new Black Witch will rise…her powers vast beyond imagining.

Elloren Gardner is the granddaughter of the last prophesied Black Witch, Carnissa Gardner, who drove back the enemy forces and saved the Gardnerian people during the Realm War. But while she is the absolute spitting image of her famous grandmother, Elloren is utterly devoid of power in a society that prizes magic ...more

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Hardcover, 601 pages

Published May 2nd 2017 by Harlequin Teen

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May 18, 2017 Mary ~Ravager of Tomes~ rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2-star, year-2017

So, I read it.

Honestly, I'm pretty disappointed in those people who condemned this book before giving it a chance.

Yes, a defining motivation for almost everything that happens in this book is racial tension between a handful of fantasy races. No, I do not feel that the author condones racist, homophobic, ableist, etc. ideologies about races that exist in reality.

My opinion? This book was preemptively dragged through the mud for nothing.

Seriously though, since when is portraying characters with ...more

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Mar 22, 2017 Emily May rated it really liked it

Shelves: paranormal-uf, arc, young-adult, 2017

"People see what they expect to see," he says sharply. "Through a filter of their own hatred and prejudice."

I don't really know where to start with this book. I recommend that everyone make themselves aware of the criticisms surrounding The Black Witch, if you are not already. And also be aware that this review is my opinion; I speak for no one but me. If you have a problem with that, don't read on.

The Black Witch is, in my opinion, a thoughtful consideration of the prejudices people hold, a ...more

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Apr 04, 2017 Georgina rated it really liked it

What is wrong with you people, now we are commanding artists what they can't and can write in FANTASY just so we wouldn't get triggered?? Don't read it if you can't deal with cruel, sad and dark themes. But you don't get to tell someone they are racist just because they choose to depict a world in which racism is very much alive!? What's the point of that? Are we going to ban history books next?? She writes her story, she created her flawed characters and her flawed world just as ours is, and th What is wrong with you people, now we are commanding artists what they can't and can write in FANTASY just so we wouldn't get triggered?? Don't read it if you can't deal with cruel, sad and dark themes. But you don't get to tell someone they are racist just because they choose to depict a world in which racism is very much alive!? What's the point of that? Are we going to ban history books next?? She writes her story, she created her flawed characters and her flawed world just as ours is, and there's room there to fix that world, too, for her characters to grow and learn! This reaction is outrageous! This is censorship!! Now we are telling others what is acceptable in arts and what not just because you can't deal with some harsh themes?? Unbelievable.

You know what's offensive? Throwing around such harsh words every time something's not acceptable to you! And some people are here losing their mind and calling the author despicable names and they didn't even read the freaking book!! Are you not capable of forming your own opinion?

This book had been receiving amazing reviews and then a couple of people found if racist and now EVERYONE finds it racist!?!? This is an on-growing trend, so I've noticed, something similar happened to Veronica Roth! Some are even rewriting their reviews. It doesn't work like that!! If you didn't find it offensive and racists the first time you read it without any judgement then guess what? It probably isn't racist to you!

And what if it does show racist behavior?? So what? Can't we show such things in books? Jesus Christ. God forbid we dealt with racist themes and violence towards women, God forbid we wrote about racist communities, God forbid we wrote about worlds where women aren't as strong as men. It would be just a bit - REALISTIC! You people can't deal with FANTASY, much less real life. And then there are some who simply just go looking for isms and phobias in every freaking book they read and comment they see. That's borderline sick.

Hell, even Sarah J. Maas gets called on being racist and not ''diverse enough''. She even gets attacked for ''forcing her obviously gay character into a submissive straight relationship''. Because YOU wrote and know her characters, right? Do you people hear yourself? This is getting seriously out of hand! Who are you to demand such things from other people's works of art!? Who are you to tell authors that they don't have enough ''diverse characters'' and that they HAVE TO have gay, black, white, whatever type of characters? Who are you to tell them they can't have racist characters or create a bad, bad world? If my magical world is all white, all black, all gay, all straight, all unicorns, all hate, and all racism, I have the right to make it that way, and you know what, it doesn't make me racist! It makes you incapable of dealing with life, this real one here.

20 years ago, J.K. Rowling created a world with racism in it. She created racist, xenophobic, hateful characters. And many are, dare I say hypocritically, adored by our generation. The only difference being, she didn't make her protagonist have 'racist' views. She chose the easier path. Black and white, morally speaking. But people are not black and white! Many learn, many grow, many are raised in such cultures and are conditioned to be that way, the way the main character in this book is. It would be UNREALISTIC if she were any other way!! And she isn't even racist, she's just a flawed young girl in a cruel world!

Let the characters be flawed, let the worlds be dark, you know better, or at least you should! Let them learn, for crying out loud, that's only human. Let yourself see into different mindsets even when they are wrong, learn, don't be so narrow-minded yourself. Books shouldn't be perfect, characters shouldn't be perfect, worlds shouldn't be perfect! They should be the way authors want them to be, and you should be mature enough to handle it and learn to be critical without losing your shit and seeing things even when they aren't even there!

What you are doing here is ruining the artistry! In a couple of years, all we'll be reading will be cardboard material!! Because authors will be afraid of getting labeled with some freaking ism. You are restricting people's imagination and their craft! You are restricting yourself!

Poor Laurie Forest. Poor authors these days. We live in a censorship that our younger generations are forcing upon everyone! Funnily enough, they are the same ones who preach freedom of speech and #nojudgement. Grow up! ...more

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May 06, 2017 Bentley ★ Bookbastion.net rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, cover-porn

See this review and more on www.bookbastion.net

Related review:

Wandfasted (The Black Witch 0.5): ★★★✯

I'd like to start off this review with a little warning to the naysayers for this book: if you're here to brigade me in the comments section and tell me how wrong I am for having an opinion that differs from your own, you can save it because your comment WILL be flagged and deleted. The opinions expressed in the review are my own, and no amount of abuse from the people who think it's okay to squas ...more

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Sep 27, 2017 Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy-all, young-adult, own

UPDATE: $1.99 Kindle US 10/16/20

This book was fan-freaking-tastic! Even though I wanted to beat about 1500 people 😄

I love about 15 people in this book! They were so damn awesome!

First off, Elloren, Rafe and Trystan were all brought up by their uncle Edwin. And good ole uncle brought them up to be good peeps. They were all still tarnished by untrue beliefs but it all comes out in good time ladies and gents!

They are all descendants of The Black Witch and uncle is keeping some things hidden from ...more

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May 09, 2017 Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies rated it did not like it

“Elloren,” Aunt Vyvian breathes, “you have grown into the absolute image of your grandmother.”

It’s a huge compliment, and I want to believe it. My grandmother was not only one of my people’s most powerful Mages, she was also considered to be very beautiful.

This book has an overwhelmingly, unprecedentedly low rating. I suspect it's because of the controversies this book has generated. This is unfortunate, because I believe this book's low rating should be due to the fact that it is painfully bad, not to mention mind-numbingly dull, rather than anything racially offensive within the book.

I've been reading this book for a week, and I can't read more than a few chapters at a time because it is just so bad. There is no complexity in this book; any conflicts within it is so simple and idiotically presented that it might as well have been written for a first grader's comprehension.

There they are. My tormentors. Sitting there, eating spice cake.

“The denizens of hell do not get to eat cake!” I snarl, heart racing.

I don't give a fuck about the racism. We're talking about elves and werewolf type shit here, and I'm too tired to care about any metaphorical offense.

What DOES offend me is:

1. The constant girl-on-girl hatred
2. The fact that the only nice girls are the outcast, ugly ones

Tierney Calix is, by far, the ugliest Gardnerian girl I’ve ever laid eyes on. Reed-thin, her face is sharp, her nose unevenly hooked, her straight hair oily and uncombed.

3. The fact that all the girls are mean and the meanest most beautiful girl wants the guy who's in lurve with Elloren

“Fallon is obsessed with Lukas Grey.”
Ah, him again.
“So...they’re courting?”
“No,” she puts in flatly. “Not to my knowledge. From what I’ve seen, Lukas has little interest in the girl.” My aunt’s face twists into a disgusted sneer. “Even though Fallon throws herself at him quite wantonly.”

4. The fact that the main character is so beautiful and looks JUST like her famous grandma who is the most famousest witch ever!
5. The fact that the most desired boy in the book wants to become betrothed to her after their first meeting
6. The fact that the writing is terrible and laughable
7. The fact that the conflicts between the mythical races in the book are simplistically presented
8. The fact that the beautiful brave main character spends half the fucking book bawling her eyes out
9. The fact that there is a love triangle
10. The fact that this book is fucking long and a waste of my time. ...more

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Apr 12, 2017 Lauren (Shakespeare & Whisky) rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, 3-and-4-star-books, do-you-even-edit

I've completely re-written this review. If you read the earlier version, maybe take another look? It is really long… sorry about that lol.

Part 1 is the review. Part 2 is the discussion of the controversy around this book, re-written based on my thinking of, and discussion around this topic here on GR in the last few weeks.

PART ONE- THE REVIEW

“People see what they expect to see… Through a filter of their own hatred and prejudice.”

3.5 stars

This is essentially an origin story. Poor stylistic c ...more

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Aug 12, 2016 Robin Hobb rated it really liked it

Shelves: ya-readers-of-any-age

College or University. A time when almost every student discovers that a) not everyone believes what you believe and b) some of what you know is wrong.

The Black Witch captures that time in the protagonist's life as Elloren leaves the shelter of her rustic uncle's home and goes off to school under the guidance of her politically power aunt. Elloren has been 'wand-tested' for magic and found lacking, despite the family lineage of powerful mages. She is still a potentially powerful pawn for her aun ...more

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Mar 21, 2017 Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ rated it really liked it

Shelves: ya-fantasy, vampires-and-werewolves-oh-my, not-another-love-triangle, cliffhanger-boo-hiss, fantasy, here-there-be-dragons, arc

3.5 stars, rounding up.* Review first posted on Fantasy Literature:

In an ironic twist, The Black Witch (2017), a book expressly dedicated to exploring the problem of prejudice and promoting diversity and tolerance, has been accused by many voices of being the very thing it is most devoted to showing as wrong. Words like “offensive,” “racist,” “ableist,” and “homophobic” have been hurled at the author and this book. It’s understandable, because the society and most of the characters depicted in ...more

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Jul 18, 2017 sunny rated it it was amazing

Shelves: im-all-kinds-of-shook, romance, young-adult, fantasy, i-want-to-reread, v-emotionally-moving, bf, shawty-so-bad

This book is literally everything I wished Harry Potter would be !!! I LOVED this book so much, oh my god, LAURIE FORST GIVE ME THE NEXT BOOK NOW!

No, this book was NOT homophobic or racist in any way. And if you're gonna comment otherwise and start bullshit, I'm warning you now: fuck off because I am not in the mood for this bullshit today or tomorrow. Oh wait, more than half of you didn't even read the book so,,,, 😑 you can't even argue.

Anyways, I'm so glad I read this for myself. I'm so glad I ...more

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Mar 13, 2017 Shenwei rated it did not like it

Shelves: not-touching-with-a-ten-foot-pole

EDIT: If you have the stomach/spoons for it, here's an in depth review of all of the awful things in the book.

I can't believe we have to tell people that calling mixed race people "half-breeds" and advocating for the genocide of other races is not okay.
ETA: Also
1. "wow my family is a bunch of genocidal racists oops" is the worst plot twist ever.
2. POC do not need to go through 300 pages of a white-coded girl being racist toward POC-coded characters to know that racism toward us is wrong and awfu ...more

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Jun 19, 2017 Always Pouting rated it really liked it

Shelves: favorites

There's been a lot of discussion around this book and I wanted to indulge my self importance and read it and add my opinion which is what this is so if you disagree that's cool totally tell me but I just want to say that if you are just going to tell me that I don't know something or I'm ignorant I'm just going to get defensive and mean and I don't want to be mean I really do try to be nice and reasonable but I get riled up if I feel like I'm being attacked so lets just try to keep this pleasant There's been a lot of discussion around this book and I wanted to indulge my self importance and read it and add my opinion which is what this is so if you disagree that's cool totally tell me but I just want to say that if you are just going to tell me that I don't know something or I'm ignorant I'm just going to get defensive and mean and I don't want to be mean I really do try to be nice and reasonable but I get riled up if I feel like I'm being attacked so lets just try to keep this pleasant and please try to actually explain what you think instead of just telling me I'm shit because I already I'm shit so thanks. Also I can't promise there won't be spoilers so just don't read if you're trying to stay spoiler free.

For anyone who doesn't know the book follows Elloren Gardner who lives with her uncle after her parents died in war. She is a direct descendant from the Black Witch, her grandmother, who is reveared by her people, the Gardnerians. Yet despite looking like her grandmother Elloren lacks the same powerful magic her grandmother possessed, or at least it would appear so. There is something about her magic that her uncle is hiding and he's kept her and her brothers away from the larger Gardnerians society, raising them as he feels is right. Elloren is turning eigthteen soon though and her aunt starts putting more pressure on her brother to let Elloren join her and learn more about the Gardnerian society. Elloren's uncle comes up with a plan as a compromise to let Elloren attend university with her brothers and Elloren is excited to finally have that dream come true.

So through out the book we have Elloren who is sheltered and doesn't really have any of her own opinions of other people from other places, I don't want to use the word race because it doesn't really apply so I'm going to say ethnicity because I think it fits much better with what's portrayed in the book. Then she goes off to spend time with her aunt, who has a lot of prejudice and is a devout nationalist to the Gardnerian state. Before this she hasn't dealt with people as widely and so I think it's not surprising that she looks to others for cues on how to behave. I think people keep blaming her for picking up these ideas but she has been kept isolated and I don't think it's fair to expect her to come out of no where and have these ideas of justice and equality with no learning or interaction with people outside of her family and a small village.

The way she behaves at first with the people at university might seem horrible and unfair when you're seeing it as a third party coming in with your own ideas about how to behave and morals but if you put yourself in her shoes and realize that she is still growing and learning and trying to make sense of things I don't think it seems horrible at all. I think the problem most people expressed is that Elloren is supposed to be some symbolic representation of white privileged people in america but I don't think that's true at all. I think many of you are projecting because through out the book it's made clear that the hatred and stereotyping runs deeply on all sides of this. Everyone hates everyone and everyone has tried to kill and oppress one another. Elloren's people didn't just go round up people from somewhere else and bring them to a country they stumbled upon where other people were already living who they slaughtered.

By going into this book and expecting it to be a certain way I feel that a lot of people let their own experiences and feelings cloud how they felt about the book, which I understand because these are really sensitive subjects being addressed. It just isn't consistent with the plot how ever and I don't think it's fair to expect a character to project a certain mind set just because that's what you want to see. This book is about Elloren and so of course she's going to mostly think about herself, and it's going to focus on her own growth as a person and no one just wakes up one day and suddenly realizes everything is wrong or has some innate knowledge that what they're being taught or picking up from their culture is hurting others until theyre exposed to the consequences.

This is also my own personal problem with people who get angry at others when they just try to help. I understand where the anger is coming from but being angry at singular people for something they really didn't put into place only alienates those people and makes them feel justified for being part of the system that is oppressing you. It's unrealistic to expect others to behave a certain way because you can't control it, you can only control how you behave and so there are better ways to change people, like actually making other people like you and want to help you and taking the time to explain to them and if they don't understand then at least you did your part.

Anyways I don't think at all that the author handled the transition badly, it seemed pretty realistic to me and the message seems solid, more education and exposure to those different than us builds tolerance and acceptance. I do how ever understand that some of us have had experiences that the book may remind us of and that can be hurtful and I'm not trying to take away from that or the fact that these things do impact us, I think if these are things you're dealing with and sensitive then the book may make you feel bad so maybe don't pick it up. I just personally don't see anything in the book on its own outside of the context of personal experiences or insecurities that is harmful.

Also stop comparing it to Harry Potter, why do people always need to say the book is like x other book like it probably isn't you're just going to make people's reactions to the book worse let it stand on it's own.

I do wish there was more time spent on the magic aspect of things and that story line but I really enjoyed this book and couldn't put it down even though it was really long and it's one of my favorites and I really want to read the next one. Hopefully the next one spends a little less time on the prejudice thing or only in the context of politics because I do really want more of larger lens and how the conflicts in the region are going to work out, I'm like invested in it now.

I'm going to crawl away now because I think I'm pretty much done saying what I wanted and I hope it made sense because I basically just babble when I write reviews. ...more

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Mar 18, 2017 Ben Alderson added it

I have removed my review.
The past two weeks discussion over this novel has taken place online and If have a moment please read this review -

https://t.co/kCumGwr0hC
I have read the entire review!
Having thought about this and read Shauna's points, quotes and direct references I can see I have been completely wrong.

I also want to add this quote from Shauna..
"I'm doing this not to tear down a single person, but to tear down a system that publishes books like #THEBLACKWITCH"
The publishing system ne ...more

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Apr 05, 2017 Heather rated it it was amazing

Shelves: controversy, rtc-review-to-come

4.5 stars
Review to come
Buddy-read with these truth seekers:
The one who puts my reading to shame
That other guy

Holy crap this book is actually pretty awesome

For the majority it is definitely a slow build and a character driven story but I actually like slow build stories and character driven stories so ... this is not a negative for me. For others who might not like these things this could be a bit of a drag for you.

BUT HOLY CRAP THIS BOOK IS AWESOME!

AND THAT ENDING!?!?!

AND DRAGONS?!?!

AND WAR ON ...more

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Mar 31, 2017 Mischenko rated it liked it

To see this review and others please visit www.readrantrockandroll.com

The Black Witch by Laurie Forest is a coming of age story about a girl named Elloren Gardner. I saw this on Netgalley and the cover and blurb pulled me in.

The story begins with Elloren, the granddaughter of a Black Witch, Carnissa Gardner. After spending her life in a village, she's now being sent to the Verpax University to finish her education.

I think the author is good at writing and I enjoyed her writing style. The story h ...more

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Oct 06, 2016 Shaila rated it it was amazing

I received an ARC for an honest review.

WARNING: Expect a major book hangover after living in this world.

I fell in love with the world building in this book...the beautiful setting, the depth and variety of characters, the complexity of the relationships, and how amazing it is to see the progression of Elloren's growth--and that was an important part to me. Their violent history and racial divides set up a complicated backdrop to this coming-of-age story. It was hard not to empathize and draw com ...more

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Mar 16, 2017 Mary added it

july 2021 edit: as someone pointed out in the comments, i can leave the review up, but remove the rating, which i just did. For further explanation about things, read below.

I'm adding something to this review:

TBW was the first and only book I rated without having read it. I trusted the opinion of someone who had read it and chose to rate it negatively because I believed that person was right. Also, I felt like I had to perform as an ally and that was a way of doing it. I felt pressured, in a wa ...more

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Apr 17, 2017 Carrie (The Butterfly Reader) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: may-2017

Actual Rating: 4.5 Stars

*SMALL SPOILERS*

So by now I'm sure everyone has heard of this book. You've been told this book is racist, sexist, homophobic, and lots of other horrible things. If you've been trying to talk about this book on Twitter in any positive form, then you have likely been called these things, I know I have. Well, I'm here to say that this book is none of the labels that have been stowed upon it by SJWs and neither are you for wanting to read it.

This book follows Elloren Gardner ...more

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Jun 10, 2017 Nenia ✨ I yeet my books back and forth ✨ Campbell rated it did not like it

Shelves: magic-and-sparkles-and-shit, ya-ya-land, omg-wtf-pagecount

Instagram || Twitter || Facebook || Amazon || Pinterest

I originally had no intention of reading this book. The furor surrounding THE BLACK WITCH was too extra, and I wanted absolutely nothing to do with it. However, I'm a woman with opinions, who doesn't like being told what to think, and when I saw people on both sides actively trying to shut one another down, using their thoughts on the book to leverage their various political platforms ("you're a racist!" "no, you're an SJW!"), I began to ...more

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Mar 13, 2017 Vika rated it did not like it

Update #3: Okay, so people have pointed out the author has children of colour who have read the book as sensitivity readers. Firstly, we shouldn't look to them for any blame for how terrible this book turned out to be. It is not their fault that the author wrote a garbage truck full of all the -isms & -phobics. Do not even think about blaming children for the authors mistakes. The fault lies with the author and the whole team behind the book. Editors should have caught it. Agents should have cau ...more

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Nov 01, 2016 Scrill rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, favorites, ya

"Real education doesn't make your life easy. It complicates things and makes everything messy and disturbing. But the alternative, Elloren Gardner, is to live your life based on injustice and lies."

Okay, so here's the deal. There are a plethora of long reviews (both bad & good) going over this book. So, I have decided to make this as to the point as possible. Before I start, let me just say one thing. I am incredibly glad that I read the book instead of heeding the reviews imploring people t "Real education doesn't make your life easy. It complicates things and makes everything messy and disturbing. But the alternative, Elloren Gardner, is to live your life based on injustice and lies."

Okay, so here's the deal. There are a plethora of long reviews (both bad & good) going over this book. So, I have decided to make this as to the point as possible. Before I start, let me just say one thing. I am incredibly glad that I read the book instead of heeding the reviews imploring people to stop supporting the writer & publisher.

The Story-Elloren Gardner comes a family that is descendant of a famous mage that essentially lead a revolution against the races that were controlling and killing their kind. She is now at the age where she can either be wandfasted (married) or go off to university. Her uncle is steadfast in having her wait to be wandfasted and has her go to university. Throughout the book she has to deal with the pleasures and ramifications of her genial history. The major conflict she must deal with is the prejudice that has been ingrained into her society against every other race.

The World Building-Laurie Forest did an amazing with the world building. She has taken quite a few of paranormal creatures and molded them into a new world rich with history, violence, and hatred. From elves, werewolves, mages, to some adapted creatures such as Kelts, Urisk, etc. I found it incredibly fascinating to find so many types of races and being who I am, I took a great interest in trying to find out where some origins came from. I question things like are the Kelts supposed to be Celtic? The Elves have several races within the race, such as a Smaragdalfar, a green scaled elf, is that rooted from smaragdnine which basically means emerald in color? Are Icarals rooted from the winged God Icarus? Forest did such a wonderful job integrating all these races and creating history for each of them. She really made it plausible as to why the Gardnerians are SO racist. From the history they are taught, to religious aspects, to even their toys, they are raised to hate everyone and put themselves on pedestals. The fact the Elloren changes at all is a miracle since every other race is pretty much super awful to her. Why would she want to be more accepting of them?

The Characters-This is the one place that I felt the book lacked, but it wasn't enough to dock even a half star for me. I mean, I adored Elloren for the most part, but really, is Lukas Grey really worth all the torment she's getting? I was really proud of reading her transform her opinions, even if it does take almost the entire book for her to drop most of her prejudices. But honestly, she's 18 years old and her environment is not exactly promoting the change, so lets give her the benefit of the doubt and appreciate the fact that she even does get past how she was raised. Also, could Fallon Bane be any more of Regina George?

I mean I was really expected a little bit more than teen drama when it came to boys...

Anyway, I loved the book, and I can't wait to read the next installment and see what other secrets we can discover about the world. ...more

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Apr 26, 2017 Alyssa rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: EVERYONE

Shelves: 2017-reads, 5-stars

Edit 7/18/17 : The Iron Flower is the title for book two in The Black Witch Chronicles, coming June 2018 ❗️ Srsly, I'm so excited 😊

5 STARS ❗️

“Real education doesn't make your life easy. It complicates things and makes everything messy and disturbing. But the alternative, Elloren Gardner, is to live your life based on injustice and lies.”

I'm going to start this review off by saying that The Black Witch by Laurie Forest was absolutely brilliant. Now, this is merely my own opinion and you can ...more

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Aug 16, 2017 Nick Borrelli rated it it was amazing

I'm absolutely convinced that 99% of the people who gave this book a 1-star rating didn't actually read it. And by reading it I mean not just looking at all of the bad words with your eyes and then being immediately offended, but truly absorbing them into your brain and processing them in the context of the overall plot. Because had they actually done that and not just knee-jerk reacted to all of the vile beliefs/thoughts that the main character espoused, they would have understood what the auth ...more

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Sep 06, 2017 Beth rated it really liked it

Shelves: 4-stars, characters-i-loved, young-adult-fantasy, audiobook, book-series, 2017-reads

I want this in book form ASAP! It was soooooooo good! Four Stars!

I don't want to start this review in a negative way at all, but I really do need to say something about the rating of this book from people who haven't even read it and based their opinions from other peoples reviews. Normally I'm not one to say something, but this really did go too far with the cries of Racism etc. That is 100% not the case. This is about Elloren the main character seeing through these prejudices. It's honestly li ...more

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May 22, 2017 Samm | Sassenach the Book Wizard rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, best-of-2017

Cool so my original long ass review just disappeared. Thanks! Much appreciated! Didn't put work into that at all. Anyway, the community seems to have finally gotten off the "burn the book! It's acknowledges racism" horse and read it. Congrats to Laurie for jumping up to over 4 stars! ...more

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Apr 28, 2017 Attack Salmon rated it really liked it

Shelves: ya, fantasy

Update 8/8/2017
Its insane seeing this book went from 1.1 rating to now 3.16 rating and the number of 5 stars are catching up to the 1 star

And with the publish of this article, there will be more people picking up TBW

Review
I need the next book :(

3 stars for overall enjoyment, 1 more stars for how well racism is addressed in this book

This book is not what I expected. The cover doesn't appeal to me and so does the blurb. I expected it to be really dark and disturbing. Racist sentences after one ...more

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Mar 15, 2017 nemo the emo ☠️ (pagesandprozac) rated it it was ok

Shelves: high-fantasy, paranormal, magic, 2-star, romance-erotica-mf, fantasy, young-adult, romance, ebooks, they-killed-the-fucking-bird

honestly the thing i was most offended by in this book was (view spoiler) ...more

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Mar 18, 2017 Ava rated it did not like it

Shelves: never-going-to-touch

I would give this 0 stars if I could. And nope, I won't be reading this book. Don't @ me about giving it 1 star, or judging it before I read.

I am not going to stand by and let racist, homophobic, ableist, and hurtful books be promoted and do well. Not again.

here is an in depth review (8.7k words) complete with quotes and pictures of the text that shows exactly what's wrong with it. There is a lot.

Don't support it. Don't defend it. Don't read it. Don't buy it.

It's easy. Just don't. ...more

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Jun 19, 2017 Ahanika Alexander rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

After reading all the malicious reviews, I picked up this book to see what the fuss was all about and was extremely surprised by it. It was nothing like what I'd heard about it and turned out to be one of the best books I've read this year. I found it to be real and thought provoking.

I'm honestly disappointed by the goodreads community for the unfair treatment this book has been subjected to. we as readers are supposed to be more accepting instead of finding things to be offended by. Don't we al After reading all the malicious reviews, I picked up this book to see what the fuss was all about and was extremely surprised by it. It was nothing like what I'd heard about it and turned out to be one of the best books I've read this year. I found it to be real and thought provoking.

I'm honestly disappointed by the goodreads community for the unfair treatment this book has been subjected to. we as readers are supposed to be more accepting instead of finding things to be offended by. Don't we all read to see the world through different perspectives? To understand? Are books only meant to be written about perfect societies with no real issues? Everyone of us is guilty of harbouring a prejudice about something or the other. Are we not ? Isn't this the reality we live in? But having the ability to look beyond what we're conditioned to think and believe. To see the truth of it and re-evaluate our beliefs. Isn't that what makes us grow as people?

This book is accused of being racist and homophobic and what not. Aren't these issues prevalent in every society? I cannot understand how this book can be labelled as racist when it is all about fighting against the system. It follows the journey of someone blinded by her prejudices, realizing the truth for herself and taking a stand against it. The beliefs and the views of the characters are not made to seem right or just. There are certainly things I didn't like about it but it does not take away from the essence of what this book is truly about. It is the story of people fighting against injustice, for equal treatment for all races and for a better world. Atleast that is how I saw it. Everyone derives something different from each book. Just because the book features themes of racism and social injustice. It does not mean the author supports the same or is promoting racism in any way.

I really hope people read the book for themselves and form their own opinions instead of joining the club to bash the book and review it without reading it. ...more

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Mar 15, 2016 Laurie rated it it was amazing · (Review from the author)

Excited to finish The Black Witch - and can't wait to find out what the cover design will be! ...more

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Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Forgotten YA Gems: The Black Witch: General Discussion	1	11	Jul 01, 2022 08:06AM
Challenge Corner: The Black Witch Chronicles by Laurie Forest -> Restarting March 21st, 2022	180	39	Apr 04, 2022 06:34AM
YA Buddy Readers'...: The Black Witch (Black Witch Chronicles #1) by Laurie Forest - Restarting November 22nd 2021	67	54	Dec 02, 2021 07:27AM
Challenge Corner: The Black Witch by Laurie Forest -> Starting October 9th, 2021	1	2	Sep 30, 2021 06:26AM
Read With Me!: The Black Witch	1	7	Jun 01, 2021 02:35PM
SPOILER QUESTION!!!	2	44	Oct 28, 2020 08:27AM
YA Buddy Readers'...: The Black Witch (The Black Witch Chronicles #1) by Laurie Forest - GBR - Starting March 1st 2020	6	171	Mar 14, 2020 08:56AM

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About Laurie Forest

Laurie Forest

3,132 followers

Laurie Forest is a New York Times, USA Today & Internationally Bestselling Author who lives deep in the backwoods of Vermont where she sits in front of a wood stove drinking strong tea and dreaming up tales full of dryads, dragons and wands. She has penned THE BLACK WITCH, THE REBEL MAGES (a compilation of the prequel novels WANDFASTED & LIGHT MAGE), THE SHADOW WAND, THE DEMON TIDE & is currently ...more

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Quotes from The Black Witch

“People see what they expect to see,” he says sharply. “Through a filter of their own hatred and prejudice.” — 91 likes

“Real education doesn't make your life easy. It complicates things and makes everything messy and disturbing. But the alternative...is to live your life based on injustice and lies.” — 56 likes

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