1,095 books
—
7,704 voters
Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “The Black Witch (The Black Witch Chronicles, #1)” as Want to Read:
The Black Witch
(The Black Witch Chronicles #1)
by
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
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
Get A Copy
Hardcover, 601 pages
Published
May 2nd 2017
by Harlequin Teen
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Reader Q&A
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30

Start your review of The Black Witch (The Black Witch Chronicles, #1)

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
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

"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

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
...more

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
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

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
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

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

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
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

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
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

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
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

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
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

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
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

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
...more

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
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

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
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

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
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

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
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

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
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

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
*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


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

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

"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 ...more
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 ...more

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 ❗️
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
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

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

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
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

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

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
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

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

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
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

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 ...more
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 ...more

Excited to finish The Black Witch - and can't wait to find out what the cover design will be!
...more
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 |
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
Other books in the series
The Black Witch Chronicles
(5 books)
Articles featuring this book
A lord's daughter who pursues her passion for forensic science. A young girl who takes a stand after a heartbreaking tragedy. A...
119 likes · 43 comments
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“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
More quotes…