WILDSEED WITCH, by Marti Dumas, Harry N. Abrams, May 10, 2022, Hardcover, $18.99 (ages 10-14)
A tween YouTuber gets sent to a fancy camp for witches in Wildseed Witch, a contemporary fantasy by Marti Dumas.
Hasani’s post-seventh-grade summer to-do list is pretty simple: get a bigger following for her makeup YouTube channel and figure out how to get her parents back together. What she does NOT expect is that an emotional outburst will spark a latent magical ability in her. Or that the magic will be strong enough to attract the attention of witches. Or that before she can say #BlackGirlMagic, she’ll be shipped off on a scholarship to a fancy finishing school for talented young ladies.
Les Belles Demoiselles is a literal charm school. Here, generations of young ladies from old-money witch families have learned to harness their magic, and alumnae grow to become some of the most powerful women across industries, including politicians, philanthropists, CEOs, entrepreneurs — and yes, even social media influencers. Needless to say, admission to the school is highly coveted, very exclusive . . . and Hasani sticks out like a weed in a rose bouquet.
While the other girls have always known they were destined to be witches, Hasani is a Wildseed — a stray witch from a family of non-witches, with no background knowledge, no way to control her magic, and a lot to catch up on. “Wildseed” may be an insult that the other girls throw at her, but Wildseeds are more powerful than they know. And Hasani will learn that there are ways to use magic and thrive that can never be taught in a classroom. —Synopsis provided by Harry N. Abrams
There’s so much to like about Wildseed Witch — an effervescent main character, a mysterious finishing school and magic, lots of magic.
If the star of Wildseed Witch is Hasani, then the close runner-up would be magic. This is where Marti Dumas’ world really comes to life. You can practically feel the magic coursing off the pages. The moments where the students are learning to use it to their advantage are the highlight of the novel.
What’s not magical, however, is the pacing. Wildseed Witch is basically separated into three parts — life “before,” life at school, and life after camp ends. The first two elements work well together, but the transition back to home feels disjointed. Though it’s worked into the other two-thirds of the novel, it almost feels like it should have been part of another book.
The other problem I had with Wildseed Witch is the premise that a finishing school summer camp is all the training you need to be successful seems unrealistic even in a fantasy setup. This question does, however, leave room for Dumas to further explore the world she’s created. And if she writes anything like the highlights from this book, I will happily pick it up.
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