This was an excellent modern take on witches, magic, and fear of both. It so closely mirrors all of the current political discourse in America regards women and those with wombs, and how their bodies and reproductive systems are being politicised and legislated against. It’s the fear of what we could do if given autonomy and freedom. Add on another layer in that the MC, Jo, is black and queer and it becomes even more complex.

We follow Jo as she nears her 28 birthday when she has to register herself and name a man as her guardian/caretaker. She isn’t married which is heavily frowned upon, and she has to prove that she is not a witch and does not have magic. Jo’s mother also disappeared when she was a teen so she is under more scrutiny than others about her potential for magic.

This book gave me full Butler and Atwood vibes. It was paced well with layers and nuance that just kept coming beautifully as the story unfolded. There was anger and frustration, love and fight, determination and fear. It perfectly highlighted all the BS stuff going on around human rights in the USA and elsewhere at the moment and how absurd it all is. Highlighting mostly right leaning, mostly male, mostly white, mostly straight fear about anything different and anyone who could have ‘power’ over them one day. Almost as if they’d be scared that these groups will do to them what they’ve done for hundreds of years.

It was also an interesting dialogue about parental relationships, what the right thing to do is, how they change as we grow. Both with Jo’s Dad and Mum.

Don’t worry if you’re not a fantasy person, this book is just as much about relationships, identity and society as it is about being a witch and I think anyone could read it.

This feels like a ramble because honestly just *sigh*, I think I loved it! Looking forward to more from this author.

I really loved the concept and hook for this novel, but I felt that the writing and plotting was a little thin.

Overly feminist personally for my taste.
I liked the family element..
The story was descriptive and full of fantasy.

This book was great! Super readable despite the rather heavy content!

Thanks to NG for an eArc for review.

4.5 stars.

The Women Could Fly by Megan Giddings is a thought-provoking and timely novel that is a perfect fit for readers who appreciate dystopian fiction, feminist themes, and magical realism, and are drawn to stories that explore the complexities of mother-daughter relationships, the struggle for autonomy, and the power of women to transgress societal expectations.

We delve into a world where women can be suspected of being a witch ( sound familiar?), and must be married by the age of thirty.

This book feels a it like The Power mixed with a The Handmaid's Tale but in a modern era.

We really get to explore some topics that some peeople struggle with, or are considered inpolite to discuss these days. I think I wanted something different from the book - I understand it, accept it but I needed more fight and rebellion.

Thought this was a wonderful book, well written and paced. The characters were compelling and easy to root for. An enjoyable, thoughtful book.

Stunning
Beautiful
Just wow

The writer completely captivated me and I couldn’t resist devouring this book. If you haven’t read it yet you are in for a treat

My favourite thing about this book was the nuance, thoughtful portrayal of a complicated mother-daughter relationship. Jo’s mother is incredibly present in the story, both in flashbacks to Jo’s childhood (before her mother went missing) and in the ways Jo navigates the world. Related to this was an interesting kind of remoteness in the narration. Jo often felt slightly detached from everything, in a way that emphasised her otherness within the story — as a mixed-race black woman in a white community, as a queer woman in a litigiously heteronormative society, as the daughter of a women suspected to be a witch in a place where witchcraft could result in execution. There was also a thoughtful inquiry about the nature of love and relationships within the confines of coerced states (eg penalised for not marrying by thirty).

I found it difficult to get into at the beginning — I kept putting it down only to forget I was reading it — and in general the pacing was a bit all over the place, but once I got into it (maybe the ~40% mark?) I REALLY got into it. I absolutely loved the tangential way it’s told, where you have the main plot in the present, interrupted by flashbacks with a ‘let me tell about the time this happened’ tone, that made it feel like a real person had sat you down and was telling you their story. The effect was hypnotic.

Minor spoilers for halfway-ish — there is an isolated community that’s basically getting away with magic, and the vague approach to worldbuilding left me unsatisfied in this regard: how was the island able to function the way it did? What prevented outside interference, because there were clearly visitors to the place? It just didn’t make sense to me. I had unanswered questions about the world throughout the book (in the sense that I was underwhelmed rather than intrigued) but this was the most pressing aspect.

I really wanted to like this book especially as it was supposed to appeal to Margaret Atwood fans but I just didn't.

Set in a dystopian world where unmarried women at 30 become wards of the state I just didn't warm to the main character. I rarely give up on a book before the end but I didn't finish this.

In a world where any woman can be suspected of being a witch, and must be married by the age of thirty, Josephine is starting to worry even more about her future as a 28-year-old black, bisexual woman. Her mother disappeared when she was a teenager, suspected of witchcraft and this has hung over Josephine as she grew into her own womanhood.

This book definitely has a bit of The Handmaid's Tale feel as we are in a world very similar to our own but an extremely patriarchal society where it seems women don't have a huge amount of free will and are expected to choose a life where a man controls most of what they do.

I liked some of what this book explored in terms of a heteronormative society, patriarchy, motherhood and womanhood and then Josephine's experience as a bisexual and biracial woman.

I think this book just didn't give me a huge amount of strong feelings and I thought that the way magic was explored in this book was at times a bit vague. The book was a bit depressing in terms of the continuation of a very patriarchal society and I don't feel there was much of an uprising or showdown in a way I would have liked but I also understand why the author/character made certain decisions.

I think I just wanted more from this book and didn't get it but it might be more of a me problem.

I could not get into this book, ultimately it was not form me and I could not finish it. It may be one for other readers

I have to confess I didn't finish this one. It was an interesting premise and well written but I just didn't engage enough with the characters to be invested in the outcome. Raises important issues in an unconventional way and I think as a teen I'd have really loved this one.

Really great read (although a bit more metaphorical than the title suggests) - I would recommend to contemporary fantasy fans.

I started this book but could not get into it. Afraid to say it was just not for me but surely will be for others.

This book contained so many elements in a book that I love: dystopian fiction, discourse around current issues such as the rights of underrepresented people, witchcraft! It was sold towards fans of Margaret Atwood and Shirley Jackson, who are my all time favourite authors and I had seen so many good reviews leading up to reading it that I was really excited.

But somehow, this didn't hit the mark for me and I can't quite put my finger on why.

I wasn't sure about the culture in where women are feared and killed for being witches, and yet you could register as a witch and gain a certain kudos. I don't know whether I was missing it, but it seemed like Giddings was trying to have it both ways.

I really disliked Jo's mother, and the fact that she just left her daughter to deal with whatever would come to her as a result of her vanishing. I thought parts of it were vague and there were various parts where the writing almost seemed to interrupt itself as she thought of something else. I didn't understand the relevance of Jo's mother not being able to access certain parts of the island, as though she hadn't been fully accepted anywhere - and yet the island was sold as this inclusive place where women could be safe.

I know it is fantasy, but it is written as a real world where witches exist, and yet the island in the middle of civilization where these women can just disappear to and become invisible to society seemed too far fetched.

I liked the premise of the book, but felt like the execution let it down somewhat and although I read and finished it, it didn't fully engross me and I was already looking at what I could read next.

Only really giving this a rating because I am DNF'ing this book at 60% after it's sat on my paused shelf for too long and now too much time has passed.

Although I couldn't finish this book, I didn't have a bad experience reading it. I did get a little bored at the halfway mark, and then life circumstances made me put it down for a while, and now it's been over 6 months since I stopped reading it and I can't bring myself to read it from the beginning again to write a more thoughtful review - sorry about that.

Here are a few things I do remember - I enjoyed the prose. The writing style flowed well, I felt like I was in the world along with the main character, and the premise was very interesting. On the other hand, I felt like her musings got a bit repetitive quickly, and the storyline started to lose me at around the halfway point.

If I ever do come back to this book then I will update this review, but until then this is my half complete opinion.

Thank you to the Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for an early copy (whoops) in exchange for my honest opinion.

Jo doesn't fit in anywhere, and in a world that still persecutes witches, that is a very dangerous things.
Her missing-suspected-dead-mother leaves her an inheritance. The journey might finally reveal some answers.

I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is set in the modern world, where witches exist. It is not illegal to be a witch, but their freedoms are greatly reduced, and in some areas they are still attacked.
As with the original witch-hunting craze, the proof of witches is questionable. The existence of magic has not been proven, except in the testimonies of their 'victims'.
In this toxic version of the world, equality doesn't exist. Women are expected to marry by the age of 28, at which point they can only work if their husband allows it.

Jo doesn't fit in. The world isn't designed for her to fit in. She's a black, bi woman. She could fold and follow the strict rules for women, but she doesn't see why she should have to.
Her mother railed against a normal life, and she disappeared when Jo was young. From Jo's perspective, and the following investigations - it's equally likely that her mother was murdered; or that she deserted her husband and child to be a witch.
Ever since, Jo has felt like everyone is watching her, waiting for her to show signs of magic.

On paper, this sounded like the perfect read for me. Witches and persecution and women defying a patriarchal world...
In reality, it was so dense with powerful meaning and assessments that I couldn't make any track with it. It just hits you again and again, driving home the author's point. I found it very hard to make any progress.
It's such a promising story, but suffered from constant heavy-handedness.

Away from 'The Meanings' nothing happened. Jo goes through the mundane aspects of life - which I am totally fine with, but they were drowned in Points and Meanings.
She's always musing about the now, the future and the past - to the point where I couldn't decipher what was actually happening and what wasn't.

I did actually like the world that the author created, and the questionable existence of witches and magic, and the fear-driven society that perpetuates it. Which is why I was so very disappointed this book was a miss for me.

This is a very different kind of witch story and I thought it worked really well. Focusing on the persecution of witches but placing everything in a modern setting, the narrative draws parallels with the struggles for minorities across all sectors of society. The intersectionality of female, black and queer plays a big part in the plot and I thought that Megan Giddings did a fabulous job of examining this whilst still wrangling the issues within the narrative framing. Jo is a fascinating protagonist - funny, abrasive, emotionally closed off, she feels very authentic throughout and is totally un-apologetic about her personality, which is always refreshing. I thought the interactions between her and Preston were really well done and I loved the friendship with Angie. Overall, this is a much more character based book than a plot heavy one, but the themes are dealt with respectfully and the descent to dystopia is shown to be an easy path of small steps.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I love novels about witches and this was no exception. It was beautifully written written and I was gripped from the start. Nothing else to say other than loved it 5 stars

Thank you to Netgally and the publisher for a copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review