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A review by corabookworm
The Feast Makers by August Clarke
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
In The Feast Makers, H.A. Clarke weaves together a bold, odd, and absolutely delightful conclusion to the Scapegracers trilogy.
When Sideways found their coven among the "popular girls" at their school, they never could've guessed what would happen next—witchhunters, curses, friendship, possibly falling in love... and now, the witch covens (and their enemies) gathering in town for a vicious witchtrial. As Sideways and their friends navigate through the complicated tangle of their past and future, danger once again lurks right around the corner.
I have so many things to say about this book.
First: the writing style. While it did take me a minute to catch the flow of the writing, when I did, I absolutely loved it. You can clearly see the author finding their voice throughout this series, and now they have. The writing has an odd, almost disjointed feeling, which adds to the eerie, not-quite-but-almost-horror vibes of the story and perfectly captures Sideways' personality. I LOVED IT. Unique and beautiful and absolutely delicious.
Second: the characters. I can't put into words how meaningful it is to see queer representation like this in YA books. These queers are messy and feral and confident and WEIRD and they love each other so unconditionally it makes my heart hurt. (Also, I saw this in another review and completely agree: We need more butch lesbians in YA?? Where are they??? Especially genderqueer ones??? Sideways is so cool???)
Third: the plot. This was the only part that was even close to iffy for me, and that was just because it's more character-focused than I usually enjoy. The real conflict is hinted at throughout the book, but Sideways has other, pressing emotional issues, and the story doesn't really pick up until the end, which was a bit rushed. But honestly?? The tension slowly building in the background made me sit even further on the edge of my seat, and the unique take on a "coming of age" story meant a LOT to me. So its worth it. Every word.
Apologies if this review is a little incoherent, I'm fighting off a cold right now and trying to make sense of my thoughts. All you really need to know about this book is that it's unique and bold and I adore all of these characters with all my heart. I already want to reread the whole trilogy. If you're looking for something that captures both the whirlwind adventures of being a witch AND the emotional chaos of being a queer teenager, this is the book for you.
When Sideways found their coven among the "popular girls" at their school, they never could've guessed what would happen next—witchhunters, curses, friendship, possibly falling in love... and now, the witch covens (and their enemies) gathering in town for a vicious witchtrial. As Sideways and their friends navigate through the complicated tangle of their past and future, danger once again lurks right around the corner.
I have so many things to say about this book.
First: the writing style. While it did take me a minute to catch the flow of the writing, when I did, I absolutely loved it. You can clearly see the author finding their voice throughout this series, and now they have. The writing has an odd, almost disjointed feeling, which adds to the eerie, not-quite-but-almost-horror vibes of the story and perfectly captures Sideways' personality. I LOVED IT. Unique and beautiful and absolutely delicious.
Second: the characters. I can't put into words how meaningful it is to see queer representation like this in YA books. These queers are messy and feral and confident and WEIRD and they love each other so unconditionally it makes my heart hurt. (Also, I saw this in another review and completely agree: We need more butch lesbians in YA?? Where are they??? Especially genderqueer ones??? Sideways is so cool???)
Third: the plot. This was the only part that was even close to iffy for me, and that was just because it's more character-focused than I usually enjoy. The real conflict is hinted at throughout the book, but Sideways has other, pressing emotional issues, and the story doesn't really pick up until the end, which was a bit rushed. But honestly?? The tension slowly building in the background made me sit even further on the edge of my seat, and the unique take on a "coming of age" story meant a LOT to me. So its worth it. Every word.
Apologies if this review is a little incoherent, I'm fighting off a cold right now and trying to make sense of my thoughts. All you really need to know about this book is that it's unique and bold and I adore all of these characters with all my heart. I already want to reread the whole trilogy. If you're looking for something that captures both the whirlwind adventures of being a witch AND the emotional chaos of being a queer teenager, this is the book for you.