Shay Johnson has all the makings of a successful witch. Now that she’s a junior at T.K. Anderson Magical Magnet School, she’s one step closer to winning the full-ride Brockton Scholarship–her ticket into the university of her dreams. Her main competition? Ana freaking Alvarez. The key to victory? Impressing Mr. B, drama teacher and head of the scholarship committee.
When Mr. B persuades Shay to star in this year’s aggressively inclusive, racially diverse musical—at their not-quite-diverse school–she agrees, wearily, even though she’ll have to put up with Ana playing the other lead. But with rehearsals underway, Shay realizes Ana is…not the despicable witch she’d thought. Perhaps she could even be a friend–or more. And Shay could use someone in her corner once she finds herself on the receiving end of Mr. B’s unpleasant and unwanted attention. When Shay learns she’s not the first witch to experience his inappropriate behavior, she must decide if she’ll come forward. But how can she speak out when the scholarship–and her future–are on the line?
- Title: How to Succeed in Witchcraft
- Author: Aislinn Brophy
- Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
- Publication Date: September 16, 2022
- Genre: Contemporary Fantasy
- Source: ARC received via NetGalley
- Targeted Age Range: Young Adult
- Content Warnings: Racism, Anti-Blackness, Homophobia, Grooming, Manipulation
- Rating: ★★★.5
How to Succeed in Witchcraft piqued my interest the minute I heard about it — I mean, witches, musicals, and what I believe is a How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying references? What more could a girl ask for?
When overachiever Shay Johnson is heavily encouraged to audition for the school musical by the drama teacher, Mr. B, she hesitantly agrees. While she’s in the school’s choir, Shay absolutely detests acting. It’s only because Mr. B is also on the scholarship committee for the full-ride Brockton Scholarship — the one thing that Shay has spent the last three years striving for. The school’s musical, Bronxtown Brooms, is essentially In the Heights meets Ibi Zoboi’s Pride — a musical “retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice set in a mostly Latinx neighborhood in New York City in the nineties”. The only thing is, is that T.K. Anderson Magical Magnet School is very much not Latinx, and is predominantly composed of White students. Not to mention, Shay’s nemesis and rival, Ana Alvarez, is also her biggest competition for the scholarship, and also her co-star in the musical — and someone that isn’t as awful as Shay once thought she was. Between trying to keep her head above water with all her commitments, sticking it out with the musical, trying to make sense of her conflicting feelings about Ana, and juggling inappropriate attention from Mr. B, Shay truly has a lot to handle.
As someone who loves musical theatre, I was so excited for this book. I found the premise of the musical to be really interesting — and it also reminded me that I’ve yet to watch the new In the Heights movie. More so, I appreciated the commentary it had on casting, and the trend of high schools putting on productions of shows where the student body doesn’t reflect the diversity of the characters. I’ve seen this particularly with In the Heights (my friends and I call it ‘In the Whites’, whenever we hear of productions like this), especially with the success of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton, but it happens constantly. That being said, I wish we’d gotten a bit more about Shay being cast as a Latina character, despite not being Latina. I also wish that we’d gotten more of a commentary on Magnet Schools.
I generally don’t place a lot of weight in comparative titles — for all the reasons Lauren goes into in her blog post about comparative titles here, but I will say that this book is truly for anyone who loved the Ben & Devi rivals to lovers energy in Season 1 & 2 of Never Have I Ever (I haven’t seen the newest season yet). I found the romance plotline between Ana and Shay to be sweet, although predictable.
I personally felt that the storyline with Mr. B was handled with a lot of care, and really appreciated how Ana, as well as Shay’s best friend, Lex, rally around her and support Shay throughout the story. There were a lot of red flags throughout the book that prepared the reader for how events would turn out.
One of my favorite things about How to Succeed in Witchcraft was actually Lex’s storyline. Lex is taking a gap year to study for college entrance exams — similar to the SATs and ACTs. I appreciated how Lex tells Shay that everyone has different goals, and that their equivalent of community college is just as valid as a four year, traditional college.
I do feel like the book was oddly paced, and I still don’t completely understand the worldbuilding of this book. There’s some magic and potions, but I couldn’t really explain anything about the magic system. Overall, however, I did really enjoy this and breezed right through it.
Links for How to Succeed in Witchcraft: Goodreads | TheStorygraph | Bookshop | IndieBound
Aislinn Brophy (they/she) is an actor, writer, and arts administrator based in the Atlanta area. She was born and raised in South Florida, but made her way up to the frigid northeast for college. Their hobbies include pawning off their baking on anybody nearby, doing funny voices, and dismantling the patriarchy. Aislinn has a degree in Theater, Dance & Media, and her experiences as a performer consistently wiggle their way into her writing. In all aspects of her work as an artist, she is passionate about exploring identity and social justice issues. Their debut YA novel, How To Succeed in Witchcraft, will be published fall 2022, with a second untitled novel to follow.
Photo Credit: Nile Scott Studios
