Initiated: Memoir of a Witch by Amanda Yates García
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: Hachette Book Group Canada
Published: 2019
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Recommended Age: 14+
Genres & Themes: Adult, Memoir, Nonfiction, Witches, Witchcraft, Feminism, Spirituality, myths, Mother-Daughter Relationship
REVIEW:
I don’t know why I thought this would be a *fun* read. I guess because I find witches, witchcraft and powers usually fun, especially when I stumble across them in my fantasy reads or the fantasy movies/TV shows I watch.
So I started this memoir expecting to be highly entertained and, I admit, I didn’t take it all that seriously. Of course, a part of me believes in the unexplainable, so while I had my prejudices about witches and magic, I was still open to be educated by the author.
And educated I was. To find entertainment in this would be to find amusement in struggle, and that I wasn’t able to do. So my expectations were quite wrong, unsurprisingly. But even though I didn’t find this feminist memoir to be amusing from start to finish, I did find it very engaging, smart, and authentic and, yes, at times diverting, more specifically when fairies appeared.
I have this strong urge to reread it with a highlighter in hand this time. There are so many quotable sentences or paragraphs. Amanda expresses herself very elegantly. I’m sure she doesn’t need my predictions, since she’s the Oracle of Los Angeles and all, but I see University Professor in her future. I would be absolutely delighted to take any course with her. I would also be delighted to read anything she, or her mom for that matter, write in the future. Looking forward to that book Amanda mentioned she was working on.
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