Cobwebs-In-Space 's Reviews > Saint Juniper's Folly

Release June 6

SAINT JUNIPER'S FOLLY is a REMARKABLY feel-good YA Queer Supernatural-Paranormal-Generational Witchcraft Coming-of-Age Romance and Discovery! Whoa, that's a combination! But it's a champion combo, so much so I'm ready to reread! Sure, there's lots of heartbreak and heartache, grief, Bigotry (practically institutionalized in Saint Juniper's (sufficient blindness to be stomach-churning), and as it turns out, it's nothing new there either. You know, this is Vermont: I wouldn't have expected it, but that'd be giving too much credit to humans.

The trio of protagonists: Gay Hispanic adolescent in foster care Jaime [I could really write a fiery rail about his folks and about the social workers and system], Theo--uncertain of himself, compassionate, trapped in a "what will people think?" family, who's not certain of himself or his stance; and half-Puerto Rican Taylor, daughter of a deceased generational Witch who has inherited the lineage and a Puerto Rican dad who represses any hint of Magic, though he continues to operate his late wife's apothecary, are a set of characters with whom I immediately identified and empathized! ANY Reader who has ever experienced being or perceiving the outlier, or miscast, or misfit; who has ever felt, "I really don't belong here," is going to find fellow feeling in this gorgeous tour de force. You're going to feel right at Home. And really, isn't that what we want to discover--our Home??