Growing up is never neat and tidy. As much as we try to control our lives, life is chaos. Between swapping friendships, changes to our bodies and the search for a place to call home, adolescence can resemble a whirlwind of surprise – and sometimes, the unexpected happens. In Being a Witch, and Other Things I Didn’t Ask For by Sara Pascoe, readers are taken on a journey that captures that exhilarating chaos by giving us Raya Hollingsworth: a fourteen-year-old foster child whose coming-of-age journey quite literally bends the laws of time.
Being a Witch, and Other Things I Didn’t Ask For is a book for teenage readers, a YA novel about a teenage girl whose life is going through changes, and on top of that she is becoming a witch. It not only covers witchcraft but time travel, history, different world civilisations, diversity, love, friendship, women’s rights and growing up in foster care.
Let’s meet Rachel, who is affectionately known as Raya. She is 14 years old and living in the foster care system. All she wants from life is nothing more than to be loved, to be part of a proper stable and loving family environment. Feeling that foster care isn’t working for her she makes the decision to run away to London only to find that her frustration and fear have awakened hidden powers – she is becoming a witch!
With things not going to well, changing hormones and high emotions, she accidentally travels back in time, along with her cat Oscar, from Barking in East London to the 1645 Essex witch trials. Raya’s social worker, and witch mentor, Bryony is sent back in time to try and get them home but it doesn’t quite go to plan – they are both going to be executed as witches! With time against them they manage to escape, but instead of returning home they they’re pulled further afield to Old Istanbul.
Istanbul is a far cry from Barking, but here Raya’s power start to develop and she becomes a reader of coffee grounds, being able to tell people’s fortunes, which sparks both wonder and danger in the opulent Ottoman court. The Sultan’s wife is power mad and has other ideas for Raya’s unique talents which will change the course of history.
Overall, I found Being a Witch, and Other Things I Didn’t Ask For by Sara Pascoe to be an excellent read with its short, punchy chapters, excellent theme and engaging storyline. It features some excellent characters, time travel with a twist and a sarcastic companion cat with attitude. And is lots of fun.
This story is very well-written, where magic, superstition and time travel blend extremely well together. The different time travel periods are well researched and interesting enough to capture and hold the reader’s attention. The different periods highlight not only facts and figures from these periods but shine a spotlight on how societal structure, women’s rights and how magic and superstition were viewed differently in different eras and places. While it does feature a lot of history blended with the story, it never becomes dry or boring.
Covering themes such as teenage dilemmas, growing up in foster care, tolerance, different cultures, pain, loss, love, women’s rights, morals and change, it has a lot going on but is well structured so that it never becomes confusing and is easy to follow the story by young page turners. Packed with plenty of action and magic to keep teenagers entertained with witches, sarcastic talking cats and time travel, alongside beautifully described periods of Olde Worlde England, Istanbul and the Ottoman Empire as seen through the eyes of a 21st Century teenager.
Being a Witch, and Other Things I Didn’t Ask For is a delightful quirky story, a very entertaining read that deals with some very difficult themes (foster care, family units, fitting in, emotions, running away from home and different cultures) and one I would recommend for children/young adults aged 13 years +, as well as adults that just like a good story.
Readers grappling with identity, family questions or social pressure will find a kindred spirit in Raya. A fantastic historical fiction novel.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £11.99 (Paperback) / £3.99 (Kindle)
For more information, visit www.sarapascoe.net. Available to buy from Amazon here.
