I’ve always been enamored with witches. Be it Roald Dahl’s child-hating witches, the Wicked Witch of the West, or Bony Legs with her iron teeth, the ferocity and power of witches always captured my attention. To witness a woman who was magical and powerful and not only knew it but unapologetically embraced it felt revolutionary. It still does.
But there is one thing better than a badass witch. And that’s a badass coven.
If the words “badass coven” conjure a slo-mo image of four teenage girls sauntering toward you a la The Craft, then you’ve come to the right place. I’m a child of the 90’s, so that film is permanently etched onto my soul. There’s a reason that the scene with the bus driver is so iconic. You know the one. Where he warns the coven to, “watch out for those weirdos,” only to have them retort, “We are the weirdos mister.” Those girls weren’t victims to be preyed on or protected, they were powerful and 100% in control.
Being a witch, I always understood, was objectively awesome; but being a witch amongst witches, that’s where it was truly at. When writing my debut YA novel, For Girls Who Walk Through Fire, I was keenly invested in each character’s arc as they individually learned to access and own their power, but what I was equally invested in was their coven. What happens when girls from different walks in life, who only have one thing in common—in the words of Elliott, my protagonist, “being screwed over by boys and men”—come together and pursue a singular mission of revenge? Do they find common ground? Do they find vulnerability? Do they truly become a badass coven by finding the magic in one another?
If, like me, you can’t get enough of witches and adore badass covens, allow me to present 7 books I think you’ll absolutely love. Just be forewarned that reading these books may spark a strong interest in starting a coven of your own.
Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
Sisters. Witches. The suffragist movement. Set in an alternate reality where witches are real but have been outlawed, the three estranged Eastwood sisters—Beatrice Belladonna, Agnes Amaranth, and Juniper James—reunite in New Salem and use their illicit magic to form a secret coven and help bring women’s power back into the world. All three sisters are completely badass in their own individual ways, and they relentlessly pursue the magic and power that is their—and every women’s—birthright. I loved the diverse range of women who joined their coven, and the inclusion of queer characters. Once I dove into the Eastwood sisters’ world, I didn’t want to leave.
Our Crooked Hearts by Melissa Albert
Family secrets. Dark magic. Female empowerment. Told through dual timelines—now and 90’s Chicago—17-year-old Ivy is on a quest to unravel her mother’s secret history. What Ivy discovers is that her mom, Dana, was a witch—maybe even still is a witch—and formed a coven with her friends when they were young. But they didn’t just harness their own magical powers, they messed with dark forces that ultimately required them to make a terrible decision. One that has come back to haunt them. Electric and irresistible, this book hooked me from the start; I devoured it in 2 days. If you’re looking for something with major The Craft vibes, grab this book, stat.
Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova
A reluctant bruja. A Death Day celebration gone wrong. A dark and dangerous adventure. The Mortiz sisters are all brujas (witches) from a long line of brujas and brujos, and they each have different gifts: Lula can heal, Rose can sense spirits, and Alex is an encantrix, the most powerful of brujas. Except she doesn’t want her destiny. And so, she casts a canto (spell) to avoid her fate…and inadvertently traps her entire family in the in-between world of Los Lagos. There is a ton to love about all three Mortiz sisters, who are magical and powerful and fiercely loyal, as well as this Latinx-infused series, which features queer characters and centers on the bonds of family—both blood and found. The book asks how far we’re willing to go to help those we love, and the answer for the Mortiz sisters is: to the ends of the earth and beyond.
Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor
West African mythology. An outsider story. A secret magical world. Nigerian-American Sunny feels like an outsider and, even worse, is often bullied for being an albino. But when she meets Orlu and his friends, she realizes she is different…she’s one of the Leopard People (witches) in a world full of Lambs. And it will ultimately be up to Sunny and her friends to destroy a monstrous serial killer who also happens to be a powerful witch. Often dubbed the Nigerian Harry Potter, this book is another one that’s the first in a series. So, if you fall for Sunny and her magical world, you’ll be pleased that there are two more books filled with her adventures.
The Witchery by S. Isabelle
A coven academy. An annual hex. Magical cursed wolves. When Logan, a baby witch still learning to control her powers, comes to Mesmortes Coven Academy she is immediately taken in by the Red Three: Iris, a deathwitch, Thalia, a greenwitch, and Jailah, a powerful, power-hungry witch. With the Haunting Season fast approaching, the coven must work together with two mundanes to protect their town and cure it of its curse. This book also has total The Craft vibes, and I loved the cast of powerful Black and queer witches.
When We Were Magic by Sarah Gailey
Secret magic. Secret murders. Ride or die friendships. When Alexis hooks up with a boy on prom night things go sideways and a magical mishap results in his death. Enter Alexis’s (magical) crew—Roya, Iris, Paulie, Marya, and Marcelina—who fiercely have Alexis’s back. Working together, the friends try to cover up Alexis’s murder, but their failed spells result in darkly funny mayhem. Also, murder isn’t the only thing Alexis is hiding: she’s secretly in love with Roya. I loved the devotion of this friend group and how they carried one another’s burdens, and loved the cast’s diversity, which spans sexual orientation, ethnicity and gender identity.
The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman
Magic. Heartbreak. A Greenwich village apothecary. There is zero way I could create a list of badass covens and not include the Owens sisters. And while Gillian and Sally Owens from Practical Magic, with their sisterly bond and fierce protection of one another, are absolutely worthy of being on this list, it’s Aunt Jet and Aunt Frances I’ve always gravitated toward. This book is their story. Set in 1960’s New York City (think Patti Smith’s Just Kids), it follows a teenage Frances and Jet, and their charismatic brother, Vincent, as they discover the family curse first set in motion by Salem-witch ancestor, Maria Owens, and learn to own their extraordinary powers. If you love this prequel to Practical Magic, I have good news for you: there are a total of 4 books in this series (and counting? Pretty please, Ms. Hoffman?).
***
