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wordsofclover 's review for:

The Women Could Fly by Megan Giddings
3.0
mysterious reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

In a world where any woman can be suspected of being a witch, and must be married by the age of thirty, Josephine is starting to worry even more about her future as a 28-year-old black, bisexual woman. Her mother disappeared when she was a teenager, suspected of witchcraft and this has hung over Josephine as she grew into her own womanhood.

This book definitely has a bit of The Handmaid's Tale feel as we are in a world very similar to our own but an extremely patriarchal society where it seems women don't have a huge amount of free will and are expected to choose a life where a man controls most of what they do.

I liked some of what this book explored in terms of a heteronormative society, patriarchy, motherhood and womanhood and then Josephine's experience as a bisexual and biracial woman.

I think this book just didn't give me a huge amount of strong feelings and I thought that the way magic was explored in this book was at times a bit vague. The book was a bit depressing in terms of the continuation of a very patriarchal society and I don't feel there was much of an uprising or showdown in a way I would have liked but I also understand why the author/character made certain decisions.

I think I just wanted more from this book and didn't get it but it might be more of a me problem. 

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