A contemporary YA romance set in a realistically witchy Salem, Massachusetts, _Improbable Magic for Cynical Witches_ is anchored by the Major Arcana - the first 22 cards of the Smith Rider Waite tarot deck (Smith is very important). Told in alternating timeline chapters, the book follows Eleanor through one of the toughest years of her life - from her arrival to a new town to the events that caused "everyone in that town to hate her". Both lighthearted and serious, it doesn't shy away from tough topics, including those that force Eleanor to question whether she's a good person or not. A joyful book that models healthy relationships for queer teens, it's a great pick for fans of _Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me_ and _Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda_.

The comp to Nina LaCour caught my eye, but this book wasn't really for me. Right from the beginning, I didn't gel with the writing, nor did I 'get along' with the voice of the MC. I think this is a great premise, though, and I'm so glad sapphic/lesbian romances (and other queer relationships!) are becoming a regular staple of multiple genres!!

This book was absolutely fantastic. I've already added it to our list for order this year and will recommend it to students.

This was a really nice read. The tension of Eleanor’s past with her small steps toward claiming a future was effective in making me really empathize with a character who has made some not tiny mistakes. This book is quiet and full of angst, but it has a happy, well-deserved ending. It deals with Lyme disease and family in a very interesting way, too!

I think the representation of witchcraft as a spiritual practice as opposed to magic spells was nice, and in theory I liked the idea of this group of diverse girls getting together and being friends. To me, Eleanor was just too whiny and I felt like she wanted a girlfriend more than she wanted Pix to be her girlfriend. And the side characters get very little development, which was unfortunate.

As someone who has read a lot of lgbtq+ witchy fiction I can honestly say that this is one of my favorites, if not my absolute favorite. I keep hoping that, when reading this genre, that things will skew more toward realism (witchcraft as a spiritual practice) vs fantasy (spells that make things float), and this book delivered. I love fantasy, and enjoy that representation of witchcraft as well, but it was really refreshing to get something new here, especially something that included nods to the gentrification of witchcraft and had nonwhite characters in the story. As far as lgbtq+ representation I think it balanced the realities of how difficult it can be to be queer in a small town with hope that things can and will get better. I had some issues with the way that the flashbacks were presented, sprinkled throughout the story, but nothing that ruined my overall positive experience with this book.