Walk the Web Lightly by Mary Pascual was a wonderful witchy novel grappling with the roles of family, tradition, independence, and fate in the future of our young main character. I loved the magic of the family and how it let them see the "web" or possible fate paths of those around them so much. I want more stories with characters that have abilities like that now. The family dynamics were particularly interesting with it not being a case where the leading lady doubted her family's ways but rather she simply wanted to do something different..

I think this will be a great read for those who like stories similar to Practical Magic by Alice hoffman but desire a more modern writing style and book format.

Actual Rating: 3.5/5 stars

“Our gifts let us see so much…but it’s not really living if we’re not in our lives.”

Walk the Web Lightly is a unique magical realism novel targeted at the upper end of middle-grade to lower end of YA. It tells the story of Naya, a 14-year old girl who shares her families gift of seeing the “web” of possible pasts and futures of people around them. Naya is interested in science and medicine, yet her family urge her to honor their traditions and persue a path of further developing her web-weaving skills.

What I liked:
Overall, I love this novels premise, and the magic system does come to fruition througout. I feared it would be difficult to picture, but the author does an amazing job of helping us visualise what the experience of having this gift is like for Naya and her family.
The book touches on some very important themes and messages that young readers will be able to relate to. Especially the family dynamics are really well developed. I loved seeing Naya and her mum navigate their differences (family tradition vs Naya’s individual wishes, the pressure of parental expectations, and the struggle of wanting to protect a loved-one vs letting them go) in a really loving and positive way.
On a small but related note: it’s wonderful to see this parental expectation trope “flipped” around here. There are plenty of YA-novels about parents wanting their child to become doctor vs persue a career in arts, but Walk the Web Lightly turns the tables on that end.

What I didn’t like:
My biggest critique would be that this novel struggles to match a single target audience. The story reads much like a middle-grade story, and initially, I would’ve guessed Naya to be around 11-years old. Our villain feels very one-dimensional and lacks the nuance that I’d expect if the book were targeted at an older audience.
Then half-way through the novel, some heavy topics are introduced in a way that doesn’t quite feel at home in a middle-grade novel. Don’t get me wrong: you absolutely CAN discuss heavy topics in middle-grade, but the flippancy with which it’s done here, and lack of discussion about it afterwards, does feel out of place.
Additionally, the book stumbles on its worldbuilding and pacing at times. Although the magic-system is well visualised, the first half of the novel is heavy on exposition and butler-dialogue. It takes the wind out of the books sails quite a bit, and I wish some of this would’ve been trimmed down.

Many thanks to Spark Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

3.75 🌟 Naya wants to be a doctor, but it is against her family’s wishes and traditions, who keeps her sheltered and protected. Their family holds the secret of being able to see through webs and time. Magic is not all rainbows and butterflies, as Naya learns later on. The book takes a darker turn towards the end that surprised me, but overall, I liked how it turned out.

I see the vision. The premise holds us in an intriguing light with the idea of heritage and magic, but it felt quite one-dimensional when I read it. I did enjoy the fantasy aspect and the themes of finding oneself and reconciling with your family and its traditions. The writing bordered on middle grade, but it changed accordingly when things took a dark turn, so I’d say the writing was just a bit inconsistent. Nevertheless, I’d still highly recommend this.

Thank you to Netgalley and Spark Press for the ARC! :>

Really unique story that I really enjoyed. It was quick paced and interesting throughout, I loved the characters and how the author told the story.

Thank you to netgalley and SparkPress for allowing me access to this book. I enjoyed this book so much. The plot pulls you in and the characters make the story worth staying.

"I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, which perfectly blended fantasy elements with a captivating storyline. The characters were well-developed and relatable, and the themes of family heritage and friendship added depth to the narrative. Mary Pascual's writing style was engaging and suited the story perfectly. The cover art was also impressive, making this a great read overall. I'm rooting for the protagonist to achieve her dream of becoming a doctor.(just like me) Overall, I highly recommend this book and can't wait to share my full review soon!"

I received this book as an ARC from Netgalley, however all opinions are my own

How I read this book: eBook

So the reason I wanted to read this is because I saw the description on Netgalley and it genuinely looked like such a cool concept and was something that really intrigued me. Unfortunately, I ended up being a little disappointed by this book. I'd first like to start off by saying the idea of this book and their magic was really cool, and I found it really interesting to read about their magic and how it works. However, the whole first half of the book was just talking about how their magic works, and then the various mundane tasks they do throughout their day with a small dual perspective of our secondary character keeping tabs on our main character. There wasn't a lot of excitement that happened within the first part out of describing their magic system and I really felt like it could have been condensed down to less than the 150 pages it took. I found this really difficult to read until we got to part 2 of the book. Part 2 was where everything that was exciting happened. It definitely made me want to the pick up more but then I had the opposite issue of feeling rushed through all of the information I got at once, I was left feeling wanting to know more about what we had learned about characters, and not getting the satisfaction of finding out. Overall, I enjoyed this book enough to have finished it, but will I pick it up again? Probably not. I just don't think this book was for me.

My Favourite Characters:

Isabella (Short Shorts): I honestly loved Isabella's character even though we didn't get too much of her in the book. She really went to bat for Naya and I loved her for it.

Mamma: I loved Naya's mum so much. You could truly tell she cared for her daughter so much and I love seeing those type of familial figures within stories.

My Least Favourite Characters:

Mr. Lindy: Mr. Lindy honestly grossed me out so much, he can actually get in the bin.

Sylvia: Honestly, for Sylvia's age she was a horrible, horrible character. I'm glad there wasn't a lot of her in the story.

(If you'd like to see more of my reviews please go to my blog:
https://doesden.blogspot.com/)

Oh my gosh, this book was great. I absolutely loved it! It was so sweet and intense at the same time! I loved seeing how the main character's relationships grew, especially those with Tiggy and Short Shorts. It was super cool to see how she was able to escape from her kidnapper, and I loved how she stood up for what she wanted in life and didn't settle for what her family wanted.

This was an interesting premise but not really for me. I think it is a bit too young for me. But if you’re a younger teen I think you’ll love this! It was well written and paced well, just story not for me.

Walk the Web Lightly è una sorta di retelling della mitologia delle tre Moire, protagonista è infatti sempre accompagnata dalla madre e dalla nonna, tutte e tre con il potere di vedere i fili della vita e delle decisioni future.
Si tratta di un Urban Fantasy, non ho ben capito l'età della protagonista ma dal tenore delle conversazioni direi che non ha più di 12/13 anni.
È un libro scorrevole, semplice, a tratti purtroppo noioso. La trama però è interessante, nessuno fa mai un retelling del mito delle Moire.
Senza infamia e senza lode
#WalktheWebLightly #NetGalley

What an interesting and unique concept for a book! I absolutely cannot wait to share my thoughts on this one. I could see it being made into a movie or Netflix miniseries. I hope she gets her dream to be become a doctor. I will be sharing a full review send thoughts on this book very soon as I apooodue to an unexpected family emergency last week I’ve fallen a bit behind. I almost got Madame Web vibes but for teens with this one.