Toil & Trouble

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By Jessica Spotswood & Tess Sharpe

Publisher Description

“This powerful and diverse collection is perfect for fans of female-led fantasy stories. No damsels in distress to be found here.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

There’s nothing more powerful than a witch who believes in herself.

Women accused of witchcraft. Fearsome girls with arcane knowledge. Toil & Trouble features fifteen stories of girls embracing their power, reclaiming their destinies, and using their magic to create, to curse, to cure, to kill . . . and to live.

A young witch uses social media to connect with her astrology clients—and with a NASA-loving girl as cute as she is skeptical. A priestess of death investigates a ritualized murder. A bruja who cures lovesickness might need the remedy herself when she falls for an altar boy. A theater production is turned upside down by a visiting churel. A water witch uses her magic to survive the soldiers who have invaded her desert oasis. And in the near future, a group of girls accused of witchcraft must find their collective power . . . and destroy their captors.

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF A TEEN WITCH!

Featuring stories by:

Tehlor Kay Mejia

Andrea Robertson

Tess Sharpe

Lindsay Smith

Brandy Colbert

Shveta Thakrar

Robin Talley

Nova Ren Suma

Zoraida Córdova

Brenna Yovanoff

Kate Hart

Jessica Spotswood

Anna-Marie McLemore

Emery Lord

Elizabeth May

“This collection brings together short, witchy stories from fifteen brilliant YA authors . . . It’s a whole lot of magical fun, and a definite must-read for all the witches in your life.” —Bustle

“The collective impact is undeniably resounding.” —Booklist (starred review)

“[A] provocative, eclectic collection.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

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195 Reviews

3.5

Renee

Created about 1 month ago

LMVDV21

Created 2 months ago

Sarah Rose

Created 3 months ago

Mariella

Created 4 months ago

“Toil & Trouble is by far one of my favorite short story collections. It pulled me in from the dedication page (“For all the troublemakers who need a little magic.” <3 ) and when the book was over, I was searching for more. Reading this collection had me wanting to look up other writing by all of the authors featured here, which was a truly new and fresh experience for me as a reviewer. The stories featured in this collection had well-cultivated plots and characters, clear arcs, and rich emotional detail. While some of the stories featured were “expected” and “predictable,” that didn’t make them any less enjoyable. Those that seemed predictable were often placed in historical periods with characters based on real people, so we already knew how it would end. And yet, those authors still succeeded in delivering history back to the reader in a fresh way. That said, my favorites were those that stood apart from the rest by breaking tradition, using unexpected twists or turning cliches and tropes on their heads. While some of the other collections I’ve read left me rather disappointed or exclaiming over hidden gems among the rubble, I can honestly say that that was not the case with Toil & Trouble. Rather, I find myself searching for words and struggling to decide which stories stood out the most and which ones I best loved and which little quotes from them I most want to share with my readers because they were honestly just so lovely. So, rather than ramble and try to continue to convince you of why this collection was so impactful, I believe that the best thing I can do is allow the collection to speak for itself and merely share a few excerpts with you. But, in closing, I will say this: whether you want to devote your time to read the entirety of this lovely collection or not, “Why They Watch Us Burn” is DEFINITELY worth reading. It’s a beautiful story placed in both fantasy and history. A story that faces the religious consequences of being a witch, but also the idea that many witches were only, in fact, young women wronged by the world and the people who should have loved them most. WARNING: This story deals with grief, PTSD, and implied sexual abuse. None of these things are explicitly explored on the page, only used as themes and plot/character arc forwarding devices. Some of the pieces that I loved in this collection include the following by notable authors including Elizabeth May, Lindsay Smith, Tess Sharpe, Kate Hart, and Jessica Spotswood. (The following titles and clips appear in the order of my favorite to least favorite.) QUOTES (5 Stars) Why They Watch Us Burn (Elizabeth May) - “I will tell you my spell then, so you live. I say it every day during prayers,” she said. “Here it is then: I am a wolf, and wolves survive.” (4.5 Stars) Death in the Sawtoothes (Lindsay Smith) - “I hear the whispers in their bones. Somebody’s gotta do something about those whispers.” (4 Stars) The Heart in her Hands (Tess Sharpe) - “Bette is prickly and defiant, willing to use blood and tears and the dirt of the dead to break free.” (3.5 Stars) Well Witch (Kate Hart) - “Men were the most unpredictable animals, and those that found Elsa’s oasis were usually lost bother in geography and life, looking for directions, land, or, worst of all, wives.” (3 Stars) Beware of Girls with Crooked Mouths (Jessica Spotswood) - “Why must prophecies happen so often on the stairs?” “It’s a between place.” “It’s damn dangerous is what it is.””

Surabhi

Created 6 months ago