Witches are big this year. Well, witches have apparently been big for a couple of years because books don’t suddenly pop up from the ether, so those publishing now have been in the works for a while.

Regardless, magical ladies have been particularly popular in middle grade and YA works of both the prose and graphic novel mediums, and I, for one, am 100% here for it, especially when the trend produces books like Nathan Page and Drew Shannon’s The Montague Twins: The Witch’s Hand.

The book is technically published by Knopf, that house is a subsidiary of Penguin Random House, so it’s included in the body of incredible stuff Random House Graphic has put out in its inaugural year. I’ve watched my kids devour every new story we’ve gotten several times each, and since they’re right in the sweet spot of the imprint’s intended demographic, I think it’s safe to take the multiple rereads as two additional, ringing endorsements of the entire catalog.

You probably want specifics, though. Fair enough:

Things I Liked and/or Loved and/or Adored

1. The book as a whole. Start to finish. It was a delightful adventure and also made me feel feelings. How dare? Since this is a review, however, I suppose I should be more specific.

2. Though the book is named after the two male protagonists – the titular Montague Twins Pete and Al – their sister Charlie has an equal role in the story. She is also very sassy and, as it turns out, one of the more magically talented characters overall. I would die for any of them but especially for Charlie.

3. The Witch’s Hand is, at its core, very much a story about female agency and power. None of the male characters have a problem with that except those who are very clearly in the wrong about a great many things, despite the story being set in the late 60s. So refreshing. I might have hugged the book a few times. Maybe. Fine. I did. Shut up.

4. Page and Shannon have created a story that successfully blends history, slice of life, and magic. At this, many have tried; few have succeed. This duo succeeds and does it in a way that integrates all three elements into a complete and engaging whole that gives even the most fantastical elements of the plot a living, breathing weight. If magic were going to exist in the world, this is how it would present itself.

5. Page and Shannon chose to set the The Witch’s Hand in 1969, a year in which several events took place that reverberate today: the Stonewall Riots, the Lunar Landing, and a year in which students at several universities including Cornell and North Carolina A&T protested for the formation of Black Studies programs and the hiring of African American faculty.

It was also the year Fred Hampton, chairman of the Illinois Black Panther party was shot and killed in a police raid. That may be long ago and far away to kids living in 2020, but having characters like Pete, who comes out to his brother in the midst of a witch hunt, and Rowan, fighting for his right to participate and thrive in high education, makes those events personal and allows readers a chance to see how they affected individuals.

It makes the macro micro. It grabs history and pulls what was forward to what is. It allows kids to see the work we thought was done needs new champions.

6. The parents/parental figures are involved in the adventure! Gasp! ONE OF THEM IS A MOM! A MOM WHO IS STILL ALIVE! Listen, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, but you don’t have to kill all the adults for kids to go on an adventure. Some of them are missing, yes (I’m not going to go into details because plot point) but others have stepped in to take those individual’s places. Do the kids still get into the best sort of trouble? Of course they do. There’s magic. There’s a witch. There’s a murderer. But there are also people who have the kids’ backs, and what better way to test your wings than to do so knowing someone’s holding a safety net?

7. New England Gothic: a million times yes. This is a personal thing. I grew up in New England. Cape Cod is one of my favorite places in the known universe, and Boston is the home of my heart and always will be, even though I haven’t lived there in a very long time. Small towns in New England are special places. Their own places. They’re old, at least for this country, and they feel… inhabited in a way other places I’ve lived don’t. The Witch’s Hand captures both the aesthetics and the sensibility of this aura (for lack of a better word).

8. The art is a really compelling blend of mid-century newspaper comic and 60s modern. It’s clean and cohesive, but at the same time, it’s as transitional as the year in which Page and Shannon chose to set the action. It’s wonderful and couldn’t possibly be a better match for the story.

Things I Could Have Done Without

Yeah, sorry, I got nothing. I loved The Witch’s Hand and I’m going to tell everyone to read it, so…

The Montague Twins: The Witch’s Hand by Nathan Page and Drew Shannon (Knopf) is available now. The note at the end of this volume suggests Vol. 2 will be out sometime in 2021, and I can’t wait to shove it in my eye holes.