(Spoiler free! I’m only mentioning things from the blurb.)
I have been waiting for this book my entire life.
At least, that’s what it feels like. I followed Briana Morgan on Twitter in 2018 because she tweeted about this project, and I have been anxiously awaiting this day ever since.
Livingston Girls is a fast-paced, gripping story about a young coven of witches at a boarding school. I knew the book was loosely based on Dead Poet’s Society, but that came to light in fun and unexpected ways.
It was also really fun to read a book with a bisexual protagonist — there aren’t enough of those! Rose is really believable as a budding bisexual, and it was fun to see her grow into that identity.
I also loved seeing Rose come to terms with the events that sent her to Livingston in the first place. Her new group of friends is so helpful and important in that growth, and it’s a great look at the kind of friends women can be to each other.
I also loved the inclusion of poetry in this book. Dead Poets is a very important movie to me, and seeing those little tie-ins made me love this book even more.
The magic system in this book is fascinating to me. It is small and self-contained enough to be easy to manage, and yet it feels realistic and purposeful. I’m rather picky about magic systems, and this was a great magic system that was easy to wrap my head around.
My main quibble with the book is that it needed another edit. There were a few spots where characters seemed to know things we hadn’t seen them learn, which would probably have been caught with another edit.
The book did have some storytelling issues where I felt it moved a bit too fast, but I was enjoying the story so much that I didn’t mind too much.
If you’re interested in queer stories, witchcraft, poetry, or dark-fantasy, you’re sure to enjoy Livingston Girls by Briana Morgan.
Rating: 3.5/5 stars.
Amber Sorensen 