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Comments (24)

The Black Witch

An Epic Fantasy Novel
Community comments are the opinions of contributing users. These comments do not represent the opinions of Omaha Public Library.
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Dec 22, 2023SnoIsleLib_Teen rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Elloren Gardner, a young 17-year-old girl who has entered Vertex University in hopes of leaving her grandmother's powerful and famous name and making a life for her own, but as she enters out of her haven with her family, Elloren realizes…
Apr 03, 2023SurreyLibraries_Teens1 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
"The Black Witch" is a young adult fantasy novel about Elloren Gardner, the granddaughter of the infamous Black Witch, who must confront her prejudices and preconceived notions about other races and species in the magical world when she…
Apr 01, 2023marlainealy rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Ok, some comments made are really negative; however, some of what is said is true. And yes, it is another book in which the heroine is clueless and naive--so was Buffy, Harry Potter... I like the creation of new magical beings, and holding…
Mar 31, 2023SurreyLibraries_Teens3 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
A thought provoking and powerful novel exploring themes of discrimination, prejudice, and personal growth. From a long line of powerful mages comes a young girl named Elloren Gardner. Through her experience in university, she realizes…
Mar 22, 2023SurreyLibraries_Teens rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
The Black Witch by Laurie Forest is set in a fictional realm named Erthia, and follows a girl named Elloren. She descends from a high status family of celebrated historical figures but has been living a quiet life in her uncle’s cottage,…
Mar 07, 2023
This is the story of Elloren Gardner, who is the granddaughter of the late Carnissa Gardner, the black witch. I read this book because I had heard two people at school having a controversy over it, arguing over whether it was worth their…
Aug 01, 2022s1h2e3r4r5y6_0 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Wow! The depth of the characters has you rooting for the good guys and booing at the bad ones. Descriptive scenery is so well done, I did not want to go into the North tower! I was bummed when I read the last page because it was over,…
Jul 05, 2022xinnazh2020 rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
The first book of a series is not always the best, but for this series this rule does not seem to apply. A well written dive into a new magical world, Erthia, awaits the reader of this novel. No spoilers, but there is a lot of magic, love,…
Feb 13, 2022Archer23323 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
The Black Witch from Laurie Forest is a fantasy novel about a young girl named Elloren who is trying to find her sense of identity as she attempts to fit into a magical university. By being the splitting image of her grandmother who was…
Feb 06, 2021niewegec rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
If you love fantasy, magic, love, friendship, betrayal and perseverance, this is a story for you. Black Witch is a mix of Harry Potter and LOTR, and explores themes such as human rights, feminism and LGBTQ rights. Ren is a powerful female…
Sep 18, 2019bell5133 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
The story was exciting and appeals to teenage girls. It’s a large book but quick to read. It’s like Harry Potter + Twilight; the main character is a witch who is supposed to be the chosen one but is the underdog at magic school, and…
Jul 22, 2019Futuregohangurl rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
a very good book. i cant wait to read book 2. i have book 2 now
May 05, 2019happycanuck rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Loved it !!! Could hardly put it down !
Jan 30, 2019darkl0rd rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Oh my goodNESS. I cannot describe to you how much I loved this book. I was a little bit iffy on it at first; reading some comments about the book containing "racism" but I couldn't find it. There are different species of creatures, yes,…
Nov 13, 2018WittySofa rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
THE BLACK WITCH: LAURIE FOREST I really liked this book. It breaks from the usual fantasy tropes, and the author introduces many new fantastical species instead of just falling back on the Lord of the Rings’ dwarves/elves/humans trope.…
Sep 11, 2018
I loved this book. This book really resembled Harry potter because the book was about a magical boarding school. Elloren is the granddaughter of the black witch, who drove back the enemy forces and saved the Gardnerian people during the…
DeweyOrDie
Apr 18, 2018DeweyOrDie rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Not a bad fantasy YA book, and the general story was interesting. I found it a little slow at the start, particularly due to the lack of creativity with Gardenarian Wicca mushed with Christianity for both terms and concepts used. However,…
Mar 16, 2018Linyarai rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I started out unsure how I felt about this, but I really ended up loving it. I enjoy the different characters and their races, and I am really looking forward to their adventures in the next book!
Jan 22, 2018
So I think this is supposed to draw parallels to the racism and issues currently going on, but man is it hard to get through. Elloren's naiveté and close mindedness is painful and so much of the books is dedicated to her slowly learning…
Aug 28, 2017BostonPL_JordanD rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
What an amazing book! This was one of the best YA novels I've read in awhile. While this is a fantasy novel involving lupine (werewolves), fae, and others not completely human, it is a story about racism and one young woman's realization…
Aug 15, 2017Rebole rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
***may contain spoilers*** I can't believe how many negative reviews this book got. I nearly didn't pick it up even though I liked the blurb. I'm glad I decided to judge it for myself. It looked big and intimidating when I got it but it…
Aug 04, 2017KickingDandelions rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
This book is so awesome! It's one of those books that you hate waiting for the sequel to come out. I need that sequel to this book to come out now! I am hooked!
Cynthia_N
Jun 09, 2017Cynthia_N rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Elloren has lived a sheltered life with her uncle. She is about to attend the university and everything is changing. All her beliefs will be challenged and there is the shame of having no magic. Forest does a great job in creating doubt…
Jun 05, 2017tracebroyles rated this title 1 out of 5 stars
This book is terrible. Half of what happens makes no sense. There is too much going on and the author lost track of it all so the book is sloppy. I wanted to know if the main character would ever come into her power and what Yvan actually…