Synopsis of The Year of The Witching

Written in the third person from a single point of view, The Year of The Witching by Alexis Henderson places us behind the eyes of protagonist Immanuelle — a teenage orphan working as a shepherdess on her grandparent’s farm.

The Year of The Witching takes place in the walled-in town of Bethel — a polygamous religious community run by a dictator known as the Prophet. No one is allowed in or out of the town without special permission from the Prophet.

On the outskirts of Bethel lie the Darkwoods, haunted and witch-infested woodlands. I’m not sure if the Darkwoods are inside the wall or if it acts as a natural barrier to Bethel.

Delilah, Jael, Mercy, and Lilith are the witches that once waged war against the Bethelites. The first Prophet, David Ford, defeated them and then burned them alive. Now they haunt the Darkwoods.

Immanuelle’s mother, Miriam, was one of the Prophet’s wives. A young girl married to an older man, Miriam chose to take a lover. But instead of a prominent Bethelite, she decided on a darker-skinned and shunned man from the outskirts.

Unfortunately for Miriam, she turned up pregnant. The Prophet pronounced her and her lover guilty of adultery and sentenced them to death. Miriam watched her lover burn alive. Miriam somehow escaped. She fled to the Darkwoods, where she stayed in an abandoned cabin.

Miriam returned to Bethel to give birth to her child, whom she named Immanuelle. She died during childbirth.

Growing up, the Bethalite children shunned Immanuelle. She bore the mark of darker skin, plus everyone knew the circumstances of her sinful conception.

Leah was her only friend, yet I do not understand why Leah is friendly with Immanuelle. There doesn’t seem to be any reason for the connection.

One day, Immanuelle traveled home from the market with a young ram that failed to sell. The ram got loose and ran off into the Darkwoods. Her family couldn’t afford to lose an entire ram, so Immeanulle ran off into the Darkwoods to fetch him. And so Immanuelle’s adventure begins.

Overall, I feel The Year of The Witching was well written. The characters were interesting, and the storyline was suspenseful. There was a creepy vibe throughout the book, making it perfect for an October read.

The Characters

There are two main characters in The Year of The Witching and a handful of side characters that help move along the plot.

We adventure with the protagonist Immanuelle. I rooted for her to stop the plague. She’s a likable character, as she is kind and sweet but also tough. She must be because the rest of the village never really liked her. Immanuelle is a determined young woman who will stop at nothing to get the job done. She never really hesitates to accept the challenge of saving Bethel. She knows what she needs to do and gets it done.

Immanuelle is a fantastic character. Despite everyone semi-shunning her, she is willing to sacrifice her own life for the villagers.

Ezra is the Prophet’s heir. The classic spoiled rich kid that hangs out with the cool kids. He has a soft spot for Immanuelle. He’s attracted to her. But he knows that they could never be together because of their positions in society.

Ezra never grew on me. While he’s willing to help Immanuelle on her mission, I feel he does it for selfish reasons. He wants a romantic relationship, not because he wants to be a good guy.

The Prophet is the leader of the village and the religion. We don’t meet the Prophet until the middle of the book. Yet, his presence looms over all Bethelites. He has far-reaching power that controls the entire village. Everyone lives in the Prophet’s shadow.

The Story

The Year of The Witching’s concept is outstanding. A polygamous sect set sometime in the 18th or 17th century. I wondered if we were going to find out it is modern times. But the date is never discussed in the novel. It’s a creepy setting with the walled town with witch-invested woods nearby.

The beginning starts strong. We learn about how the witches and the town came to be. We learn Immanuelle’s backstory. The creepiness sets in early. I was wondering how things would turn out from the first page.

The middle of The Year of The Witching is intense. A great adventure.

There are some triggers, such as statutory rape — so beware. But nothing graphic. Immanuelle has a fun puzzle to solve, and going along with her and trying to guess the answers is fun.

The ending left me very disappointed. To start, I would have gone in another direction. It was also way too short. The end happens, and the book is over. There is such a vast and spectacular buildup, and then the ending is done and gone. I felt cheap and left unsatisfied.

The Year of The Witching could have been a hundred pages longer. The ending fleshed out more. Also, I wouldn’t say I liked the conclusion the author chose. I would have gone in a different direction.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ for The Year of The Witching

I liked:

• The protagonist

• The suspense

• The buildup

• The action

I didn’t like:

• The ending

• The side characters