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The Women Could Fly by Megan Giddings is set in an alternate world where witches exist and women’s rights are limited. It is a scary scenario since women’s rights are being challenged at every turn.
Josephine Thomas, aka Jo, is nearing the time in her life when the State wants a woman to be married and/or tested for being a witch. She is a descendant of a witch but doesn’t think that she has any powers herself. Fourteen years ago, her mother disappeared. Her father has finally taken the steps to declare her deceased.
Jo is allowed to take a trip to a remote island in order to find out answers about her mother. She definitely does not expect to find her mother alive and well. Her mother is a witch and escaped to the island to live is safety with other witches.
Jo discovers that she has natural abilities as a witch. She stays for a little while to learn how to use her powers. She also falls in love with one of the island witches. Jo is bi-sexual so it’s not a complete surprise.
Jo wants to stay but she also wants to let her father know that she is alive. She knows how heartbroken he was when her mother disappeared. Jo returns but is sent to a lockdown unit so that the State can question her extensively.
When she gets out she plans to marry her sort-of-boyfriend and live as a regular human. Things do not go according to plan and she gets accused of witchcraft.
Will she survive the trial? Will Jo return to the island?
Recommendation
If you dystopian or paranormal books, then you will enjoy The Women Could Fly.
If you are actually hunting for witches or taking away women’s rights, then may I suggest Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood or SCUM Manifesto by Valerie Solanas in addition to The Women Could Fly.
It might take several books plus many TED talks and a lot of hard work to deprogram people who are sexist. This book is a good place to start.
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