#verity vox

[librarylilac]

“What was magic, after all, but having the gall to believe you could tell the world around you how it ought to be, and then watching as it did as it was told.”

- Verity Vox and the Curse of Foxfire

by Don Martin

[littlemoondance]

I finished up Verity Vox about a week ago. This middle grade/YA book was a fun read. Inspired by Kiki’s Delivery Service and set in the Appalachia Mts.

[fuckoffwastaken]

I looked at a book one of my witchy friends was reading. The book is called:

"Verity Vox and the curse of Foxfire"

I looked at a few summaries and then read the prologue. Suffice it to say the villain in this book includes all the elements of the stereotype of a malicious peddler (jew) without fully describing a "big nose" (although he does describe this character as having "big teeth and big eyes")

This character is the main villain, I know this because I skimmed through the book to find all the passages with this character in them. He is described as going by many names, but calls himself "Earl" and later, "King Earl".

Within the prologue he is referred to as "A monster". But what I really find enlightening is this section:

"Many strange visitors came from lands far beyond the horizon to make a new home in those Appalachian hills. Some had big teeth. Some had big eyes. Some called your name in the dark hoping to gobble you up.

One of those things looked like a salesman..." - the paragraph goes on to describe "Earl" and then continues that the was "ran out of town" after he did things that "didn't sit right with folks".

As far as I can tell from my looking through the book, Earl is a very powerful magical being that makes "deals" with people that go awry.

Clearly someone made sure that this book's antisemitism isn't blatant enough to get it flagged before it was published. But that doesn't mean the antisemitism is gone, its just camouflaged.

anyways, dont read it. Its bad and very clearly leaning heavily on antisemitic tropes.

[fall-out-girlboy]

Verity Vox and the Curse of Foxfire

I went right into this from the more like this tab on Practical Rules for Cursed Witches, And I may never get enough of queer witch stories. this one, unlike the last few things I've read, Is not particularly a Romance, It is an adventure, an Appalachian fairytale as romantic as most stories of saving someone lost in the woods and slaying monsters. the names are unapologetically alliterative throughout, the writing absolutely enthralling, I cannot emphasize enough the twists and turns, the excitement this delivers, are a strong point. then the poems, and there are a great many little rhymes. are bordering on insufferable, but even that has a charm to it. a cute quirk. while I preferred the romance and magic of Cursed Witches, I was in no way dissapointed by the small handful of characters we get to know, and the complex role of magic in such a low fantasy setting. Don Martin's writing style was unique, a little old fashioned, floral, but intentionally quaint, to suit it's setting. I quite liked that.

I do think its funny the first sapphic novel I've read not to have a gay male subplot is by a, to my knowledge, gay male author. anyway. I look forward to the sequel.