The Scapegracers

Sideways Pike is a teenage witch, a lesbian and an outsider who has not had much luck making friends. Being paid to perform magic at a Halloween party draws her into the orbit of three popular girls. Instead of dismissing her, they become a coven and offer the fierce companionship she has been missing. Their parties and curses attract dangers of their own, including witchfinders intent on taking their power. Sideways must navigate both supernatural threats and the unfamiliar responsibilities of friendship. H. A. Clarke’s trilogy opener centers a queer heroine whose strongest new magic may depend on learning how to belong without surrendering the person she already is.