Witch Boy

The Witch Boy is a gorgeously illustrated and compassionately told story about a boy who struggles with his gender identity and the expectations for him. This fantasy is set in a world where magical girls are witches and magical boys are shapeshifters. Straying from these gender roles is not just taboo, but met with bullying. When a young boy, Aster, begins to gravitate towards witchcraft he must overcome societal and personal challenges in order to stay true to himself. I absolutely LOVED reading this story. It is heart warming, relatable, and engaging for any middle-school aged reader. Even as an adult, this story made my inner-child (who asked Santa for a Nerf Gun but got a Barbie) feel seen and appreciated. In a literacy class, this would make an excellent book to include when discussing theme. Students can identify both explicit and implicit themes present in the novel. Students will also be able to identify the overall, primary theme of this magical realism story and relate it to the “real world”.