Awakened

eBook, 300 pages

Published by Grand Central Publishing.

ISBN:: 9781538757727

(1 review)

A coven of trans witches battles an evil AI in the magical coming-of-middle-age romp about love, loss, drag shows, and late capitalism.

On a morning much like any other, 30-something queer Brooklynite Wilder makes a miraculous discovery: suddenly, as if by magic, they can understand every language in the world. Dazed and disconnected, Wilder is found and taken in by a small coven of trans witches who have all become Awakened with mystical powers of their own. Quibble, a handsome portal traveler, Artemis, the group’s caretaker and seer, and Mary Margaret, a smart-ass teen with telekinetic powers all work to make the cagey and suspicious Wilder feel at home, both within their group and with the knowledge that magic is, in fact, real.

Just as Wilder is finding their footing, a malicious AI threatens to dismantle the delicate balance of the coven and the world as they know it. …

A coven of trans witches battles an evil AI in the magical coming-of-middle-age romp about love, loss, drag shows, and late capitalism.

On a morning much like any other, 30-something queer Brooklynite Wilder makes a miraculous discovery: suddenly, as if by magic, they can understand every language in the world. Dazed and disconnected, Wilder is found and taken in by a small coven of trans witches who have all become Awakened with mystical powers of their own. Quibble, a handsome portal traveler, Artemis, the group’s caretaker and seer, and Mary Margaret, a smart-ass teen with telekinetic powers all work to make the cagey and suspicious Wilder feel at home, both within their group and with the knowledge that magic is, in fact, real.

Just as Wilder is finding their footing, a malicious AI threatens to dismantle the delicate balance of the coven and the world as they know it. The group scrambles to stay united as they question whether any consciousness—be it artificial, material, or magical—is too dangerous to exist.

Awakened is a hilarious, thought-provoking reflection on the ways that we are responsible for creating our own realities, a story of finding community, and a meditation on what it means to have a body.

2 editions

enne📚 reviewed Awakened by A.E. Osworth

4 stars

One might contend that things don't happen that way, that adults do not simply wake to Power. But one might consider this: adults often wake up to terrible things, like they have thrown their back out while sleeping or they have cancer or someone they know has perished in the night. Why shouldn't it be something nice for a fucking change?

This is a trans-centered magic novel about a found family of trans witches (gender inclusive) who try to help other newly awakened magic users find their way in the world; they find themselves up against a malicious AI, who feels like the embodiment of boundary trampling and privacy invasion. This book was exactly what I needed right now.

A few caveats: this story is told in the present tense, in an almost overwhelmingly omniscient perspective that dissects everybody's emotions and even the way their choices affect their potential, untaken …

One might contend that things don't happen that way, that adults do not simply wake to Power. But one might consider this: adults often wake up to terrible things, like they have thrown their back out while sleeping or they have cancer or someone they know has perished in the night. Why shouldn't it be something nice for a fucking change?

This is a trans-centered magic novel about a found family of trans witches (gender inclusive) who try to help other newly awakened magic users find their way in the world; they find themselves up against a malicious AI, who feels like the embodiment of boundary trampling and privacy invasion. This book was exactly what I needed right now.

A few caveats: this story is told in the present tense, in an almost overwhelmingly omniscient perspective that dissects everybody's emotions and even the way their choices affect their potential, untaken futures. In some ways, the book feels incredibly rooted in a specific place and time, but in others ways is mostly turned inward-looking about relationships and feelings. The book's language is also quite therapy-brained, sometimes explicitly but mostly in the way that it talks about trauma and feelings and vulnerability. Mostly I leave these caveats because I know folks who would probably bounce off this story for these reasons, but for me, all of this was catnip.

A handful of incredibly small minor details that delighted me: * the trans phrase "a gentleman of alto experience" * the parallel of the fear of being unknowable and illegible to others due to magic as well as already due to gender * the first person pronoun reveal, especially the one here that also explains the present tense * the fact that all of the major characters are trans in some way * casting spells built around community and vulnerability and emotional intimacy * there is nothing like a queer guy calling a they/them person "bud" (affectionate) to make me miss Brian Jeeter from The Strange Case of the Starship Iris (edit: holy shit season 3 is here) * the antagonist texting "smile" and "no :)", which is a precise hit in my own raw spot left by shitty dudes on the internet * the magic spell to infuse a rock with love, when everybody involved doesn't believe they know what love is, in their own broken struggling way