bisexual representation | Musings of the Monster Librarian

Book Review: Blood Cypress (Selected Papers from the Consortium for the Study of Anomalous Phenomena #7) by Elizabeth Broadbent

Blood Cypress (Selected Papers from the Consortium of Anomalous Phenomena #7) by Elizabeth Broadbent

Blood Cypress Selected Papers from the Consortium for the Study of Anomalous Phenomena #7) by Elizabeth Broadbent.

Raw Dog Screaming Press, 2025

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1947879881

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

Buy: Bookshop.org. | Amazon.com

The swamp has always been a welcome setting for horror – and why wouldn’t it be? The sucking humidity, the stifling embrace of the flora, the mystery of what’s behind the next shadow as the sun is erased from its world… It’s home to many a southern gothic, and for good reason. Nobody knows what lies within, and those who have experienced it are often too frightened to speak of it.

In Lower Congeree, South Carolina, there’s a rule most people are wise enough to follow stay out of the swamp.

The Carson family is a reflection of the hard truths in many of our homes. The relationships are strained, although some semblance of love creeps through their the interactions. As a bisexual girl in a backwoods town that is a stronghold of repressed sensibilitiies, Lila struggles to survive in the backwoods town, and aches to break free.

Lila’s world twists like the tangled roots that grow in the swamp when her ten-year-old brother, Beau, vanishes. Nobody cares much about a neurodivergent boy who many believe is useless, especially a Carson. Lila is reminded quickly that ignorance in the town has more in common with the society of a hundred years ago than in the current day, from the sheriff to her delinquent mom to the townsfolk, and realizes that her journey will be a solo endeavor. She will have to break that cardinal rule if she is to find Beau alive.

Broadbent entered the horror fray with Ink Vine, a stunning entry into what hopefully will be a long career. Her greatest strength is the ability to breathe life into the setting and listen to how it speaks to the characters and readers. She harnesses the dark magic of the swamp and lets it become a major character, one that is ambiguous, untrustworthy, and dangerous. Its embrace is sought by some but feared by most.

As a journalist, her words hit the mark. In the novella form, this works perfectly. Everything matters and she is able to succinctly capture the flavor of this rotted southern town with apparent ease.

At this length, Broadbent shines. It gives her just enough space to explore and resolve the multiple conflicts within the story: the inner family tension, the dynamics of small-town life, and the apathetic darkness of the swamp, and allows the misfit Carson family and their secrets to grow. It’s a claustrophobic but intriguing read.

Comparisons have been made to Flannery O’ Connor, but Elizabeth Broadbent has her own style. Think Darcy Coates by way of Crista Carmen and Michael McDowell.

Raw Dog Screaming Press always produces quality products that sidestep the typical trappings of genre. As the seventh installment in the Selected Papers from the Consortium for the Study of Anomalous Phenomena series, this is a highly recommended reading, and their decision to bring Broadbent into the stable works just right.

Reviewed by David Simms

Book Review: How to Succeed in Witchcraft by Aislinn Brophy

How to Succeed in Witchcraft by Aislinn Brophy

G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readees, 2022

ISBN-13: 978-0593354520

Available: Hadcover, paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook

Buy: Bookshop.org | Amazon.com

Shay is one of the few students of color at T.K. Anderson Prep. In a world where only licensed magic users can get top jobs, she is a striver. She has a higher level of magical strength than anyone else in her class, and the second highest GPA. Her rival, with a slightly higher GPA and slightly lower magic level, is Ana.

At a meeting about the application process for a scholarship the school offers for a student to attend the University of Wilmington, which offers magic licensing, theater teacher Mr. B, who heads the scholarship committee, suggests to Shay that if she wants the scholarship she should participate in the school play, which is intentionally “diverse”. Shay is a terrible actor, but discovers she has been assigned the lead role of Valeria. Ana, also a student of color, is cast as her sister, Gabriela.

As the year goes by, Shay stumbles into friendship with Ana, and then into a (closeted) romance. Mr. B. continues to single Shay out for special attention and private rehearsals, violating her physical space (she does not like to be touched: based on this and other behaviors I think she is coded as autistic). She is uncomfortable, but none of the other kids seem to be bothered by Mr. B. When Shay is accidentally outed, he is cold to her, turning his attention to Ana, until Shay convinces him she isn’t a lesbian, so she can keep his attention and win the scholarship.

One night Shay’s dad’s car dies while he is on his way to pick her up from school, leaving her on campus alone. While she is walking the school grounds, she sees Mr. B. and student choreographer Brittany kissing. Brittany is sharing her magic with him, which makes him stronger, but leaves her open to manipulation. Shay decides she has to tell, even if it means losing the scholarship, and does so in such a public way that the administration is forced to act.

There’s a lot of subtext on privilege, systemic racism and classism, college admissions, the impossibility of the American dream, and the way sexual and emotional abusers take advantage and get away with it. Mr. B is a truly predatory character and Shay’s eventual confrontation with him is terrifying, At the same time, this is a really sweet rivals to lovers sapphic romance with some great world-building. It’s not truly horror, but it is a wonderful, witchy read that should be relatable to teens.