We Call Them Witches Book Review

by Catalina Bonati

3.75/ 5 stars ★★★⯪☆

We Call Them Witches by India Rose-Bower (to be published April 2026) is an apocalyptic folk horror tale centering around Sara, a young 17-year-old with a large family of three younger siblings, an older sibling and their wife, and a mother. They move around the country in search ground that is safe from witches, which seem to be primordial monsters taking the shape of the surrounding landscape who attack and dismember humans for consumption. Sara’s Ma has been taught in the old ways and uses charms for protection, which has kept the family safe since the initial apocalyptic day. One day, a girl named Parsley appears unconscious outside of their protection circle and they decide to bring her in. Soon, events unfold which will lead them far from their home.

The story setting is quite original, which is a paranormal dystopia with strong folk horror elements. There is some Blair Witch influence which the book is self-aware about. The monsters (or witches) are all different from one another and take elements of the context in which they arose from to make up their body, which makes them interesting to read about and horrific to the characters. The only survivors of this apocalypse are those who rely on old ways, old folk knowledge and somewhat Wiccan or esoteric ideas. The use of personal charms, such as herbs or dolls, as well as hag stones or adder stones, and the ritual of safeguarding a space with personal items is what keeps humans alive. This element is a unique and welcome addition to the apocalypse genre.

The characters are bit divisive. Sara’s family is a bit of everything, loving yet a little emotionally abusive as well. The smaller kids, the twins, are children who can be mean. Noah, the twelve-year-old, is a bit shyer and a little more loving. There is Danny, the non-binary older sibling, who is always mad and judgmental and everyone in the family is afraid of them. They are a profoundly unlikeable character and personally, for a while, the main emotion I felt at this story was dislike for Danny and frustration for Sara. Lillian, Danny’s wife, falls a bit too nicely into the homemaker category. She is a cook, looks after the children, does the laundry and keeps the peace in the family. She seems to only be a feminine character without much personality, and this undoes any gender progression that the author meant to have with Danny. The mother, Ma, is self-involved in making charms and looking at maps, and there is hardly any interaction with her at all. Parsley, the new girl, is hard to define in terms of personality, as she doesn’t really seem to have any. Additionally, the romantic relationship which develops between her and Sara has no build-up.

The writing style is poetic and engaging and has a captivating and distinctive prose. Overall, this book is fun to read and presents unique ideas and has a strong folk horror atmosphere (which is always welcome here) but the characters could use a bit more work. The queer elements are complex when regarding Danny, as non-binary characters are not often presented as toxic, but basic when it comes to Parsley and Sara as well as the depiction of Lillian. I recommend this book to readers of T. Kingfisher, and to general lovers of folk horror and apocalyptic tales.