What We Sacrifice for Magic

Praise

Praise for What We Sacrifice for Magic:
“Lovers of Alice Hoffman’s Practical Magic, and anyone who adored the setting and the family dynamics of The Lager Queen of Minnesota . . . will fall hard for DeWerd’s debut, a coming-of-age and coming-into-power story about sacrifice and sisterhood.”
—Library Journal

“For fans of magic, of sisters, and of the unexpected, What We Sacrifice for Magic is the book you want. It is charmed, charming and a poignant and compelling coming-of-age story.”
—Amy Bloom, New York Times bestselling author of In Love and White Houses

“What We Sacrifice for Magic beautifully captures the tension between the legacies we inherit and the courses we chart for ourselves . . . The most impressive spell here is the one DeWerd casts through her scrupulous storytelling. DeWerd nails the ambivalence in growing up with talents perfectly suited to a family business while yearning to know the wider world. The drama of generations clashing is brought to life in the most fiery ways imaginable, and the reader gapes on with a shiver of helpless excitement, like the transfixed onlookers in DeWerd’s intensely gripping story, wondering with ferocious interest what is going to happen next, and delighting in the book’s conclusion that we are stronger together than alone. DeWerd’s plot summons our attention, and enchantment thrums in every direction.”
—Matthew Thomas, New York Times bestselling author of We Are Not Ourselves

“What We Sacrifice for Magic is a high stakes coming-of-age story with a heroine you’ll root for and a deep dive into one girl’s dilemma over just what it means to wield her own power. Elisabeth Watry-Ridder has always known she was different, but can she truly embrace all that makes her unique—and defy her family’s expectations—in order to define her own future? This is an exuberant debut; Andrea Jo DeWerd writes with obvious love for her own craft, and readers will look forward to more from her.”
—Allison Pataki, New York Times bestselling author of Finding Margaret Fuller

“Even magic is no easy answer for a young woman coming of age in the sixties under the weight of family and social expectations. Poignant and steeped in summer magic, young Lisbett will capture your heart.”
—Helen Simonson, New York Times bestselling author of Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand and The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club

“Beneath the gossamer veil of Andrea DeWerd’s enchanting debut is a steely examination of power and its consequences on the magic-wielding Watry-Ridder family. Tenderly written, with spot-on period details, What We Sacrifice for Magic is a beautiful book about the courage it takes to change, if not the stars of our lives, the constellations we make of them.” 
—Sally Franson, author of A Lady’s Guide to Selling Out and Big in Sweden

“Andrea DeWerd’s debut is a beautifully written saga of women whose magic has held them together—and broken them apart—across the ages. There’s something for everyone here: love, family, sisterhood, magic, adventure, and most of all, Elisabeth, a protagonist to root for as she finds her way into who she’s meant to become. I came away from this novel with my heart full!”
—Donna Freitas, author of The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano