Initial Impressions 8/2/16: This book was totally Hocus Pocus meets The Craft (with some actual history in there too)! I got vibes at the beginning and it maintained that vibe throughout. Now someone get Fall here NOW so I can splash in leaves and put up Halloween decorations and drink PSLs watch the best seasonal movies. 
 HOW TO HANG A WITCH was a lot of fun! So many witchy books are quite fantastical (a full fantasy world with school and society like Harry Potter) or historical fiction or full on fantasy with no real world crossover. I really loved that HOW TO HANG A WITCH was contemporary, involved some witchy happenings, and also contained a lot of history. I actually had no idea that this was (mostly) real history until I heard the author's note at the end of the audiobook. Adriana Mather is actually related to Cotton Mather (who was a prominent part of the book) and her family was truly a big part of history. I loved that she told the story of her family's history and also created a really cool fictional novel based on historical events. 
 The book was great overall! I had fun with it throughout and I really enjoyed the complex relationships of all of the characters. The mysteries were plentiful, curses needed to be broken, spells happened, I got a little scared, and the ending was surprising! I totally had a theory and then SURPRISES HAPPENED. 
 There were just a couple of spots that I found a little silly or strange. Like the whole (view spoiler)[falling in love with a ghost (hide spoiler)]thing... But I just loved the feel of this book, the narration was great (it was the author herself!), and the story was awesome. I hope there's more to come from Adriana Mather and I'd love more books like this! 
 Full review as originally posted HERE on The Book Addict's Guide 8/24/16: I first heard of HOW TO HANG A WITCH at ALA this past January and was instantly attracted to the "Mean Girls meets Salem Witch Trials" pitch. When I saw an audio review copy from Listening Library, I knew I wanted to read it soon and I quickly dove into the audiobook. I was surprised to find out that the author, Adriana Mather, narrates it herself! It was such a fun experience overall and I really enjoyed the entire vibe of the book. 
 The "Mean Girls meets Salem Witch Trials" pitch is pretty spot on. I was actually reminded a lot of The Craft as far as the Mean Girls aspect went with Sam having several conflicts with The Descendants, a group of classmates who are actual descendants of the families involved in the Salem Witch trials and who may or may not dabble in actual witchcraft. They dress in all black and are generally surly bunch and this totally reminded me of the movie The Craft! (And I loved it.) I also totally picked up a Hocus Pocus vibe with Sam moving to Salem from the city and being the new kid in school. She meets a boy, has a crush, communicates with spirits, and gets involved with witches. Not to mention the whole thing takes place during the fall and I was just totally pining for autumn and Halloweentime! My only regret about reading this book when I did is that it wasn't fall already! I absolutely loved the overall feel of the book -- movie vibes included -- and really enjoyed how it was a contemporary take on the witches without being historical fiction or total fantasy world. It had that perfect modern feel that fit so well with the book's overall tone. 
 The plot kept me hooked and entertained from start to finish. There were a lot of interesting twists and like your average book, some were predictable and some totally weren't. I liked that the past played a really strong part in the present and there are so many ways that Sam's current situation is intertwined with the actual history of the Salem Witch trials. Some twists really surprised me and I had a long-standing theory for a couple things that were happening that turned out to be incorrect, which I actually love because I think it's great when an author can surprise or mislead me to keep a big reveal for the ending! There were a couple spots that got a little confusing or convoluted with some extra details that didn't end up playing a part in the book but those details also kept me on the trail of something that turned out to be a red herring and maintained the element of surprise, so I guess that was good in one way! 
 The really, really neat thing about HOW TO HANG A WITCH is Adriana Mather's actual, real-life relation to the Mather family of the Salem Witch Trials. She really is a direct descendant and there's a neat author's note that I listened to at the end explaining a long and rather important family history in which her ancestors played big roles in some major historical events. I thought it was really neat how she used her own family connection to create this story! Obviously some historical elements were changed to tweaked to accommodate a young adult novel as well as creating into a modern work of fiction, but there are a lot of general concepts and even some specific facts relating to the Salem Witch Trials and the Mather family specifically that are totally true! With Adriana Mather's narration of the audiobook as well, it was just really neat to see so many specific elements of involvement in the production of her book and it felt like such a personal touch and connection. 
 (Possible spoiler paragraph) The one thing about the book that I really had a hang-up with was the romance. I was really accepting of everything -- witches, ghosts, paranormal activity, a gang of descendants -- up until this romance thing took a turn. It started out sweet with Sam and neighbor boy Jaxon slowly starting to develop a little bit of a romance but then Sam's involvement with Elijah, the ghost that follows her around, starts to become romantic. And then you lost me. I can handle fond feelings for the ghost-boy but Sam wanted to actually start like... dating him. Sweetie. You realize he's a ghost, right? Sam has the ability to physically interact with him and it's pretty consistent but things get weird when you start kissing ghosts of boys who have been dead for hundreds of years. Thankfully, that resolved itself but why throw in a love triangle angle with a ghost? That was my one big turn-off. 
 HOW TO HANG A WITCH was an overall fun and enjoyable read! I just really dug the whole vibe of the book, from The Craft and Hocus Pocus feel to the contemporary take to the sarcasm and snark, the book really just fit with me! Some readers will probably be anticipating a little more depth because for all of its history, it did still feel on the lighter side but I personally really liked that about it. I really enjoyed the levity while still digging into actual history (with a little bit of creative licensing) and having a book that was easy to breeze through and kept me entertained! I think this is a really fun fall read and should definitely be on your reading lists this autumn if you love reading spooky or seasonal reads before/around Halloween!