Review: Blood to Poison by Mary Watson

Savannah, the teenage protagonist of Blood to Poison, is angry. It’s an anger that blooms in the everyday injustices of life in the wake of South Africa’s apartheid years, from the men who catcall her in the street to the angry customers who mind their manners for white men but not black women. It is against this backdrop that Savannah finds out she is cursed — an intergenerational curse stretching back to her ancestor Hella, who harnessed magic to curse her enslavers.
Women, magic, and anger are all intertwined in this urban fantasy. In a world where girls are often told that their anger is irrational or unladylike, Blood to Poison revels in female anger. Watson explores how Savannah’s anger can be both a weakness and a strength: “Anger can warn you when something is not right. It can be a powerful tool, but has to be wielded carefully and with precision. You have to control it, not have your anger control you,” the enigmatic Mama Daline advises Savannah in the early chapters.

The themes of female anger and strength are woven within a fast-paced plot where Savannah struggles to break her curse before it’s too late. Savannah is an excellent protagonist, spirited and fierce but also so very kind and loving. Some of Watson’s more ambitious fantasy scenes lose the tight grip the rest of her writing holds, but even in these rougher patches, the strength of the characters and plot are more than enough to keep readers at the edge of their seats. Blood to Poison is both an excellent fantasy novel and meditation on women and their power.

 

Aoife Sheehan