The Scratch Daughters by H. A. Clarke

The Scratch Daughters is the sequel to The Scapegracers that I took my sweet time getting around to. This is less of a review and more of an addendum to August Clarke’s previous work, as everything that made the first book great is still here.

The prose remains as amazingly sickening as ever, and while it grapples with themes in a similar way to the first book, the themes it focuses on are different and provide new perspective on Sideways and the girls. It shifts and tightens its focus on gender, religion and forgiveness in a way that results in really satisfying payoffs as they weave constantly through the pages and intertwine with every character.

It also pays off things that I felt were left unfulfilled by The Scapegracers. I was delighted when it questions what ties these girls together beyond magic and reckons with the complicated, not-always-good people these girls can be. The honeymoon phase of their friendship is over, and Clarke uses this to demonstrate why they are all the more inseparable and makes you fall in love with them even more.

This is also one of those series where you can tell the author is figuring things out about themselves as they write, as the topic of gender becomes a lot more introspective and called into question throughout this entry. I had heard the second book gets more trans and gendery and the reports are true; as always with Scapegracers, it’s tackled in a delightfully fucky non-standard way.

I think I have to say I liked The Scratch Daughters even more than the first book. It does such a good job of expanding on themes, bringing in new ones and somehow finding time to tidy up rough edges as a cherry on top. I’m so excited to read the final book and the rest of Clarke’s works. Gods I cannot recommend this series enough.