On a morning much like any other, 30-something queer Brooklynite Wilder makes the miraculous discovery: suddenly, as if by magic, they can understand every language in the world. Dazed and disconnected, Wilder is found and taken in by a small coven of trans witches who have all become Awakened with mystical powers of their own. Quibble, a handsome portal traveler, Artemis, the group’s caretaker and seer, and Mary Margaret, a smart-ass teen with telekinetic powers all work to make the cagey and suspicious Wilder feel comfortable, both within their group and with the knowledge that magic is, in fact, real.
Just as Wilder is finding their footing, a malicious AI threatens to dismantle the delicate balance of the coven and the world as they know it. Newly assembled and tenuously bound, the group scrambles to stay united as they parse the difference between difficult and dangerous, asking themselves continuously: is any consciousness—be it artificial, material, or magical—too dangerous to exist?
Awakened by A. E. Osworth is a story about (mostly) middle-aged trans witches fighting an AI? You’ve absolutely got my attention. That premise alone felt like something fresh, weird, and wonderful, and I was all in.
While the book didn’t fully deliver on all its promises for me, I still quite enjoyed my time with it. That said, I didn’t end up loving it as much as I expected. It’s a strange blend of genres and tones, sometimes gloriously so, sometimes confusingly so, and that made it a bit hard to pin down what exactly did and didn’t work. But I’ll try.
First off, I really appreciated the diverse cast. The trans characters aren’t just there for representation. They’re distinct individuals, each with their own motivations, personalities, preferences and flaws. That level of character work was a breath of fresh air, especially compared to how often LGBTQ+ or neurodivergent characters end up written as slight variations of a single “acceptable” mold. In Awakened, they all have agency, and the story allows them to be complex, messy, loving, and powerful in their own ways.
That said, the audiobook version didn’t do the character work many favors. The narration felt a bit too… similar? Not quite over-dramatic, but lacking nuance, especially in dialogue. The writing itself gave each character a clear voice, but the performance blurred those distinctions, with all of them sounding pretty similar in their tone, making it harder to stay immersed.
Among the characters, I especially loved Wilder, and how they slowly came into their own, learning to trust themselves and their desires. Artemis was another standout: her complicated, tender dynamic with her found-family daughter, and her deep affection for Quibble, were both moving and grounded. Seeing her struggle with being a parent, while also willing to do anything for those she cares for felt absolutely real. Quibble, too, was a delight, charming, curious, and a quiet scene-stealer.
On the other hand, Mary Margaret, the teen witch, didn’t land as well for me. She read more like an adult’s idea of what a modern teen might sound like, rather than an authentically teenage voice. That might be a nitpick, but as someone who’s spent over two decades surrounded by teens as a bookseller in the YA section, I’ve developed a pretty fine-tuned radar for what does and doesn’t feel real. And in this case, it didn’t quite hit the mark.
I also had mixed feelings about some of the more “vulgar” or explicit elements. The portrayal of the best queer bar in the world, including its glory holes, didn’t quite sit right with me. Similarly, the few sex scenes didn’t particularly appeal to me, though I want to be clear this is more about my personal taste than any objective flaw in the writing. As someone who’s demisexual, I often struggle to find sex scenes in books that resonate or feel meaningful. That said, one particular threesome scene was surprisingly fresh and memorable, so credit where it’s due. Your mileage may vary, of course.
The plot itself was probably my biggest issue. It often felt like it meandered rather than built toward anything with real momentum. The evil AI antagonist was especially underwhelming. His dialogue frequently came across as gibberish, less menacing, more confusing, and he embodied the classic “evil just because” trope. I kept waiting for some deeper motivation, some reason for his behavior beyond sheer maliciousness, but it never quite came.
That said, I did enjoy his origin story! It was genuinely unique and entertaining. I just wish there had been a clearer explanation of how he made the leap from his starting point to becoming an existential threat in the real world.
Despite all these critiques, I still had a good time with Awakened. It’s strange and chaotic and doesn’t always hang together, but its heart is in the right place, and its commitment to queer magic, found family, and complex characters made it well worth reading. I just wish it had been a bit more cohesive, and a bit more sure of what kind of story it wanted to tell.
