The Nature of Witches

February 1, 2021

Gr 8 Up-Clara is the first Everwitch in more than a century. With a drastically changing climate, the world relies on witches to correct extreme weather events wreaking havoc on the Earth. With more witches becoming depleted from having to use their magic during their off-seasons, everyone is relying on Clara, who is the only witch with the power of all four seasons. Much to her teachers' chagrin, she is afraid to fully tap into her power because of three separate accidents where her uncontrolled powers killed her parents, best friend, and teacher. With the stakes higher than ever, the school where she trains assigns Sang, a spring witch with a calming power, to train Clara to control her powers and help save the world. The intriguing premise is fresh and original, and the worldbuilding is vivid and charming. Each of the characters is flawed, well-defined, and at times predictable. The climax is somewhat bogged down by a romantic conflict that feels unnecessary, but overall offers a satisfying journey for readers. Clara's ethnicity isn't stated and Sang is Asian. VERDICT This standalone novel ties fantastical elements, LGBTQIA themes, and climate change together into one neat package that will leave readers satisfied.-Candyce Pruitt-Goddard, formerly at Sno-Isle Libraries, Marysville, WA

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2021
Grades 9-12 Clara, the first Everwitch in a century, should be the strongest of the witches in her class. Unfortunately, her power has burst out of her before, causing death and destruction to those she loves; every time Clara works magic, she can't help but remember how dangerous that power truly is. Her personality changes with the seasons, too, and she loses old versions of herself year by year, though she can't lose the memories of those who have died because of her. After her mentor dies, and volatile weather threatens the entire world, Clara plans her escape; an eclipse approaches, and she hopes to use it to strip herself of her powers. Until then, she's forced to work with a new tutor, and she fights both her developing feelings for him and the magic that wants to consume her. In her debut, Griffin ties the story of a witch learning her strength to the raw power of nature and places it in a world decimated by climate change. It's new, different, and well worth a read.

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May 1, 2021
Weather witches confront climate change in this fantasy. Clara Densmore is her generation's sole Everwitch and is unwilling to embrace her powers. Unlike the male and female autumn, winter, spring, and summer witches, whose powers peak during their respective seasons, Clara thrives year-round. At the Eastern School of Solar Magic in Pennsylvania, 17-year-old Clara shuns friendships and only does short-term flings, as her love can be lethal and has already killed her parents and best friend. Losing her powers seems like the selfless solution, but nonmagical shaders have pushed the planet too far with their environmental destruction. Seasonal witches are starting to die amid accelerated natural disasters--and only Clara can save the world. A budding romance with magical mentor/visiting botany student 18-year-old Sang Park from California helps Clara bloom. Redheaded, blue-eyed Clara is cued as White, and Sang is Korean American--but race, class, and other identity-related concerns are rarely a factor in this world. Debut author Griffin unfortunately fails to breathe new life into chosen one fantasy tropes--the obligatory villain, the unavoidable romance, the overly dramatic sacrifice--but excels at lush and lovely descriptions of nature and the weather and delivers a stern, if heavy-handed, message about environmental consequences of modern living. A slo-mo environmental disaster story. (Fantasy. 14-18)

COPYRIGHT(2021) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

May 24, 2021
An earnest, intimate slice-of-life senior year at a school for climate witches delicately maps a journey into self-acceptance. Until greed unbalanced the climate, weather witches regulated the Earth’s atmosphere, strengthening and weakening as their assigned seasons turned. Redheaded, blue-eyed orphan Clara Densmore, 17, is the first Everwitch—or wielder of all four seasons—in a century, and her northern Pennsylvania school’s hope for overcoming the climate crisis. But Clara’s uncontrolled magic has already killed her parents and her best friend, leaving her isolated, self-hating, and yearning for a life where her personality doesn’t change with the seasons. Her plans to destroy her magic go awry, however, when she meets her new tutor, Korean American botany student Sang Park. Finding an attraction that’s enduring and real, Clara searches for a way to grow into her magic on her own terms. Though plot logic and development take a backseat in this tropey, character-driven debut, Griffin’s emotional forthrightness makes this narrative accessible to younger YA readers, who will relish the sweet, supportive relationships tenderly interlacing with nature’s rhythms. Ages 14–up. Agent: Elana Roth Parker, Laura Dail Literary.