Review: The Nature of Witches by Rachel Griffin
“Being an Everwitch means two things: you are powerful, and you are dangerous.”
The Basics
Title: The Nature of Witches
Author: Rachel Griffin
Published: 1853
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire — Sourcebooks
Pages: 363
Format: Hardcover
Genres: Fiction — Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Young adult, Fantasy romance, Low fantasy, Young adult fantasy, Paranormal romance
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Book Synopsis
Climate change is upsetting nature’s balance and threatening witches’ hold on the natural world. Witches are dying of depletion as they attempt to control unseasonal weather with their ill-suited seasonal magic. Only one witch, Clara Densmore, has the power to prevent further death and deterioration of the environment. As an Everwitch, her power is not tied to any given season; she retains her full power throughout the year. Her power, however, comes at a steep cost – her Everwitch magic will seek out and kill anyone whom she loves. It is a curse that has already taken the lives of both of her parents, as well as her best friend. As a result of these losses, she has become wary of her magic and is hesitant to practice using it, but at the behest of her teachers, she agrees to study alongside Sang, a recent graduate and visiting researcher at her school. Clara soon begins to develop feelings for Sang, but she knows that no relationship can ever form between the two of them…unless she is willing to strip herself of her magic. Without her magic, she would no longer be a risk to Sang, but the loss of her power would be a fatal blow to the witches’ fight against climate change. A choice must be made: her happiness or her magic.
My Review & Overall Thoughts
TLDR: A witchy read with relevance to the present day through its overarching theme of climate change.
The Nature of Witches is neither fast paced nor action packed, but that is actually to the benefit of the story. By deprioritizing entertainment, the book is able to devote more time to developing its characters and magic system. The underlying theme of climate change is also allowed to take center stage, which ultimately, is what sets The Nature of Witches apart from other contemporary novels within its genre.
Earth’s climate and seasons are at the heart of this book. Magic is tied to the seasons, with each witch’s power coming to full strength during their birth season and diminishing throughout the rest of the year. Spring, summer, autumn, and winter witches have unique types of magic and are able to harness different elements of nature. Climate change, however, is threatening all of that. Erratic weather patterns, such as heat waves in the winter, are necessitating the use of off-season magic, which in turn, is causing those off-season witches to deplete their magic and die. Only Clara, an Everwitch whose magic is not tied to a single season, can fight back against the tolls of climate change, but to do so, she needs the help of not only other witches but also humans. This overarching theme of climate change and messaging around the need for togetherness in finding a way forward are this book’s greatest attributes. They make the story relevant to the present day, bringing our own climate crisis to mind while simultaneously providing us with the hope that we, like the characters in this book, can find a way to work together and prevent further climate degradation.
Another laudable aspect of this book is its characters. They are diverse with regard to both race and sexual identity. The protagonist, Clara, for instance is bisexual, and Sang, her tutor and love interest, is Korean American. The characters, particularly the secondary ones, are also well written. I do have some quibbles about Clara, but I will touch upon those later in the “not so good” section.
When it comes to Clara’s relationship with Sang, however, I have no complaints. Their relationship is quite sweet; I often found myself smiling while reading scenes featuring the two of them. They have a wonderful dynamic and bring out the best in one another. Moreover, their romance is well paced, with a slow buildup to when they get together.
With regard to the writing, it is engaging and appropriately paced. The use of the first person and present tense immerses you in the story, creating the illusion that you, not Clara, are the one experiencing all of the events. The story is fairly slow paced, but given the book’s focus on character development and its magic system, that is to be expected. What truly makes the writing shine, however, is Griffin’s prose. It is lyrical, emotional, and evocative.
The not so good
Clara’s refusal to learn how to control her magic is rather drawn out and tiresome. Also drawn out is her self-doubt regarding her magical abilities. It is not until quite late in the book that she finally embraces who she is and becomes confident in her magic. And then there is her desire to strip herself of all of her magic, in spite of the tremendous repercussions of such an action. Granted, this is a young adult novel, so I suppose some degree of stubbornness, selfishness, and self-doubt on the part of the protagonist is to be expected.
Overall
The Nature of Witches is a promising start to Griffin’s writing career, and I, for one, look forward to seeing what she comes up with next.
Have you read The Nature of Witches? If so, what did you think? Share your thoughts with me in the comments section below!
