A Resistance of Witches

Ryan’s ambitious debut fantasy traverses WWII-era England, France, and Bavaria while juggling plotlines about the struggle against Hitler, mother-daughter drama, and a witch’s coming-of-age. Though Britain has previously brutally suppressed its population of witches, when Winston Churchill calls for them to join the war effort, determined young Lydia Park and her mentor, Isadora, Grand Mistress of the Royal Academy of Witches, respond. After an intruding Nazi witch slashes Isadora’s throat, a traumatized Lydia goes against the orders of the witches council to undertake a dangerous mission that could turn the tide of the war, traveling to France to find and destroy an ancient and powerful book of battle magic, the Grimorium Bellum. Along the way, she meets African American art historian Henry and Jewish Resistance fighter Rebecca, and together they battle a Nazi coven for the book. Gradually Lydia also comes to value her own mother, cherish her new friends, and recognize deceit in her mentors. Some loose narrative ends and a kitchen-sink approach to the magic system make the plot feel somewhat overcrowded. Still, Ryan keeps up a headlong pace and provides plenty of details for history buffs. This is a promising start. (July)