The Nature of Witches

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. [em]Agent: Elana Roth Parker, Laura Dail Literary. (June) [/em]