Rachel Griffin

Rating: Only OK (but I still recommend it to YA readers, see why below)
Spice Level: None (YA)

Iris: a witch with connections to animals and a lot of past baggage & trauma that causes her to mistrust people and hide her witch identity.

Pike: the intern at Iris & her mom’s wildlife refuge who constantly gets under her skin… and who hates witches.

One day Iris casts a curse on Pike to turn him into the thing he hates most: a witch. The curse was never supposed to go anywhere… but show more something goes wrong and now Iris and Pike end up on a mission to track and save a hurt owl… without Pike knowing the curse against him is inside said owl.

The good: the long road for Iris to learn the hard way just how bad the consequences for her actions can be. While she makes a lot of mistakes, tells a lot of lies, and breaks a lot of trust, Iris really goes on a journey of learning to take responsibility for and to put much more thought into her decisions. Especially ones about magic, because those ones can be especially dangerous. It’s an important character arc from a very imperfect FMC that will teach a lot of YA readers about growth and hopefully themselves.

The bad: this all starts and ends up spiraling WILDLY out of control because Iris decides to curse someone in the first place (even without intention to cast it). And then once it goes wrong… she doubles down by not telling anyone about it and lying. This whole decision was so antithetical to the entire ethos of the magical / witch system in this world. One of balance and connection to nature and other beings. To do something so malicious is not ok and very much devoid of the beautiful aspects of magic described throughout the book. This overall plot point and just how long the lies about it lasted really bothered me and made me question the validity of the fmc’s eventual redemption arc.

The thought provoking: this story really makes the reader question what it means to take responsibility for your actions. What parts guilt and consequences and forgiveness all play. Iris had to learn the very hard way just how dangerous her choices were and through experiencing the resulting consequences, she was able to gain some leniency and forgiveness. I was left wondering if her consequences were actually severe enough compared to her actions, but pondering that is what makes this a great YA read for younger folks to encourage that kind of personal internal debate. show less

I enjoyed this book because it made you think without knowing you were thinking.

The theme of climate change is very poignant and I think this book tackled it in an interesting way.
I also feel that being an ‘Ever’ witch and having moods that change with the season is very similar to having Seasonal Affective Disorder and that the moods of the seasons were written beautifully.

I seriously questioned the weight of ‘doing the right thing,’ in a dilemma, and couldn’t decide how I felt show more about our protagonist Clara when she wanted to strip herself of her powers, despite the witches she could save by retaining it. I felt torn. Why should she personally have to live a life in isolation for the sake of others? Why should anyone have to die so that she may experience love? Can anyone honestly say they’d save themselves over saving many? On the contrary, can anyone honestly say they’d save many over themselves? (I wasn’t lying when I said this book made you think).

The book wasn’t plot heavy. The progression of the story was measured by the improvement of Clara’s magic for the first 80%. I feel a little more plot would of made this is a higher star rated book for me. Chapters 16 & 17 specifically perplexed me! I felt they were inconsequential and problematic.

Having said that, I love the quotes at the beginning of every chapter. I especially love that they come from “A Season for Everything.” (If you know, you know) Enjoyable read.

Thank you for my copy of the ARC. show less

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

This is a coming of age story about a young witch, the most powerful in a generation, who is able to channel the magic of all four seasons while regular witches can only channel one. Normal witches help to control the weather and climate, but with her gifts, Clara is expected to help save a planet currently being poisoned by the actions of polluting humans who aren’t taking responsibility for their negative choices.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Burdened by heavy show more expectations and haunted by her past mistakes and losses, Clara is living every day afraid of what her magic can do. If she dares to get close to anyone, learns to love them, her magic can follow that love connection and hurt them. So she lives in isolation, accepting that as her only choice.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
After the death of her favorite teacher, he is replaced by a truly awful man that luckily comes with a much nicer “grad student” that takes over Clara’s training, Sang. Through working together, Clara learns more about her powers and starts to gain some control, but her growing connection to Sang puts him increasingly in danger. Is their bond worth the risk?
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
This story explores what it means to put so much expectation and burden onto a young person… without giving them a support system. Clara has to make extremely hard choices about her life and her powers over and over again, for fear of literally losing those she dares to love. But some of her teachers are only interested in what her powers can do for the world, not caring what it might cost her. Sang’s mentor, Mr. Burrows, is the worst of these, putting her through tests that are dangerous and abusive, just to make her prove herself. Seeing Clara learn to navigate these challenges while maintaining any sense of hope was at times difficult but also inspiring. Let Clara be a reminder to choose love above all else…and to never let the abusive dickheads win. show less

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

This is a coming of age story about a young witch, the most powerful in a generation, who is able to channel the magic of all four seasons while regular witches can only channel one. Normal witches help to control the weather and climate, but with her gifts, Clara is expected to help save a planet currently being poisoned by the actions of polluting humans who aren’t taking responsibility for their negative choices.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Burdened by heavy show more expectations and haunted by her past mistakes and losses, Clara is living every day afraid of what her magic can do. If she dares to get close to anyone, learns to love them, her magic can follow that love connection and hurt them. So she lives in isolation, accepting that as her only choice.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
After the death of her favorite teacher, he is replaced by a truly awful man that luckily comes with a much nicer “grad student” that takes over Clara’s training, Sang. Through working together, Clara learns more about her powers and starts to gain some control, but her growing connection to Sang puts him increasingly in danger. Is their bond worth the risk?
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
This story explores what it means to put so much expectation and burden onto a young person… without giving them a support system. Clara has to make extremely hard choices about her life and her powers over and over again, for fear of literally losing those she dares to love. But some of her teachers are only interested in what her powers can do for the world, not caring what it might cost her. Sang’s mentor, Mr. Burrows, is the worst of these, putting her through tests that are dangerous and abusive, just to make her prove herself. Seeing Clara learn to navigate these challenges while maintaining any sense of hope was at times difficult but also inspiring. Let Clara be a reminder to choose love above all else…and to never let the abusive dickheads win. show less