But as Spider-Man would say, “with great powers come great responsibilities.” This is certainly true for the young protagonist of the book. Clara, as an Everwitch, is very powerful. The Nature of Witches tugs at your heartstrings in another, more personal way as well. And certainly, this is one of the main themes in Griffin’s book, and the heartbreaking description of how nature is just out of balance rings true beyond the written pages. How many of us wish we could have a magical solution to climate change and melting polar caps. The balance that is understood by witches in The Nature of Witches finds its broken echoes in the reality checks our planet keeps giving us. Even after a year of restrictions on traveling and movement of people, pollution levels remain high. To say that this reminded me of the abnormal heatwave in late October last year is not a stretch. Sudden spring tornadoes occur in the fall. Very similar to what happens on our planet, strange heatwaves appear in the middle of winter in The Nature of Witches. And in this world, as well as in ours, that limit has been reached. However, even with the Witches all around the world cautioning against challenging the limits of what nature can do, Shaders keep on building. The Shaders, or people born without magic, know that there is a balance with the earth that they should respect.

The Nature of Witches deals with climate change in a way that is very straightforward. When a new professor with his apprentice, Sang, moves to her Eastern magic school, Clara will have to face her deepest fears and her magic in a desperate attempt to fight against unnatural weather phenomena. But changing along with the seasons has an effect on Clara and her depth of feeling as well. In other words, Clara does not have to wait for the sun to shine on her during her season. While most witches have their powers tied to one specific season, Everwitches change along with them, maintaining their powers throughout the year. She is the first Everwitch in over a hundred years to be born. If you are looking for a modern tale of witches and climate change, that makes you laugh out loud and cry along with the protagonist, then this is the right book for you.Ĭlara Densmore is an Everwitch. I have to admit, Rachel Griffin did not disappoint. I wanted to fall in eyes wide open, and fall in love with its magical world.

When I first started reading The Nature of Witches I made sure to avoid any summaries or blurbs.

The nature of witches rachel griffin