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helterskelliter 's review for:
Wild is the Witch
by Rachel Griffin
“‘You looked…free,’ he finally says. ‘Wild.’ He pauses, and his gaze falls to the ground. ‘Beautiful.’” (176)
Iris Gray has a secret that wasn’t always a secret.
She’s a witch.
And, she loves being a witch. Having a special connection to nature and animals through magic — she loves it. More than most things.
Or, at least she did. She did love it.
Then, her best friend Amy committed an unforgivable crime for a witch: she attempted to turn a human into a witch—a mage, really. And, he burned. As most humans do when you try to turn them. It’s why you’re not supposed to.
Amy was stripped of her magic and sent to prison for the human’s death.
Iris was there, when it happened. But, she couldn’t help. She wishes she could have, that things could have been different.
But, they aren’t.
Iris lost her best friend. Her mother and her had to move away, from their home. Her mother and father divorced. Iris caved in on herself. She lost her wonder. Lost her love for magic.
Now, working at her mother’s animal refuge, she is able to use her magic sparingly to help animals. It helps, Iris, to help. She’s making peace with what she can’t change.
But, when things get too overwhelming or frustrating, she has a ritual she does. Inherited from her grandmother. She gives the magic back to the earth. She casts spells into the dirt, releases the tension. It works. It helps. Usually.
But, that isn’t the case with Pike Alder.
The aspiring ornithologist works at the refuge as well. He’s fantastic, really, but so frustrating. And, he hates witches.
When he tells Iris he believes that Amy, who’s being released from prison soon, should’ve burned instead, Iris can’t let it go. At least, not without acknowledging it.
She casts a curse—meant to transform Pike into the one thing he hates most—and attempts to give it to the earth but, before it can be dispelled, an owl interferes.
The curse latches onto the owl—a sacred bird to witches. One that can amplify magic and spells.
A very bad bird to attach a potentially killer curse to.
Now, Iris must embark on a journey to capture that owl and unbind the curse from it before something, like the owl dying, happens and the curse gets unleashed on not just Pike but every town near the refuge in the Pacific Northwest. Thousands of people could burn.
Unfortunately, she can’t embark on this journey alone.
Even with her innate connection to nature, she’ll need help. Help from a frustrating ornithologist in training.
How far will Iris go to protect her secrets?
Further, what happens when loathing begins to look a lot less appealing than understanding and, perhaps, something more?
This is such a FANTASTIC book! I could not put it down!
From the very start, this book hooks you with such cruel and beautiful imagery. The descriptions of magic and how it connects all living things are so vivid and rich. The language of this story is so fulfilling.
More, I really found myself sucked into the relationship between our two main characters. While, ostensibly, this book is about magic and our connection to it, beneath that is a story about how we connect to each other. It is only when you know someone and are known by them that you can be loved—for wholly who you are. Anything else is lackluster; it’s not magic.
I found this story so very moving.
It’s horrible and brutal in its frank discussions on the ways in which magic can be used for selfish or malevolent means but it’s also so tender in demonstrating the ways in which love and care and affection can be their own kind of magic.
I highly recommend this book! I think it’s such a great read, especially for someone who loves a rich and robust magical story but not one that’s set in a high fantasy space. This book is so very human, for all its magic~
Iris Gray has a secret that wasn’t always a secret.
She’s a witch.
And, she loves being a witch. Having a special connection to nature and animals through magic — she loves it. More than most things.
Or, at least she did. She did love it.
Then, her best friend Amy committed an unforgivable crime for a witch: she attempted to turn a human into a witch—a mage, really. And, he burned. As most humans do when you try to turn them. It’s why you’re not supposed to.
Amy was stripped of her magic and sent to prison for the human’s death.
Iris was there, when it happened. But, she couldn’t help. She wishes she could have, that things could have been different.
But, they aren’t.
Iris lost her best friend. Her mother and her had to move away, from their home. Her mother and father divorced. Iris caved in on herself. She lost her wonder. Lost her love for magic.
Now, working at her mother’s animal refuge, she is able to use her magic sparingly to help animals. It helps, Iris, to help. She’s making peace with what she can’t change.
But, when things get too overwhelming or frustrating, she has a ritual she does. Inherited from her grandmother. She gives the magic back to the earth. She casts spells into the dirt, releases the tension. It works. It helps. Usually.
But, that isn’t the case with Pike Alder.
The aspiring ornithologist works at the refuge as well. He’s fantastic, really, but so frustrating. And, he hates witches.
When he tells Iris he believes that Amy, who’s being released from prison soon, should’ve burned instead, Iris can’t let it go. At least, not without acknowledging it.
She casts a curse—meant to transform Pike into the one thing he hates most—and attempts to give it to the earth but, before it can be dispelled, an owl interferes.
The curse latches onto the owl—a sacred bird to witches. One that can amplify magic and spells.
A very bad bird to attach a potentially killer curse to.
Now, Iris must embark on a journey to capture that owl and unbind the curse from it before something, like the owl dying, happens and the curse gets unleashed on not just Pike but every town near the refuge in the Pacific Northwest. Thousands of people could burn.
Unfortunately, she can’t embark on this journey alone.
Even with her innate connection to nature, she’ll need help. Help from a frustrating ornithologist in training.
How far will Iris go to protect her secrets?
Further, what happens when loathing begins to look a lot less appealing than understanding and, perhaps, something more?
This is such a FANTASTIC book! I could not put it down!
From the very start, this book hooks you with such cruel and beautiful imagery. The descriptions of magic and how it connects all living things are so vivid and rich. The language of this story is so fulfilling.
More, I really found myself sucked into the relationship between our two main characters. While, ostensibly, this book is about magic and our connection to it, beneath that is a story about how we connect to each other. It is only when you know someone and are known by them that you can be loved—for wholly who you are. Anything else is lackluster; it’s not magic.
I found this story so very moving.
It’s horrible and brutal in its frank discussions on the ways in which magic can be used for selfish or malevolent means but it’s also so tender in demonstrating the ways in which love and care and affection can be their own kind of magic.
I highly recommend this book! I think it’s such a great read, especially for someone who loves a rich and robust magical story but not one that’s set in a high fantasy space. This book is so very human, for all its magic~