Stormy Weather

STORMCASTER: WITCHING SEASON by Alyxandra Harvey. Walker/Bloomsbury, 2014.

The beginning of a new trilogy features a trio of cousins who are coming into their powers as witches, something none of them had quite expected. Emma finds the body of a dying witch. Suddenly the Greymalkin Sisters, a trio of warlocks, are also there, draining what little life remains from the witch. And now the battle is underway. The evil Greymalkin Sisters wreak havoc, Emma and her cousins Gretchen and Penelope must protect themselves and then there are the Keepers, a secret group who have an interest in Emma as well because of her ancestry. Romance, history (set in 19th century London), and fantasy combine for a novel many readers will love (and eagerly await the second installment).

Earwig and the witch

EARWIG AND THE WITCH by Diana Wynne Jones (Greenwillow 2012) gives readers a heroine who can stand up to all manner of beasts. Earwig has been happy growing up in the orphanage. When she is selected by a couple who want to adopt her, she is, quite frankly, disappointed to be leaving a place where she is firmly in charge. That is most certainly NOT the case with her new home at 13 Lime Avenue. Bella Yaga and the Mandrake are not really in the market for a child. Yaga wants a slave, and Mandrake just wants some peace and quiet. With the assistance of the witch's familiar, Earwig manages to wrest control and take back her life. <150>