Wild Is the Witch - by Rachel Griffin

Book Synopsis

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Nature of Witches, comes another high-stakes contemporary fantasy. When eighteen-year-old witch Iris Gray accidentally enacts a curse that could have dire consequences, she must team up with a boy who hates witches to make sure her magic isn't unleashed on the world.

Iris Gray knows witches aren't welcome in most towns. When she was forced to leave her last home, she left behind a father who was no longer willing to start over. And while the Witches' Council was lenient in their punishment, Iris knows they're keeping tabs on her. Now settled in Washington, Iris never lets anyone see who she really is; instead, she vents her frustrations by writing curses she never intends to cast. Otherwise, she spends her days at the wildlife refuge which would be the perfect job if not for Pike Alder, the witch-hating aspiring ornithologist who interns with them.

Iris concocts the perfect curse for Pike: one that will turn him into a witch. But just as she's about to dispel it, a bird swoops down and steals the curse before flying away. If the bird dies, the curse will be unleashed--and the bird is a powerful amplifier, and unleashing the curse would turn not just Pike, but everyone in the region, into a witch.

New witches have no idea how to control their magic and the consequences would be dire. And the Witches' Council does not look kindly on multiple offenses; if they found out, Iris could be stripped of her magic for good. Iris begs Pike to help her track the bird, and they set out on a trek through the Pacific Northwest looking for a single bird that could destroy everything.

Review Quotes

A contemporary fantasy brimming with tremendous empathy for the natural world and all its creatures. The moody Pacific Northwest is the perfect setting for this book, a romantic adventure mixed with some of the cleverest magic I've read in a long time. Iris, Pike, and MacGuffin the owl stole my heart--I loved getting lost in the woods with them. -- Rachel Lynn Solomon, author of Today Tonight Tomorrow and See You Yesterday

Rachel Griffin is, without a doubt, one of YA's greatest new auto-buy authors. Wild is the Witch is a deeply atmospheric and emotionally raw story about forgiveness, vulnerability, and learning to move forward through pain. Griffin's books feel like slipping on a cozy sweater and settling in to enjoy a cup of tea on a foggy day. Even the darkest and most vulnerable scenes are filled with a profound sense of hopefulness that has become such an intricate part of the author's brand. Everyone should add this to their TBR, stat.

A strikingly tender enemies-to-lovers romance told in the cozy love language of warm fires, s'mores and small acts of kindness, juxtaposed with wild magic and a treacherous hunt through the ethereal woods of the Pacific Northwest. I devoured every word of this rich and emotive novel. -- Julia Ember, author of Ruinsong and The Seafarer's Kiss duology