Weather Witch

April 22, 2013
Delany’s fondness for inverted syntax, excessive capitalization, and gender-ambiguous names make the first couple chapters of this series opener slow-going. Eventually, however, a story emerges, and the stylistic mannerisms fade. Jordan Astraea, the youngest member of a powerful family in 19th-century Philadelphia, is turning 17—a crucial milestone because magical tendencies manifest by age 16, and magic is the worst form of disgrace in the New World. Fighting an ongoing war against the “wildkin”—merrows, pookas, kelpies, and the like—human society tolerates no magic in its ranks. The talented are Tested and Made, their energies drained to power the city. Denounced as a witch in the middle of her birthday party, torn from the arms of her lukewarm boyfriend, Rowen, and carried off by the antimagical agents of the state, Jordan is on her own, leaving her family ruined behind her. Steampunk, zombies, bastard children, licensed torture—the pace picks up as Delany (the 13 to Life series) crams a lot in, not always gracefully, and it’s left to later books to sort all the elements out. Ages 12–up. Agent: Richard Curtis, Richard Curtis Associates.

April 15, 2013
The lives of an accused Witch, her would-be suitor and the man seeking to develop her alleged magic all intersect in an alternate-history fantasy. Lady Jordan Astraea lives a life of luxury in the strict (yet woefully underdefined) class system of the New World of 1844. In this history, the colonists escaped the Old World for a land where magic is strictly outlawed. On the night of her high-society 17th birthday, Lady Jordan is victimized, accused of being a Weather Witch. The mystery behind Jordan's false accusation, obvious to readers, takes her the entire book to partially solve. Luckily, arresting Jordan means removing her from high society and the overly descriptive, lengthy sentences that aim to demonstrate rich decadence but end up clunky and baffling. Jordan is brought to the Maker, Bran Marshall, whose job is to torture witches. This somehow turns them into Conductors, an energy source used in place of electricity and steam power. Bran's storyline, involving a newly arrived illegitimate daughter, features another painfully predictable twist as he grapples with the nature of his work. The bright spot is Jordan's not-quite boyfriend, a witty lush who achieves heroism. The ending leaves almost all storylines open to set up for a sequel. The partially defined world has potential but not enough to overcome the plot contrivances. (Fantasy. 12-14)

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December 1, 2013

Gr 8 Up-Drama and intrigue abound, and this novel is built on an interesting concept, but, ultimately, Delany's steampunk fantasy misses the mark. Readers will likely be confused and frustrated by unexplained plot elements and terminology. In an alternate 1840s Philadelphia, Weather Witches control everything from the winds that power airships to the lights that illuminate homes. Yet magick is shunned by society. Seventeen-year-old Jordan Astraea's biggest worry used to be whether or not her beau, Rowen, would be a suitable match-but then she's accused of witchcraft. Despite professing her innocence, Jordan is stripped of her affluent rank and is imprisoned in a deplorable place where witches undergo torture to release their powers. The man who conducts much of the torment, Witch Maker Bran, has his own troubles: an illegitimate daughter to care for, an ominous prophecy uttered by a dying witch, and his own morality. Rowen travels to rescue his love, Jordan struggles to escape her predicament, and a rogue witch seeks vengeance. Several seemingly important ideas are inexplicably dropped soon after their introduction. The text feels weighted down by filler dialogue and overly lengthy descriptions of the setting. The numerous plots and subplots meander toward a predictable cliff-hanger, setting the stage for a sequel. Unfortunately, it's unlikely that average readers will have the patience to see this novel through to the end.-Alissa J. Bach, Oxford Public Library, MI

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2013
Grades 7-12 Jordan Astraea's seventeenth birthday party is going swimmingly until she's accused of being a weather witcha magical being captured and harnessed for power and shunned by high society. In Delany's (13 to Life, 2010) steampunk nineteenth-century Philadelphia, where crystals powered by weather witches fuel automatons, airships, and other clockwork devices, Jordan and her paramour, Rowen, struggle to rescue her from prison and discover who is framing her for weather witchery. Meanwhile, a handful of plots involving high-ranking families and the hypocrisy of banning magic jostle for attention. It's almost too much, but with an elaborate atmosphere full of mystical goings-on, chichi dresses, and romance, along with a headstrong heroine destined to bravely take the reins of her fate in her own hands, fantasy fans will find a lot to enjoy. Several plotlines lack development, and the cliff-hanger ending will frustrate some, but the promise of society intrigue and magical world building will entice others to settle in for what is sure to be an extended series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)