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Storm Witch #1
Storm Witch
Child of Air, Water, Earth or Fire: now that she is thirteen Storm must undertake the Choosing and be claimed by one of the Elementals, which will determine her whole life’s work. But for Storm, daughter of a father murdered by Water and a warrior mother claimed by Earth, there will be no easy destiny.
The Elementals bestow her with a great and terrible gift. Storm-bringer. Storm-rider. Storm-queller. Storm has powers that no one, not even the island Elders, can understand. And when the Drowned Ones – a savage band of pirates who roam the seas on floating towns – attack her island, will her powers help her to save the people she loves, or is her fate to betray everything she holds dear? Soon Storm faces a decision which will change her life – and that of everyone who lives on her island – forever.
A powerful new fantasy series from Ellen Renner, prize-winning author of Tribute and Castle of Shadows.
The Elementals bestow her with a great and terrible gift. Storm-bringer. Storm-rider. Storm-queller. Storm has powers that no one, not even the island Elders, can understand. And when the Drowned Ones – a savage band of pirates who roam the seas on floating towns – attack her island, will her powers help her to save the people she loves, or is her fate to betray everything she holds dear? Soon Storm faces a decision which will change her life – and that of everyone who lives on her island – forever.
A powerful new fantasy series from Ellen Renner, prize-winning author of Tribute and Castle of Shadows.
256 pages, Paperback
First published September 6, 2018
6 people are currently reading
161 people want to read
About the author
Ellen Renner
7 books31 followersEllen Renner was born in the USA, but came to England in her twenties, married here, and now lives in an old house in Devon with her husband and son. Ellen originally trained as a painter and surrounds herself with sketches of her characters as she writes. She spins wool as well as stories, knitting and weaving when time allows. She plays the violin, fences (badly!) and collects teapots and motorcycles.
Her first book, CASTLE OF SHADOWS, won the Cornerstones Wow Factor Competition, the 2010 North East Book Award and was chosen for both THE INDEPENDENT and THE TIMES summer reading lists and, along with the sequel CITY OF THIEVES, was included on THE TIMES list of best children's books of 2010. TRIBUTE is the first in a YA fantasy series.
Her first book, CASTLE OF SHADOWS, won the Cornerstones Wow Factor Competition, the 2010 North East Book Award and was chosen for both THE INDEPENDENT and THE TIMES summer reading lists and, along with the sequel CITY OF THIEVES, was included on THE TIMES list of best children's books of 2010. TRIBUTE is the first in a YA fantasy series.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
March 8, 2021
Earth, Wind, Fire and Water. The Elementals. At 13 you must be claimed by one of them, it deciding your entire life. But it's different for Storm. Father killed by Water and a hard-headed mother claimed by Earth, the elementals bestowed on her a very different gift.
She is gifted with the power to either break the storm or to make it madder. She had a great but scary gift that not even the island elders understand.
She is gifted with the power to either break the storm or to make it madder. She had a great but scary gift that not even the island elders understand.
September 26, 2018
When I received the proof copy of Storm Witch I knew from the start that this was to be the kind of book I would enjoy reading. The blurb promised fantasy and powerful magic as well as themes of identity and acceptance, not to mention vengeful pirates and floating islands! Storm Witch is the first in a new series from Ellen Renner and to my delight it met my hopeful expectations and turned out to be even more thrilling than I'd imagined.
13-year-old Storm and her peers are about to undertake The Choosing; an important ceremony that will determine the course of the rest of their lives by seeing them claimed by one the four Elementals of Air, Water, Earth or Fire. In Storm’s self-sufficient island community, modern technology is non-existent and each person contributes to the community through his or her manual work, such as growing food, firing pots or weaving clothing. The Elemental to which each young person belongs sets the path for the type of apprenticeship and work they will go on to receive.
In a highly unusual course of events, Storm is claimed by not one but three Elementals, revealing to the village Elders that she has the powers of a witch. Nobody is able to understand Storm’s powers but when the Drowned Ones attack the community, Storm soon faces important decisions about how to harness her powers and do what is right in the face of adversity.
The world-building in this story is wonderful and evocative, with the fantasy elements seamlessly woven into an almost-recognisable community setting. What I enjoyed the most was the carefully drawn tension between the island community (governed by classification of people and identity) and the authenticity of the characters that naturally evade obvious categories. Not only does Storm fail to fit into a single Elemental category, she also has to navigate the islanders’ approach to gender roles and their ideas about how to deal with human enemies. Throughout the story, the traditional attitudes of the Elders – with their years of wisdom and experience of keeping the island safe - are at odds with the new mindset represented by Storm and there are no easy solutions by the end about which approach will triumph. I am looking forward to seeing how this aspect develops in the rest of the series.
A thrilling and powerful read full of danger and magic, I’m highly recommending this for Upper KS2.
Many thanks to the publisher for kindly sending me a review copy of this book and for inviting me to be part of the blog tour.
13-year-old Storm and her peers are about to undertake The Choosing; an important ceremony that will determine the course of the rest of their lives by seeing them claimed by one the four Elementals of Air, Water, Earth or Fire. In Storm’s self-sufficient island community, modern technology is non-existent and each person contributes to the community through his or her manual work, such as growing food, firing pots or weaving clothing. The Elemental to which each young person belongs sets the path for the type of apprenticeship and work they will go on to receive.
In a highly unusual course of events, Storm is claimed by not one but three Elementals, revealing to the village Elders that she has the powers of a witch. Nobody is able to understand Storm’s powers but when the Drowned Ones attack the community, Storm soon faces important decisions about how to harness her powers and do what is right in the face of adversity.
The world-building in this story is wonderful and evocative, with the fantasy elements seamlessly woven into an almost-recognisable community setting. What I enjoyed the most was the carefully drawn tension between the island community (governed by classification of people and identity) and the authenticity of the characters that naturally evade obvious categories. Not only does Storm fail to fit into a single Elemental category, she also has to navigate the islanders’ approach to gender roles and their ideas about how to deal with human enemies. Throughout the story, the traditional attitudes of the Elders – with their years of wisdom and experience of keeping the island safe - are at odds with the new mindset represented by Storm and there are no easy solutions by the end about which approach will triumph. I am looking forward to seeing how this aspect develops in the rest of the series.
A thrilling and powerful read full of danger and magic, I’m highly recommending this for Upper KS2.
Many thanks to the publisher for kindly sending me a review copy of this book and for inviting me to be part of the blog tour.
May 13, 2018
A very solid 4.5 stars and a great beginning to a new series. Looking forward to the rest in the series!
August 15, 2018
Storm’s story is brilliantly told and I am very curious about what’s to come. This is perfect for Y5+! Danger, magic and acceptance are encapsulated in this story, with a dash of the importance of being kind. I loved the sense of community life on the island and Storm’s kind, if not a bit stubborn, nature!
January 5, 2019
It is the time of The Choosing, the rite of passage ceremony where all of the island’s 13 year olds are chosen by one of the four Elementals - Earth, Air, Fire and Water. Most people are chosen by one Elemental, but Storm is afraid that she may not be chosen at all.
Storm has always been different: she has a boy's name, and she doesn’t know why; she has a fear of the ocean (not good for seafaring island folk) since losing her father to it; and her family seems to be cursed. However, at The Choosing she is selected by not one but three Elementals, while the fourth tries to kill her. The Elementals also bestow great power on her, more power than the village Elders have seen in generations - a power she could use to protect her people from the Drowned Ones, an invading hoard of pirates on their floating towns.
But after an unexpected discovery, Storm must make a difficult decision that could have dire consequences for everyone on the island.
Storm Witch, the first book in a new coming-of-age fantasy series, is an enjoyable adventure story, full of magic, tension and heart. The world building is fantastic: the island’s culture feels real and lived-in, the religion and customs shaped by the land- and seascape. The book deals with issues such as bullying, loyalty, marginalisation, loss and xenophobia, from the perspective a young protagonist who is afraid of her own strength. I really liked the ambiguous morality in the book - The Drowned Ones, for example, could so easily have just been written as evil invaders, but are instead presented with surprising nuance.
This book felt like the start of a story, rather than being a complete tale in and of itself. It sets up the rest of the series nicely, and I look forward to seeing where the writer takes us in the next instalment!
I would not hesitate to recommend this to fans of fantasy adventures, but also to students who enjoy reading seafaring tales and battles. It would be a great resource to teach world building to budding creative writers.
Storm has always been different: she has a boy's name, and she doesn’t know why; she has a fear of the ocean (not good for seafaring island folk) since losing her father to it; and her family seems to be cursed. However, at The Choosing she is selected by not one but three Elementals, while the fourth tries to kill her. The Elementals also bestow great power on her, more power than the village Elders have seen in generations - a power she could use to protect her people from the Drowned Ones, an invading hoard of pirates on their floating towns.
But after an unexpected discovery, Storm must make a difficult decision that could have dire consequences for everyone on the island.
Storm Witch, the first book in a new coming-of-age fantasy series, is an enjoyable adventure story, full of magic, tension and heart. The world building is fantastic: the island’s culture feels real and lived-in, the religion and customs shaped by the land- and seascape. The book deals with issues such as bullying, loyalty, marginalisation, loss and xenophobia, from the perspective a young protagonist who is afraid of her own strength. I really liked the ambiguous morality in the book - The Drowned Ones, for example, could so easily have just been written as evil invaders, but are instead presented with surprising nuance.
This book felt like the start of a story, rather than being a complete tale in and of itself. It sets up the rest of the series nicely, and I look forward to seeing where the writer takes us in the next instalment!
I would not hesitate to recommend this to fans of fantasy adventures, but also to students who enjoy reading seafaring tales and battles. It would be a great resource to teach world building to budding creative writers.
November 10, 2018
This is the story of Storm, a girl who lives on the fictional island of Yanlin, as she undertakes her Choosing ceremony (a custom of her world, in which one of the four elementals chooses you) and has to negotiate the way in which her life is turned up upside down when three of them claim her, and the fourth does something very unexpected. The world of Yanlin is so well rendered, and I loved all of the customs and traditions that are introduced; the worldbuilding is absolutely phenomenal, especially the Elementals (who of course represent Air, Water, Fire and Earth) and the idea of the choosing ceremony. I also loved Storm herself, especially the way in which she learns to embrace her power and is so strong in the wake of everything she has been through prior to us meeting her and is going through during the book, and that she challenges the ideas of the island elders she disagrees with in her narrative. The book is incredibly gripping and entertaining throughout, with so many exciting events and reveals that kept me hooked, but the climax was beyond thrilling and the reveal about a certain character was amazing; I was kicking myself for being too trusting of them! I`m not sure when sequel Under Earth (I`ve totally not been googling every day…) is out, but I can`t wait to read it whenever it is. 5/5
November 16, 2018
So it's official. I am now too old to read certain middle grade books. but I have a plan to get all the books off my to-read list, so here we go.
I used to rate books rather on instinct, but I really don't think this book deserves a three. At all. For one thing, I finished it WITHOUT SKIMMING. And if I had been younger? I probably would have loved it. The world was cool enough. Storm and Minnow were cute. But...there's some deaths, and I just felt they weren't done very well, couldn't help but wonder if they were truly adding to the story in any way, if the story, and future stories, couldn't have been stronger without them. The author already engaged in breaking one crazy common story element . So I just felt it was very little use to . But yeah. Good book, I'm just really not the audience anymore :)
I used to rate books rather on instinct, but I really don't think this book deserves a three. At all. For one thing, I finished it WITHOUT SKIMMING. And if I had been younger? I probably would have loved it. The world was cool enough. Storm and Minnow were cute. But...there's some deaths, and I just felt they weren't done very well, couldn't help but wonder if they were truly adding to the story in any way, if the story, and future stories, couldn't have been stronger without them. The author already engaged in breaking one crazy common story element . So I just felt it was very little use to . But yeah. Good book, I'm just really not the audience anymore :)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 10, 2018
Well, there are some stories that appeal and some that just don't quite. This appealed to me. A fantasy adventure that maintained the 'threat' and had me caring about the characters from the opening action scene to the climactic end. Very nicely, written. Good characterisation, cracking pace and very well plotted. Ellen Renner is a skilled writer of action scenes - not easy. Literary angsty young teen decision-making - noooooo! Always guaranteed to make any situation much worse. But, my favourite, grey moral areas (not everything is black and white). There can be dreadful consequences from the most caring, kind and reasonable courses of action chosen. Looking forward to the next instalment. Recommended.
March 6, 2022
I read this book for the first time a few years ago and pretty much forgot all about it, but then I saw it again in the library and I was like 'oh I know that book'. So I borrowed it. And read it. And it's pretty good.
November 2, 2018
4star read it was a bit slow at the start but then I started to enjoy it. My 7yr old daughter is now reading it.
November 27, 2018
A very nice Middle Grade book though not without minuses. I would like to read the next one, and to learn more about Nim who looked like an interesting character with difficult background.
September 26, 2019
Re-read this before giving to Heather and actually really enjoyed it. So much that I xant wait to get my hands on the next one!
December 5, 2021
the only fantasy book I've actually enjoyed (I think)
January 28, 2023
Great book for what it is intended
September 20, 2024
It was a great book with a nice world and a nice ending 𓆉𓆈𓅮
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews