This was handled…reasonably well though I am not from any of the cultures mentioned so I suppose I am not fit to comment on whether it was a sensitive handling of their beliefs or not. What she really succeeds at doing is bringing magic into the equation, though there is not one kind of magic it would seem to be based in cultural forms, by which I mean certain cultures have certain types of magic.

Reading Kulpar’s notes at the end of the book it’s clear she did her research into both the relationship humanity has forged between the sea and magic as well as the practice of whaling and it’s decline in the 19th century.

I thought that the setting for this book, an island off the coast of America that serves as a stopping place for whaling ships, was really fascinating. And as she falls in love with Tane, she learns it is his life and hers that hang in the balance. Becoming a witch may prevent her murder and save her island from ruin, but Avery discovers it will also require a sacrifice she never expected. Time is running short, both for her and for the people of her island who need the witches’ help to thrive.Īvery has never read a dream that hasn’t come true, but a tattooed harpoon boy named Tane tells her he can help her change her fate. The one magical remnant left to Avery is the ability to read dreams, and one night she foresees her own murder. Avery must escape before her grandmother dies, taking with her the secrets of the Roe’s power. But before she could learn how to control her power, her mother – the first Roe woman in centuries to turn her back on magic – steals Avery away from her grandmother. Sixteen-year-old Avery Roe wants only to take her rightful place as the sea witch of Prince Island, making the charms that keep the island’s whalers safe and prosperous at sea. I picked this book up on a whim in my local library (where else can one find an obscure collection of genres poorly organised in which you can barely find anything you want to read?) and thought I would share my feelings about it with you all, since I quite enjoyed reading it and who knows? Maybe you will too!

Salt & Storm by Kendall Kulper