WOVEN FROM CLAY

In Birch’s debut, a golem’s world is upended when she meets a witch.

Terra Slater is anticipating senior year—applying to college, making memories with friends—when her normal life suddenly takes an unexpected turn. At the Labor Day parade, she’s confronted by the mysterious Thorne Wilder, a rare new arrival in North Heights. Despite a rocky start, once Thorne reveals to Terra that she’s really a golem they form an unlikely alliance. Thorne is an apprentice witch who’s working for a coven that ensures that “magic is used honorably”—he’s on a mission to find and capture the notorious missing warlock Cyrus Quill, who perpetrated a crime generations ago. Terra knows Mr. Quill as the town’s adoption lawyer, but he actually created the golem teenagers who populate the small, bucolic town, all of whom were adopted. As Terra unravels her origin story, learning that she too has magical abilities, she must keep this history a secret until she accomplishes the one thing that will either save or destroy them all: assist Thorne in bringing Quill in, even if it means the end of Terra and the other golem teens. Romance, family, mystery, trust, and betrayal weave seamlessly throughout this highly imaginative story of survival and sacrifice, which has humanity at its thoughtful core. Most characters are cued white. Golems’ connection to Jewish folklore doesn’t arise in the book.

A creative exploration of a magical tapestry.