Customer Reviews

Stormwitch

5 star:		(7)
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It's hard to find non-stereotypical stories with elements of fantasy that include strong African Americans. Ruba is wonderful, empowering character with great strength. Although the book is set in the South I appreciate the author's inclusion of Ruba's Dahomey tribal roots- that she is the last of the female warriors from a once fierce African tribe.

The text was easy to read, the story was exciting and the author doesn't tread tired old territory when including incidents of racism.

Finally, a fresh approach and an engaging story that allows my daughters to see girls like themselves in the spotlight! Stormwitch has been a good addition to our personal library. I highly recommend it.

This is not a fantasy containing the usual elements. Ruba's journey from Haiti to Mississippi is absorbing, her gradual mastery of her powers fascinating. The book touches on civil rights as well as magic, and the final confrontation in which Ruba is facing the violence of human beings and of the weather is extraordinary. Strongly recommended for reluctant readers of middle grade age, sure to appeal to every reader who likes fantasy and a sense of historical time and place, this is a must for all school library shelves.

I enjoyed this book very much. I love the way this author tells a story. I can feel the characters breathing as I read. Looking forward to more stories from Susan Vaught.

I read this book when it was nominated for a Norton award (given by the Science Ficiton and Fantasy Writers of America) three years ago. I loved the character and how she overcame the feelings of separation from her culture and the hurtful way she was treated because of her race. Many of the story's details--especially the dread of the approaching storm (Hurricane Camille) and her courage in facing it-- remain vivid in my memory years later.

Hurricane Katrina struck a year after this book was published. I'm sure it brought some comfort and hope to those young people who were feeling helpless in the aftermath of that devastating storm. And it is just as appropriate now for the survivors of Hurricane Ike. I recommend this book for anyone who has had to deal with natural disasters that tend to bring out the worst, but also the best, in people.

Marianne Dyson, member SFWA, children's author

Ruba lived in Haiti with her maternal grandmother, Ruba Cleo, who taught Ruba the traditions of the women warriors of Dahoney, Africa, from whom they are descended. But when Ruba Cleo dies battling a storm sent by the Stormwitch, Zashar, Ruba has to move to Mississippi to live with her paternal grandmother, Maizie Jones.

But the Mississippi of 1969 is a far different world than Haiti. It's an explosive world of civil rights and desegregation and the Ku Klux Klan. It's a world where a black person could be killed for crossing the wrong person. And Grandmother Jones is very different from Ruba Cleo, or at least she seems so at first. She wants Ruba to become a good Christian and to give up the "witchcraft" she learned from Ruba Cleo. She also wants Ruba to keep her head down and say "Yes, ma'am" or "Yes, sir" when talking to a white person. But Ruba, a descendent of proud African warriors, can't do either, as much as she wants to please Grandmother Jones. Soon, Ruba finds herself fighting evil on two fronts, as she runs afoul of the local Klan wizard, just as the Stormwitch approaches with the most powerful storm that Ruba has ever known.

A powerful story told in an accessible way, Stormwitch brings to life both the devastation of Hurricane Camille and the horrors of segregation. It has elements of both fantasy and historical fiction. It's a stroke of brilliance to show a segregated Mississippi through the eyes of a strong black female, who not only grew up away from the culture of segregation and discrimination, but who has the pride that comes from knowing that she is descended from a long line of female warriors. The contrast makes the horror of being a black person in segregated Mississippi that much more real. And through Ruba's grandmother and friends, we also see the perspective of the people who did grow up there, people who are trying to change things in their own way.

In the wake of last year's Hurricane Katrina, the story of another hurricane that devastated the Gulf coast is so much more meaningful than the author could have envisioned when she wrote this book.

Being from the South, this is a perfect book. A great blend of culture, history, and family. I loved the way it was written and look forward to the new book by Susan Vaught.

It's not often you find a gem of a book like STORMWITCH. It is a fabulous mixture of magic and historical fact. From the first time I picked this story up, it was a book that I could not put down. I highly recommend STORMWITCH to all readers, whether you like fantasy, action/adventure, history, or just an incredible read that you can't walk away from.