The Chronicles of Whetherwhy: The Age of Enchantment by Anna James

Title: The Chronicles of Whetherwhy: The Age of Enchantment

Author: Anna James

Genre: Fantasy

Publisher: HarperCollins Australia

Published: 4^th September 2024

Format: Paperback

Pages: 384

Price: $29.99

Synopsis:  First in a brand-new fantasy series from acclaimed author Anna James, filled with seasonal magic and irresistible adventure
‘A magical world full of wonder!’ Katie Tsang

‘A triumph of imagination and storytelling’ A. F. Steadman

‘Crackling with enchanting magic’ Kieran Larwood

In Whetherwhy, everyone has magic inside them – grown from the changing seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter. But a rare few are Enchanters: people born with magic in their bones, who can wield all four seasons of magic.

When Juniper discovers she is an Enchanter, she is invited to study at Thistledown Academy. Unwilling to be left behind, her twin brother, Rafferty, follows her to the capital city of Stormgrove and takes up an apprenticeship at a bookbindery.

As Juniper learns to wield enchantment, Rafferty becomes involved with a mysterious secret society that meets after dark. Monsters are creeping out of the shadows and dangers lurk in unexpected places. Amid night markets and magic lessons, the twins realise there is more to enchantment than they ever imagined – and the adventure that follows brings their paths together again in ways they could never have expected …

~*~

Welcome to Whetherwhy, a place where everyone has magic inside them linked to the seasons – spring, summer, autumn and winter. Everyone is more in tune with a specific season. Except for Enchanters. Enchanters are rare in Whetherwhy, and they’re the people who can wield the magic of all four seasons, because magic lives within their bones.

Meet Juniper Quinn. On her thirteenth Spring Ember day, she heads to Honeyvale Town Hall with her twin brother Rafferty for the test that shows them what magic they wield. Yet, when Juniper’s test reveals that she is an Enchanter, she’s invited to study for three years at Thistledown Academy in Stormgrove. Her twin, Rafferty, doesn’t want to be left behind, so he follows her. What the twins don’t realise is that this will kick off a series of events that will bring monsters out of the darkness, and thrust Juniper into danger.

At first, their paths are separate. Juniper is at Thistledown, where she has become friends with Olivor and Zinnia following an attack that drained her of her magic – and this begins the mystery that threads through the novel. As Juniper delves into the world of Knots and Threads, and what it means to be an Enchanter, Rafferty takes a job at the Aufero Bookbinder. He meets Jessy, the ward of the owners, Larkspur and Laurel. At first, these two stories seem like they could be separate in some ways. But there are secrets in Stormgrove. Rumblings of rebellion and dissension that highlight a darker side to the story. And a war that could see two siblings on opposing sides.

Juniper has come from the quiet Honeyvale, where she worked in her parents’ bookbindery to a place of magic and wonder, where she’s finding her place. It’s a great opening to the series from Anna James. Anna is known for her Pages and Co series, and much like that series, books and words have a special place in this series. Bookbinding is powerful, and there’s a sense that some books have a special power that some people want to take advantage of. Or possibly destroy and use for their own nefarious means. This book kicks off a new series set in a Victorian-esque fantasy world that highlights community, division, and magic, and what it means for the people in Whetherwhy.

I was drawn to this book in part because I had followed Anna James since the first Pages and Co came out, and also because this had such a fantastic premise, that I wanted to see how it played out. I was not disappointed, because it delivered everything I expected in this spectacular new middle grade fantasy series. Like all good first books in a series, it introduces us to the characters, sets the scene, and gives us a resolution to one aspect, but at the same time, dangles something before us. It is the interludes where a grandfather is telling the story to his grandchildren that hint at something more going on. This allows the story to hold back where it needs to, because as a series, it has to save some things for subsequent books. In resolving one mystery that came into the story in Stormgrove, it allowed readers to be reassured that there were going to be things we could count on. There are characters we can trust like Juniper and her friends, and characters we might be unsure about. We’re allowed to question everyone in this series, because it feels like the kind of series where you’re not always sure who to trust.

It is a world populated with magic and characters who have sinister motives that swirl around the story. Jessy is another character who I feel will become important later on. She drives the secondary story with Rafferty. Anna has also cleverly worked with the trope that disposes of the parents in children’s books whilst still having adults around at the school and bookbindery in Stormgrove. It shows that these child characters can still do what they need to do, because often the adults are more background or secondary characters who come into play when they need to be there. It strengthens the novel, and shows that the story works well, bringing all the threads of the plot together whilst setting up effectively for the next book in the series.

This is a brilliant and exquisite return for Anna. It shows that she has a fabulous imagination that explores the world of books and magic in many ways. Books are at the centre of both series. In this series, they hold the history of Whetherwhy and its secrets that I feel are going to be what drives this series. It will reveal the power of words and what they mean, and how we wield them. Because education is shown to be special and powerful in this world. Rafferty’s time at the new bookbindery is sure to be interesting as the series explores how he has been drawn into a different world to his sister, and what it means for their future. And indeed, the future of Whetherwhy.