Thea feels like a big fat zero. In a family of magic-users, she, the seventh child of two seventh children, can do NO magic at all. Her aunt is deeply sympathetic. Her siblings are disbelieving, but it's her parents that are the worst -- they are deeply, deeply disappointed. Thea's been both pushed and protected all her life, and her only response to her failure is baffled rage. Because it's night right! It's not fair that she's a null -- it's not supposed to be that way!
Thea can't stand anymore to see the look in her father's eyes as he sees her magical homework. She's smart at school - writes great essays and does well, but none of that matters to her father, she's afraid. Her stupid brothers tease her about her inability to even light a candle with her power. Everyone expected such great things of her -- there were beings who wanted to buy part of her power before she even manifested.
But now the cameras have stopped rolling, and Thea has been sent away -- first to Cheveyo, a mage and teacher who may or may not be in the same time as Now, and to The Academy -- where children with no magic at all are sent.
But Thea is finding that what she thought was weakness may be strength.
Maybe it's just in choosing where you choose to display your power that counts.
A fantasy that intertwines many traditions and cultures, Worldweavers: Gift of the Unmage looks to be the first in a long line of fabulous novels that combine coming-of-age stories with stories of finding one's gifts and the power of self-esteem.
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