Woven From Clay was really just okay. The premise had potential, and I was hoping for a story that would dig a little deeper or offer more emotional weight. Unfortunately, the writing was quite simple, and the plot never really took off in a meaningful way.

The characters and world felt underdeveloped, and what could have been a much more dynamic, layered story ended up falling flat. There weren’t any major flaws, but nothing truly stood out either—it just sort of coasted along without making much of an impact.

Overall, it’s a quick, easy read, but don’t expect anything particularly memorable or moving. A decent pick if you're looking for something light, but not one that left a lasting impression.

I liked this but didn't love it? I was very intrigued in the beginning - such a cool premise and I liked how the plot was unfolding. The pace dropped off for me though after ~30% and I had a really hard time staying engaged. I did like the ending but at that point, I was just no longer invested in the story like I wanted to be.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Net Galley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed this audio book. I thought the concept was interesting and fully developed. I liked that it was a stand alone story but has the possibility of continuing the story. I thought the story was fun with the rivalry between the schools. I liked the friendships in the story too. I will be purchasing it for our high school library. I would give i 3.5 stars.

I think the narrator did a fantastic job.

Curious about the concept of a girl in the modern day being a golem and having to fight for her life (literally), I picked up Woven From Clay on the premise alone. After a slow start, this standalone story surprised me in a good way with the themes, characters, and world.

The first few chapters of the book was rather slow and I struggled to engage, mostly as it fell into the “oblivious teen with powers has to be told what magical things are happening” cliche that a lot of teen contemporary fantasy stories tend to start with. While it does establish Terra’s normal as she’s going through senior year, it felt like it took a while for the story to actually get started. After Terra’s true nature is revealed, the pacing picked up with lots of tension and we’re not stuck on a single plot point before there’s a change, with a powerful climax and satisfying ending.

Terra was a great protagonist. It’s clear that she cares for others around her and after being told the truth about her origins, she’s being an even more caring and kind person. She’s very much a rule follower, perfectionist, and has her life routed out, so Thorne crashing into her life isn’t the first thing she’s looking forward to. Her character growth was great as she has to earn her life through some of the most grueling things she’s been subjected to, many of them involving magic. Her emotions were deep and visceral throughout, and one of my favorite things about the story.

I was not a fan of Thorne at first, but as he softened up and his backstory is revealed, I grew to like him and emphasize with his plight. The rest of the town’s cast was interesting and played their role well enough, especially considering Terra’s not the only golem. The witch’s coven was an interesting bunch, and while only a couple of witches were given characterization, it was clearing doing its job, as most of them believe that golems like Terra are nothing more than evil weapons. By the end, there’s a couple of witches so vile that I clearly couldn’t stand at all (for good reasons).

The romance didn’t feel too heavy, and was mostly in the backseat, but it was fitting in the progression. Though part of me sorta hoped for another outcome, but it was fine with me. There is teen drama, but most of it felt appropriate, along with some magical conflict that’s added into the conflict.

While this takes place in present day Rhode Island, there’s an underlying of magic, and the magical world itself has depth with how witch society works. The magic system, while based in some familiarity, had it’s own unique quirks that made it fresh, mostly in how golems are created. Also, there’s a sequence in Chapter 23 that felt like an episode of The Secret World of Alex Mack, and that was a good thing.

The themes were done well, as it discusses what the value of a life, sins from past generations, redemption, among others. The prose is easy to read, especially for a young teen audience, and grounded me quickly into this modern day setting.

The narrator, Yael Rizowy, was excellent with her youthful energy in the narration and vocal range for the other characters. A great choice for this book.

This was a fun contemporary fantasy story and I especially recommend it for younger teens (though there is some profanity). I would like to see more books from this world as well, and I want more books from Jenny Birch!

I received a gifted audiobook copy of WOVEN FROM CLAY by Jenny Birch from Macmillan Audio and a finished copy from Wednesday Books!

WOVEN FROM CLAY follows Terra a young woman determined to have a fantastic senior year of high school. When the new student Thorne suddenly approaches her, talking about things he thinks she knows, her entire life is thrown into chaos. As someone who was adopted, Terra didn't really know much about her origin story, but she certainly didn't expect to learn that she isn't human.

Terra is a golem, a being crafted from mud and magic. The warlock who created her rebelled from his coven and his coven is out to take him down. Problem is killing the warlock will also kill all of his creations, including Terra. Terra must quickly learn what a being a golem means and how to use her own magical abilities to prove her right to keep living.

I started this one on audio just a bit too late to make it in time for publication day, but that made for perfect timing when I picked up my hard copy from UPS on the same day. This was such a quick binge listen and a different story to those I've read before. Learning about golems and their abilities alongside Terra made for a good introduction and Terra's determination to still be a teen and live a great high school senior life made for a good blend of the contemporary and the magical.

I appreciated that there were fun relationship building moments, good friendships alongside, and what felt like a realistic high school setting! Do I think being made of mud is a superpower I would personally want? No, I don't think so, but it did make this feel like a unique story and one I had a lot of fun with! Golems also made for a perfect "other" selection for my creatures challenge in HRCYED2 from @qwordy!

First I'd like to say that I often read young adult fiction, but I really do feel like this one was geared towards middle schoolers. Still, the premise sounded great and I figured I would read it and enjoy the magic and perhaps feel nostalgic. Unfortunately, I continually felt uncomfortable about the dynamic between Thorne and Terra as Thorne constantly pushes Terra's boundaries yet she somehow still has conflicted feelings about him. I understand the author is trying to create tension, but it could definitely send inappropriate messages to its young audience. And then, in chapter 10, Terra has a similarly uncomfortable situation with best friend Brick, and I could not chalk that up to the protagonist/ antagonist trope. I honestly found it to be upsetting that a young man was practically applauded for continually asking out his best friend who always said she would prefer to remain friends, as though he was somehow sweet for "never giving up up." At that point, I had to put the book down. I would not recommend this to any young woman, especially not the age group it's geared towards.

Such a clever and creative storyline. I was intrigued to read a book about golems and this one kept me interested from the beginning to end. It definitely didn't play out the way I expected which is great. I love to not know how a story will roll out completely.

Terra is our main character and the changes she goes through over the course of this story were beautiful and flowed naturally. But there is just so much that happened that I can't even summarize it. I just found that it was such a solid story and had a good message about how people judge others for "being less" when they are actually so much more - - at least that is one of the things I came away with.

I really enjoyed this author's writing style and hope she will bring more stories like this to life.

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: The audiobook was done quite well, and I listened to it and finished it in one day. 4 1/2 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for the early copies of both the ebook and audiobook.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the ALC of Woven from Clay by Jenny Birch. All opinions are my own.

I chose to read this book because it sounded interesting, and I had never read any books with golems as characters.

Unfortunately, I decided to stop reading at the 56% mark because I wasn’t enjoying the story. I found the plot to be pretty lackluster. It started to feel like a chore to keep reading, so I decided it was not the right book for me.

The golem aspect was interesting because I didn’t know much about them. I do think this was a pretty unique thing to write about when the majority of other books in this genre for teens are about fae, vampires, or werewolves.

While I still enjoy a lot of young adult fantasy books, I think this one lacked some world building. There was a point where the characters interacted with a magical council, and the scenes felt very cheesy and not well thought out.

Even though I didn’t love any of the characters, they weren’t terrible. I think someone younger may enjoy this book, especially if they haven’t read a lot of other fantasy books.

A light, YA/teen read with a FMC who finds out she is a Golem. It definitely did feel very middle school read with a lot of things that just happened with no context. I listed to this as an audiobook and thought the narrator fit the role well.

I think this would be a good book for me as a young kid and the people that say this is twilight-esque, the “new mysterious boy in town” yes. The rest no.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC and ALC in exchange for an honest review.

I was provided an ALC and an ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

What a unique premise!!! This follows Terra, a normal if not overachieving high school senior who just wants to have a great year. Enter Thorne, a mysterious new kid, who wants nothing more than to get in Terra's way and keeps spouting off weird nonsense that she doesn't understand. She also can't understand why there is mud everywhere she goes either and why Thorne is so interested in Mr. Quill the nice old guy in town that is like everyone's grandpa. Thorne opens Terra's eyes to the world of magic and exposes himself and Mr. Quill as warlocks. Turns out Mr. Quill is kind of like everyone's grandpa as he created golems, hence the mud, for all of the families in town under the guise of adoption. Terra quickly comes to understand that some of her feelings around being adopted are warranted, but not because she was abandoned by her birth parents, but because she was created. Thorne was sent on a mission from his guild, but Terra changes that mission so she can save herself, Mr. Quill, and those like her. She has to work with Thorne to prove that she can control magic and is a force for good. In doing so she uncovers a vengeance plot within the guild that Terra and Thorn have to stop if they want to save the other golems.

This had some really great commentary about adoption, loneliness, inadequacy, friendship, abandonment, and finding your place in the world. I didn't know this was a YA book when I picked it up, and I thoroughly enjoyed it as an adult. I also think this would be great for middle grade and YA readers as well. The magic system was well explained, there is no graphic content (there is some kissing), it has diverse characters, the pacing is great, and the plot was entertaining.

I am firmly on the fence with this one. The good: I love the fresh ideas. I enjoy the magic system. The sentience of a golem who doesn't know she is a golem. I love the found family aspect, and the humanity of the FMC despite not being human at all. The author definitely clings well to the teenage emotions of angst with a bit of insecurity. I felt the internal dialogue of the FMC was usually a but much, but hey, she's a teenager. So, it checks out.
The Meh: It definitely reads like a Twilight novel, Which I think is good for some (I personally love Twilight), but it is a trope that I think it's a bit overdone. I was honestly hoping for a bit more epicness given that it is all centered around magic and those wanting to eliminate the FMC and those like her. The climax seemed to be a bit lackluster. 

That being said, the narrator hits the teenage angst right on the head. Good job with that!

Woven From Clay, Jenny Birch’s debut novel, was such an interesting and unique story and magic system. I’m it, main character Terra is hoping for an amazing last year of high school. When a mysterious new boy shows up in town, Terra’s entire world if shaken. Thorne claims that Terra is a golem, a being created from magic and mud. To make everything worse, Terra’s creator, Mr. Quill, is wanted for various magical crimes (including the creation of golems, just like Terra) by Thorne and his coven.

In an attempt to save Mr. Quill, her friends, and herself, Terra makes a bargain with the with witches Guild to prove her skill with magic. Terra has but 6 weeks to master something that would take any witch years. With the help of Thorne, she’s about to discover what more than she could have expected when it comes to family, friendship, magic, love, and humanity.

I really enjoyed this book! It was a fun and light fantasy, with many twists and surprises. I absolutely adored Terra. She was goes on quite the journey of self discovery but handles is with a level heads and calm emotions. Seeing her stop at nothing to save her friends and protect her family was admirable and I was rooting for her the entire time. Thorne was a great balance to her throughout the story and I liked seeing his development throughout the story.

Thank you so much to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ALC. The book was narrated by Yael Rizowy who did such a fantastic job with the story and the characters!

Terra Slater is adopted, and knows nothing of her birth familu, but knows that her adopted parents care for her. She has friends, is busy with school and activities, and then, meets the mysterious and attractive Thorne Wilder, who brings her comfortable life crashing down around her.

He informs her that she, and a number of her friends, are golems, and were crafted by Cyrus Quill, a warlock, who is on the run from witch covens are hunting him and want him to pay with his life for crimes he's committed.

This is horrifying to Terra, as she knows Mr. Quill as warm and caring. Terra bargains with the witches to save Quill's life, knowing that if she fails to master her own magic, his sentence, and all the golems he's made (including her) will die.

So, much as I was looking forward to this, I found it predictable and lacking in complexity. The characters were too simply defined, and much as I liked Terra, I found Thorne, her love interest, kind of irritating.

I both listened and read this novel, and Yael Rizowy does a great job voicing all the characters.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for these ARCs in exchange for my review.

The premise of this story was so so so good. The execution... not so much. I realize that this is a young adult novel, but the writing felt like it was geared more towards middle schoolers with how juvenile some of the text was. Terra is sweet, but one of the most unintelligent female protagonists that I've seen in a while. Thorne is one of the most obnoxious male main characters of all time, and I don't know why Terra chooses to give him the time of day. The fact that the story starts out with him being downright rude to her, making fun of her, and not taking her seriously while she is telling him that she has no idea what he is talking about gave me the ick. There was no real redeeming moment for him, she just chose to start liking him immediately after.

None of the characters were likable, I didn't really care whether the gollums lived or died, and a lot of the plot didn't really make much sense. While the cover is gorgeous and the premise is great, this book is skippable to me. Middle schoolers might really like this one!

Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for the free ARC, in return for an honest review.

This is a YA magical take on the golem myth. It feels fairly disconnected from its roots, and is essentially a coming of age story. The golem figure(s) become metaphors for self-discovery. There are heavy themes of belonging, family, and loyalty.

The audio narration is clear and well delivered. The text’s prose is equally clear. The story is set up swiftly and you don’t have to wait too long for the main dynamics to start working. The characters behave as realistically as one may expect for a magical world.

This is a very enjoyable read which doesn’t reinvent any wheel, but does reframe a well known myth with today’s YA tropes. I would recommend it for any fan of magical YA stories.

(2.75 stars)
I was interested in this book because I’m always interested in a new story revolving around golems. A golem is a mythical creature of Jewish folklore, made from clay, but in Woven From Clay, there was not even a single shred of Jewish content. Hence my big disappointment.

Aimed at teens/young adults, I’m not the intended audience for Woven From Clay, but I have enjoyed several YA books in the past. This one wasn’t one of them, unfortunately.

The world building was pretty good, but confusing. We have golems who don’t know they are golems, existing as if they are normal humans. I didn’t understand how that could be, and it was never explained why suddenly the main female golem, Terra, started exuding mud, as a senior in high school. Also, all the young golems had on-the-nose names: Terra, Brick, Clay, Maia, and so forth. Then there’s a coven of witches who want to kill a “rogue” warlock who created all these golems. They send a handsome young witch to the town, to pose as a new student at Terra’s high school. His appearance coincides with Terra exuding mud all of sudden, so I guess it had something to do with his arrival, but that was never made clear.

I bounced between the ebook and the audiobook. Yael Rizowy did an excellent job with the narration and all the different character voices.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book and to Macmillan Young Listeners and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to an advance copy of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

High school senior Terra’s life gets turned upside down when a mysterious boy moves to town and reveals that she is a golem. Throne, an apprentice witch, has been sent on a mission by his coven to find the warlock who created the golems so he can be executed for his crimes. Now Terra must team up with Thorne to save the warlock, herself, and the rest of the town golems.
This book felt like the early 2010s YA fantasies that we all know and love, with many of the classic tropes, but still felt interesting and unique in its own ways. The magic systems in this book were truly special and like nothing I’ve ever read before. I think Terra’s character was well written and her motivations and actions made sense for her age and backstory. I wasn’t the biggest fan of Throne at the start but his development throughout the story was done very well and I like the place he ended up. I really enjoyed that the romance plot line was a pretty minor part of the story and was appropriate for a YA book, with that being said, if you need a good amount of romance in your fantasies, this may not be the book for you. I did find that the first third of the book dragged a little bit, but the pacing for the rest of the book was good, and there were enough little twists and reveals to keep the reader gripped. The conclusion of the story was satisfying but left openings for possible sequels.
Overall I think this was a well written and unique story and I would recommend it primarily to teenage readers who enjoy urban fantasies.
3.5/5 stars
Thank you to Macmillan Audio, Wednesday books, and NetGalley for providing me with an early listeners copy of this book.

When the story began, I was pretty consumed. I obviously had a theory into what the relationship with Thorn would be... but once we got into the magical aspect and the revelation of what Terra is... it lost me. I'm sorry but the mud thing was just not my vibe.

I agree with other reviews I saw that maybe this would have been better for me if I were a teen. So unfortunately for me, it's a no and I had to DNF. But I think there are people out there who will love this.

DNF 4%

I tend to like golem stories, and I love seeing different ways the golem mythology gets portrayed. I was expecting some element of the Jewish lore of the golem, and maybe it’s in the book later, but I couldn’t get past the naming conventions. It just isn’t really working for me, and I see what a bunch of other reviews talked about with it being reminiscent of the early 2000s fantasy romance teen stories with Thorn showing up and knowing more than Terra. I think I’m just the wrong audience for this one.

I wanted to love this. Teenage angsty golems aren't my thing I guess.T he premise was so interesting, but the characters have personalities like a sack of bricks (which might be perfect for a golem) but kinda undermines the more than a golem thing. The romance is lack luster too. But ultimately not the worst.