Clements (Things Not Seen, below, etc.) offers a heartfelt and well-meaning but somewhat simplistic novella that explores racial-consciousness–raising. When sixth-grader Phil Moreli attempts to bring lunch money to his younger brother in their school’s hallway, he quickly meets up with his sibling—or so he thinks—because there’s his brother’s very distinctive jacket. He is startled when its wearer turns out to be an African-American boy whom Phil has never seen. He wrongly leaps to the conclusion that this boy stole the jacket and a brawl ensues. Once the combatants face off in the principal’s office, the truth about how the jacket came into this stranger’s possession comes out. Daniel, the African-American boy, had been given the jacket as a gift by his grandmother who, in turn, received it from her employer—Phil’s mother—for whom she works as a cleaning woman. Daniel is angry that a white boy would automatically think of him as a thief and humiliated at an act of what he considers condescending charity. He storms out, first throwing the jacket on the floor. Regarding this as a gauntlet and feeling ashamed, Phil is now galvanized into reassessing his feelings and assumptions about African-Americans. He realizes that he actually knows little about them and is convinced that he is prejudiced. Phil’s attempts to come to grips with his guilt and chagrin will help young readers reevaluate their own attitudes toward people who are different from themselves. Clements mostly steers clear of easy answers and admirably avoids the cliché of having the boys become fast friends at the end, though each does come to realize that the other is “a good guy.” (Fiction. 8-12)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-82595-1
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2002
A stirring and mystical tale sure to keep readers thinking past the final page.
Corinne La Mer has settled back into island life after her fight with the jumbie Severine (The Jumbies, 2015), but no sooner does normalcy arrive than it leaves again when an earthquake rocks the island and her friend Laurent goes missing.
Other children start to disappear, and Corinne’s only clue leads her to the water. With steadfast friends Malik, Bouki, and Dru, she sets out to uncover what mysterious force has taken the children and defeat it. She makes a bargain with the water jumbie Mama D’Leau for help, but even with a supernatural boost, Corinne will need all of her strengths to defeat the mysterious kidnapper and save her friends. Baptiste’s colorful, rich Caribbean characters return triumphantly in this sequel, and the mythos of the island continues to expand. Baptiste deepens what could be a light and charming undersea adventure with ties to African religions and the historical legacy of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. As other young children of the African diaspora sort out their feelings about and relationships with slavery, so do Corinne and her loyal friends. While other tales may address it with a casual aside or scrub out the grimiest bits, leaving history in a shiny, tidy package removed from reality, Baptiste allows her characters to find and create ways to grapple with uncomfortable truths.
A stirring and mystical tale sure to keep readers thinking past the final page. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-61620-665-9
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Algonquin
Review Posted Online: June 13, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
A tremendous return.
Several months have passed since the events of The Rise of the Jumbies (2017), when Corinne La Mer faced her mother’s sister, Severine, and the mighty Mama D’Leau, the jumbies of forest and sea.
Corinne anxiously awaits her father’s yellow fishing boat every day, scanning the sea for trouble, afraid that Severine will come back for revenge. Her friends encourage her to keep her mind on land rather than the waters. One day, an out-of-season hurricane suddenly turns the island upside down. As the hurricane rips the island apart, the villagers take to the mountains for shelter. There, Corinne finds Papa Bois, guardian jumbie of the forest. He tells her the storm is the work of the jumbie god, Huracan. Even though she’s half jumbie herself, Corinne isn’t sure how to stop the mighty god from destroying the island. What could cause such fury? With the help of her friends, human and jumbie, Corinne sets out to fix things once and for all and to face Huracan himself. With this strong return to the Jumbies series, Baptiste engages all the senses, from the taste of sweet oranges to the scent of salty air. Corinne strengthens her relationships with the island, the people, and all the creatures within. Her determination, compassion, and bravery will inspire readers to face down any challenges crossing their paths. Baptiste carefully represents Caribbean diversity; most characters are Afro Caribbean like Corinne, but friend Dru’s heritage is South Asian.
A tremendous return. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-61620-891-2
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Algonquin
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2019
PERSPECTIVES
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