THE MAP THAT LED TO YOU

Two queer Black teens living many years apart search for home in McLeod’s dual-narrative sophomore novel.

In the historical timeline, Levi, the skirt-wearing, nearly-16-year-old son of a pirate captain, feels adrift. While his sister, Vega, knows the origins of her birth as a fallen star, Levi’s mother died when he was a baby. When an unexpected loss leaves Levi with even more questions, the siblings join forces with an ungendered nymph named Kano, journeying to the Caribbean-inspired Pirate Republic of Sheta Island. There they hope to learn more about Levi’s origins and the possible existence of a magical land known as Xaymaca. In present-day New Shetatown on Sheta Island, 16-year-old Reggie Hornigold feels like an outsider. Bullied by classmates, she feels lonely until she’s paired with new girl Maeve O’Neill for a class assignment. Exploring their island’s history for their project, the two embark on their own voyage of discovery—of their home, each other, and themselves. McLeod uses the second person for Reggie’s chapters and the third person for Levi’s. Slightly clunky and self-conscious verse interludes provide further background, and a tidy conclusion weaves the dual timelines into one. While the worldbuilding and narration sometimes feel overcrowded, readers will root for the engaging protagonists and their found families. Most main characters are Black, and Maeve, who’s white, is cued Irish.

A complex decolonial romantic fantasy steeped in Afro-Caribbean mythology and queer acceptance.