Middle graders will adore clever Hyacinth and enjoy the other humorous characters, the puns (Oaroboarus, indeed), and the...
Set in a magical version of London, this fantasy features white, 12-year-old Hyacinth, an American girl who discovers on a visit that “history is a big fat liar” and that magic truly exists.
Hyacinth, who has an acquaintance with plumbing, decides to change the configuration of a faucet in her aunt Polly’s flat. This simple action causes a nasty chain of events beginning when her elderly white neighbor, Lady Roslyn Hill-Haverstock, tells her off for making the change, closely followed by her mother’s abduction at the hands of strange beings called Saltpetre Men. The twisty plot becomes more and more convoluted after Hyacinth and Lady Roslyn descend into the London sewers. The sewers are home to an amazing collection of characters, most of whom, when not covered in the contents of the sewers, seem to be white. In the sewers, Hyacinth meets a young boy with amnesia and his protector, a gigantic pig named Oaroboarus, and three heavily accented toshers, who scavenge the sewers. This setup can’t help leading to a rollicking adventure with a lulu of an ending that comes with the promise of a sequel.
Middle graders will adore clever Hyacinth and enjoy the other humorous characters, the puns (Oaroboarus, indeed), and the suspenseful narrative. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: May 23, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-55317-2
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A rich window into a unique cultural community.
A family emergency sends a tween to live with a relative she didn’t know existed and who holds the secret to her beloved grandmother’s past.
Eleven-year-old Delphinia Baker is used to being uprooted. Her dad’s in the military, and changing duty stations means Del and her grandmother must pack up and move too. However, when Gramma suddenly falls ill, Del’s world changes unimaginably. With her father deployed, she’s sent to stay with Nana Rose, Gramma’s mother, on one of South Carolina’s Sea Islands. Nana Rose runs a boarding school dedicated to keeping the lore and traditions of the Gullah people alive, including conjure magic. Del is skeptical about magic, and her worries about Gramma plus the island’s isolation weigh on her mind. The school, the teachers, and even the other students feel strange. Eva, Del’s roommate, is friendly, but Del is reluctant to open up to her. Soon it becomes clear that the magic is real, and Del is determined to discover why Gramma kept this part of her life hidden. Her struggles to work magic cause her to worry whether she will ever understand her family’s past—and land her in some precarious situations. Following her acclaimed debut, Root Magic (2021), Royce offers readers another strong fantasy steeped in Gullah culture, featuring mythic creatures, ghosts, and brooms that facilitate spells. Del is a fully realized protagonist who convincingly changes from a wary observer to a young person embracing her heritage.
A rich window into a unique cultural community. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: June 27, 2023
ISBN: 9780062899613
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Walden Pond Press/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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