4 stars
An interesting read filled with magic, adventure, and elements of Haitian folklore.
As Baptiste points out in her Author’s note, in comparison to European fairy tales, there are not a lot of Haitian folklore and jumbie fairy tales in mainstream literature. It’s great to see this series start to fill that gap.
The book did well introducing the various jumbie and their main characteristics. They provided an element of wonder and spookiness and it was fantastic to learn about them.
The story itself was good, filled with twists and adventure. I loved the dark nature of the story, which was nicely balanced between spooky and fun without being too scary. I did think the ending kind of dragged a bit. I could see the author putting all of the pieces into place but it was a little dull waiting for the big finish. Still, it was a very good read.
Along with the playful Author’s Note there is also a Questions for Discussion guide at the end.
I definitely would like to continue this series to learn more about the jumbies and Corinne’s place in their world. Great read.