Review: The Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste

The Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Corinne La Mer is not superstitious. She is not afraid of the forest or the mean boys at the well. She is certainly not afraid of the jumbies. Corinne knows jumbies aren't evil spirits. They are stories made up by parents to keep their children in line.

But when a beautiful stranger bewitches her father, Corinne feels danger in the air. As the jumbie Severine plots to take over the island, Corinne must summon an ancient magic and all of her courage to stop it.

Baptiste's The Jumbies gripped me from the first page. I loved Corinne's tenacity, even if I'm sure I would have turned around at the forest's edge. The story paints an evocative world, full of diverse and interesting characters. Did I mention that there's also a witch? She is as unsettling as you'd want a witch to be.

This bold story of love, family, and friendship is woven on a backdrop of Caribbean folklore. It couldn't have been any better. Even if I wouldn't have followed Corinne into the forest.

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