Review: The Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste

The Jumbies

by Tracey Baptiste

from the publisher's site: 

Corinne La Mer isn’t afraid of anything. Not scorpions, not the boys who tease her, and certainly not jumbies. They’re just tricksters parents make up to frighten their children. Then one night Corinne chases an agouti all the way into the forbidden forest. Those shining yellow eyes that followed her to the edge of the trees, they couldn’t belong to a jumbie. Or could they?

When Corinne spots a beautiful stranger speaking to the town witch at the market the next day, she knows something unexpected is about to happen. And when this same beauty, called Severine, turns up at Corinne’s house, cooking dinner for Corinne’s father, Corinne is sure that danger is in the air. She soon finds out that bewitching her father, Pierre, is only the first step in Severine’s plan to claim the entire island for the jumbies. Corinne must call on her courage and her friends and learn to use ancient magic she didn’t know she possessed to stop Severine and save her island home.

my thoughts: 

I actually read this book a while ago, but only just noticed that I had never posted a review. Bad reviewer! Bad, bad. I love reading about all kinds of folk and fairy tales and I have to say that the tales of the Caribbean is something that I had no familiarity with prior to reading Baptiste's novel. Jumbies make excellent boogeymen; I can't believe I haven't read more about them, but I'm so glad that Baptiste decided it was time that someone wrote about them. 

The Jumbies is delightfully creepy, and a fabulous read. Corinne is a wonderful character. She is brave and kind, and she will do whatever it takes to save the ones she loves. I highly recommend The Jumbies to anyone who likes books with adventure or mythology or who is just a in the mood for a spooky story. I will definitely be looking for more from Tracey Baptiste. 

how I acquired this book: 

This review was written from a copy that I borrowed from my local library.