Rise of the Jumbies

This review is from my seven-year-old granddaughter, Eden. I gave it to her as a gift.--"Tracey Baptiste is very creative. Her characters are so real. I liked Severine even though she's a villain because she's so interesting. Malik uses signs which makes him different from other characters I've read. It's amazing how everyone understands him. I like how she wrote that some people didn't like Corinne because she was half Jumbie. The book makes you think a lot about prejudice which other books for kids my age don't. I am going to keep reading because of all the suspense. I can't want to find out if it was a real person that Corinne heard singing in the well or just a dream. Kids will love this book."

Great story in the series. Loved the historical connection, mystical beings, and the culture.

My 9-year-old read part 1 of this book and couldn't wait to read the follow up. It wasn't in her school library. She asked if we could find it and purchase it because she enjoyed the first Jumbies book so much.

I love the Jumbies series. I'm trusting Book 3 will appear soon.

An excellent read!

RISE OF THE JUMBIES is a fantastic continuation of Corinne's story. Combining Caribbean folklore with lots of adventure, this book has broad appeal for the middle grade audience. While the first one definitely had some horror elements, this one felt more like a fantasy with minor scary parts.As children disappear around water, Corinne decides to help by confronting the water jumbie, Mama D'Leau, who she assumes has been taking them. Mama D'Leau does not give information for free, and to learn where the children are, Corinne must first travel across the ocean with her friends and Mama D'Leau's mermaids to Ghana where she will get the stone Mama D'Leau wants in exchange for the information.Fraught with danger and loads of adventure, this is an even better continuation of an imaginative and unique series. Corinne and her friends endear themselves to the readers' hearts and watching their journey, bravery, and stealthiness is a pleasure. While there are some scary elements, this felt less like a horror than the first, though the kidnapping, discussions of slavery, and danger from jumbies is all very real.The book moves quickly with a fast pace that will appeal to a younger audience, and there is also some great humor in the book (such as when Corinne works with the snakes). Another theme of the book is about the families we create and their importance (such as with the boys being adopted and Mama D'Leau's mermaids). The creatures that exist within these pages are fascinating and come to life just as much as the main four friends do, giving them all a three-dimensional feel.Overall, this is a really wonderful middle grade series that I would certainly recommend to fantasy readers! Please note that I received a copy from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Corinne and her buddies are back in this continuation of the Jumbies series. But this one takes us on a new adventure, under the water!This book is just as cute as the first and just as imaginative as well. It is also written just as well which of course you would expect coming from the same author.I did notice that this is not a stand-alone book however and if you haven't read Book #1 in the series you probably wouldn't understand some of the beginning of this book. The action quickly picks up however and the reader is taken off on the adventure.Most of the old characters come back in this second edition to the series. However there are a lot of new characters introduced as well. My personal favorite would have to be Mama D'Leau who is probably one of the most badass mermaids I've ever read about.I also wanted to say that somehow this author has pulled this story off to where it comes off as an old familiar legend. I feel as if I have heard a story similar to this one so many times before but yet this is presented to me in such a new fashion that it is anything but boring. The author's writing style makes the characters just come alive.I would definitely recommend this book as a part of the series but not a standalone, and I am very much anticipating the third installment to these books.

Trigger Warnings: drowning, slave ships, kidnapped childrenThis was another super fun adventure. I actually enjoyed this one better than the first book - what can I say, I'm a sucker for mermaids, even when they break my heart like these ones did. The lore behind them was definitely heartwrenching, and it honestly had me tearing up at one point. Just another great diverse book I totally recommend!

molto bello e appassionante