A Comb of Wishes

In her debut, a folkloric fantasy set in Caribbean-inspired island St. Rita, Stringfellow manifests magic strong enough to grant the wish of a grieving heart. Twelve-year-old artisan Kela Boxhill, who is Black, copes with her grief about her mother’s death by turning sea glass into jewelry. When Kela hears a hum in the wind one day that leads to a sinkhole in a protected (and off-limits) nature park, she finds a battered box that "breathed a strangeness she couldn’t shake," and, inside, a comb that she believes-based on her mother’s stories of the island-could be magical. Mermaid Ophidia, the box’s owner, becomes enraged when the box is taken, knowing that its absence could lead to her death. But lore requires that Ophidia grant Kela a wish in exchange for the comb, posing a moral quandary that’s further complicated when the comb breaks. Stringfellow brings a fantastical approach to one character’s processing of grief as, with the support of secondary characters, Kela begins to truly navigate her pain while unearthing the stories and lore that are her heritage. Ages 8-12.

Copyright 2022 Publisher’s Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Stringfellow’s middle-­grade debut is a wondrous and original story that incorporates Caribbean culture and folklore. Told in alternating points of view between Kela and Ophidia, the novel leads us through a story about family that spans hundreds of years and will captivate readers until the end.

"Imbued with a magic that felt as real as the concrete and beloved world in which it is set, this story moves with a plot that is both surefooted and wild, both inexorable and surprising, both cerebral and emotional. I loved it so much."—Kelly Barnhill, author of the Newbery-winning novel The Girl Who Drank the Moon