Bumps in the Night
by Amalie Howard (Author)
The creepy middle grade debut from USA Today bestselling author Amalie Howard in which a girl stays with her grandmother in Trinidad for the summer and discovers that she comes from a long line of powerful witches.
Darika "Rika" Lovelace is in trouble. The kind of trouble that sends her to her grandmother's estate in Trinidad for the whole summer. But something about the island feels...different. As soon as she steps off the plane, strange things start happening! Rika meets a group of kids called Minders, who seem to have elemental powers. Even worse, she can sense jumbies lurking in the shadows. Needless to say, she wants a ticket home. But when the Minders let slip that her long-lost mom is in danger, she knows she can't leave.
Thrust into a magical adventure involving bloodcurdling monsters, a supernatural silk cotton tree, and an endless maze, Rika must defeat the fearsome jumbie king to save her family and new friends. But unless she learns to believe in herself, she'll never beat him or escape his twisted maze.
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Publishers Weekly
A rebellious aspiring artist and incoming eighth grader delves into her family's history--and learns that monsters and magic are real--in this electrifying adventure by Howard. After being written up for vandalism "again" and kicked off the soccer team, brown-skinned Darika "Rika" Lovelace-Rose's frustrated father confiscates all her electronic devices and sends her from Colorado to Trinidad to spend the summer with her maternal grandmother. Upon arrival, Rika meets handyman Becks, who escorts her and Granny to the family estate. Becks warns Rika of the erratic weather the island has been experiencing and implores her to stay away from the nearby woods, claiming that the devil resides there. Though Rika doesn't believe in magic or monsters, she can't shake the feeling that her absent mother might be closer than she thinks. After Rika unearths a grimoire with her own name on it, she discovers that she comes from a long line of witches, prompting her to team up with new friends to search for her mother and uncover the truth behind the devil in the woods. Rika's determination to embrace her newfound magical abilities and save her family and maternal country land are admirably depicted. Combined with fantastical, climate-conscious scenarios and vivacious and illuminating Black Indo-Trinidadian diaspora folklore that springs from the pages, this beguiling read--led by an intrepid heroine--is one to savor. Ages 8-12. (Feb.)
Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
JUV018000 - Juvenile Fiction | Horror
JUV030040 - Juvenile Fiction | People & Places | Caribbean & Latin America
Magic
Islands
Monsters
Trinidad
