The Jumbies

Based on the Haitian folk tale of "The Magic Orange Tree," Tracey Baptiste has woven a wonderful tale of magic, mythology, and things that go bump in the night.Corinne and her father live together in a home close to the forest - a forest that the people of the island steer clear of because it houses the Jumbies. Corinne isn't afraid of the jumbies, or any of the other creatures that star in the tales the people tell to scare their children. So, when her town bullies tie her mother's necklace to the tale of an animal - the only thing Corrine still has that belonged other mother - she doesn't think twice about running into the forest after it. After successfully retrieving her necklace, Corinne happily returns to her father, never realizing that her trip into the forest attracted the attention of something.When a beautiful woman shows up to the village market and goes to talk to the village witch, Corinne doesn't know who the woman is, but she does know that something is happening.If only Corinne had listened to that little voice telling her something was different about the women, or the voices of her new friends telling her to stay away from the woman, or the villagers' stories telling her to stay out of the forest, then perhaps these events would not have unfolded. But she didn't, and so they did. LOL.And though I did feel for the trouble that Corinne fell prey to as a result of her actions, I'm also glad that she didn't listen to those voices. Had she done so, we wouldn't have this wonderful story. Baptiste did a wonderful job developing the characters in the story, from the fearless Corinne to the trouble-making Bouki to the silent Malik, to the beautiful but dangerous Severine and beyond, the characters really bring the story to life.That's not to say that the plot was lacking. It absolutely was not. While based on the fairy tale "The Orange Tree," Baptiste took great liberty with the story and adding in the Jumbies - characters that existed in the stories of the islanders who live in Trinidad - and other aspects which added a great deal of scary to the story. The amount of tension Baptiste wielded in this story was absolutely perfect. This is a great story of children young and old who like scary stories, as there were so many close calls that I was beginning to wonder if the protagonists were going to actually make it out of the story alive.For this book, I also listened to the audiobook, narrated by Robin Miles. She gave a wonderful performance, and I loved the bits of singing that she did. I definitely look forward to continuing the series, seeing what happens next, and listening to Miles narrate the audiobooks.

Loved this book!

When rating this book i considered that out sad meant for YA.The story is interesting and the lore was a great discovery for me. However most od the events in the book are based in the characters and their motives, which i for that the author didn't put to much attention to. Some of the conversations come out of nowhere, characters sing things without having a reason to do do.It was an ok read for me, and of out want a YA i would've given out a3 star rating.

Creepy and fascinating and magical. A tale of family, of friends, of learning who you are and that you have the power to change the world.I enjoyed Corinne's journey, a discovery of her past and what that she can make the future better for her island home.The premise is intriguing and different. The characters are wonderful and real. And the jumbies...well, they are fantastic.

I had to buy this book for a college children’s literature class so I wasn’t really expecting much but honestly I went on to recommend it to all my friends and relatives with children in their family. It’s a wonderful telling of a Caribbean fairy tale, with uncanny elements that remind one of other children’s classics such as Coraline or Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

Very lovely story. I really enjoyed everything about it. Would definitely recommend. Loved seeing well known Caribbean folklore in print and reliving my childhood in the pages. Thank you author.

FINALLY!!! A fantasy series in which kids of color can see themselves! I was absolutely riveted by this story, spine-tingly created by author Tracey Baptiste from Caribbean folk tales she heard growing up. I love Corinne’s courage and the unconditional love for her family that drives her to face her fears.Further, the allegorical aspect of the story - whose land is this? - is something we can connect to the treatment of Natives by white Europeans as they colonized what are now the United States and Canada.I will be adding this trilogy (the third one is out in September 2019!!) to the list of books from which kids can choose for their fantasy book clubs.

I would recommend The Jumbies to my friends. It was very interesting and exciting. It made we want to keep reading. My mom and I read this every night and I never wanted to stop. But sometimes my eyes got too heavy! I loved the characters. Corinne was very brave and mighty. Actually all the kids were brave in their own special ways. They were good friends and they were good to each other! Thanks Miss Baptiste! Jaden

Reading it with my Year 5 class as part of our Caribbean topic and they love it!

Brilliant first story

My daughter is 11 and absolutely loved this book- says it is a page turner.

Actual rating: 4,5 starsContent warnings:- hints of animal cruelty- some fighting (including fire, improvised weapons, though nothing extremely graphic)- some blood (mentioned in context of fighting and when a character is hurt by accident)- an almost-drowning scene- mentions of deathOkay, so, let me get this straight: I loved this book. Seriously. I read it for the diversity bingo challenge because of its setting in central america and I didn't excpect I'd like a childern's fantasy book this much, yet here I am, desperate for part 2 already because I fell hard and fast for this story.All of the characteres were really interesting and well-portrayed as far as I can tell. The setting is lovely. The folklore this book is based on is super interesting and refreshing, considering all the same old (kinda boring) fairytales we usually get. Bonus points for diversitsy, of course, although I can't say much about the representation and its quality since I don't belong to any of the minorities included in this book.The writing was so nice I almost immediately got my perfect "reading flow" and finished "The Jumbies" within 24 hours.The only thing that bothered me a little: Although the dark atmosphere is great and there is lots of suspense, especially towards the end, I think the suspense could have been improved by not telling the reader so much so early on. A few secrets kept a little longer from the audience would've worked even better in my opinion. That's why my actual rating is "only" 4,5 stars, not the full 5.All in all I highly recommend giving this book a try, it was really entertaining and interesting to me.

I could smell the island and basked in the cadence so familiar from the stories of my childhood. Memories flood. A brilliant addition to my repertoire of favourites to read and to give.