Corinne La Mer, the half-human, half-jumbie girl whose story began in Tracey Baptiste's The Jumbies, returns in this second fantasy novel devoted to her adventures. When children on her Caribbean island begin to go missing, Corinne finds herself once again an object of suspicion for many of her neighbors. She herself suspects that Severine, her jumbie mother's sister, has returned from the sea into which she was cast at the end of the last installment of the series. Together with her friends, Dru, Bouki and Malik, Corinne sets out to enlist the aid of powerful water jumbie Mama D'Leau in her quest to find and rescue the children. This aid comes with a price however, and Corinne and her friends soon find themselves involved in an epic adventure stretching from the Caribbean to West Africa and back again, dealing with mermaids, missing magical jewels, the transatlantic slave trade, and Papa Boi - the powerful jumbie who protects the forest on their island home - along the way...

Like its predecessor, I found the story in Rise of the Jumbies quite engaging. I appreciated Tracey Baptiste's incorporation of the folklore and mythology of her native Trinidad into the story, and the ways in which she tied that folklore to the stories and traditions of West Africa, from which it is no doubt descended. Although the question of the relationship between Mama D'Leau and Mami Wata is never quite answered in the story, the implication is that they are either related, or the same figure. Whatever the case may be, I appreciated this glimpse into folkloric traditions that don't always find their way into American children's books. I also greatly enjoyed meeting the gentle Papa Boi, who, in traditional lore, is married to Mama D'Leau. The story-line involving the mermaids was fascinating and tragic - they are revealed to have once been human girls, captured as slaves in Africa, and survivors of the sinking of the slave ship on which they were being carried - although the historian in me couldn't help but wince a bit at the idea that they would find descendants of their families along the coast of West Africa, given what I know of the slave trade. By sheer coincidence, I happened to be reading an article about the involvement of coastal West Africans in the slave trade, while I was also reading the conclusion of Rise of the Jumbies, and the critical adult in me kept thinking: wouldn't it be more likely that the children and mermaids would encounter descendants of those who had sold the girls/mermaids, rather than their own families, who probably came from further inland? Of course, this is a fantasy novel, so despite my historical qualms, I still enjoyed the story.

On an entirely separate note, I did feel, much as I did with the first book, that the conclusion here was a little rushed. The narrative never really explains why, or describes how the islanders, so hostile to Corinne after she rescued the children, had a change of heart, making their reverse course, in offering gifts in order to recall the mermaid Corinne to the island, and restore her to human form, rather mystifying. In one scene, Laurent is disgusted by Corinne, but the next time we see him, he's encouraging his mother to participate in the efforts to bring her back. Baptiste never really accounts for the change of heart. One wishes that she had fleshed out the chapters occurring after Corinne departs, in order to make these developments feel a little less random. Still, despite that criticism, and the historical issue mentioned above, I did find Rise of the Jumbies entertaining, and often quite moving. I liked the incorporation of the history of the slave trade into the more folkloric narrative - after all, folktales have helped many human groups to survive times of great suffering and injustice - and I appreciated the discussion throughout of issues of difference and belonging. In short, I enjoyed this enough that I will be tracking down the third installment of the series, The Jumbie God's Revenge. ( )

12

Rise of the Jumbies is the second book in a new fantasy series,uniquely set within the culture of the Caribbean islands. It introduces the reader to the rich and sometimes frightening folk tales of the Caribbean islands and Africa.

' "There are more children missing," Mrs. Ramdeen said. "Three of them, all of them lost by water. The sea, the river, and now the well." Her voice carried over the sounds of the market. People dropped the produce they were buying to watch and listen. Mrs. Chow tried unsuccessfully to hold back a sob.
"Children fall into danger all the time," the witch said. "Especially by the water."
"But three in less than a day?" Mrs. Ramdeen asked.
"Coincidence," the witch said, shrugging. She looked pointedly at Corinne and pursed her lips as if she was waiting for something.
Corinne swallowed. "Could it be a jumbie?" '

Through the adventures of Corinne, the series' spunky protagonist who is half jumbie herself, the reader will meet the wily head of the mermaids, Mama D'Leau, and many more magical beings. Some may be helpful if one is careful, like the land-loving, Papa Bois and the local white witch. Some will cause only evil.
Corinne and her friends travel with mermaids to Africa to unravel mysteries that may free the children of her village who have been trapped under the sea. They will meet danger and deception at every turn.
I suggest starting with the first book in the series, The Jumbies, to better familiarize yourself with the culture and the large cast of characters.

My copy of Rise of the Jumbies was provided by the publisher at my request..

more on Rise of the Jumbies at http://shelf-employed.blogspot.com/2017/10/rise-of-jumbies-review.html ( )

OVERVIEW: When local children from Corinne La Mer’s Caribbean island home begin to go missing, suspicious eyes turn to half-jumbie, Corinne. To rescue the missing children and clear her own name, Corinne goes deep into the ocean to meet Mama D’Leau, the dangerous jumbie who rules the waves. But Mama D’Leau’s help comes with a price. Corinne and her friends must travel with mermaids across the ocean to fetch a powerful object. The only thing more perilous than Corinne’s journey across the sea is the jumbie foe who waits for her back home.

With action-packed storytelling, diverse characters, and inventive twists on Caribbean and West African tales, Rise of the Jumbies will appeal to readers of A Snicker of Magic and Where the Mountain Meets The Moon, as well as fans of The Jumbies.

MY BOOK REVIEW:

First, I must confess, I did not read Book #1. I received this lovely book ARC from Algonquin Young Readers, a division of Workman Publishing, and decided to review it as a standalone, even though it’s part of a series. I read the first chapter and felt I could carry on with my review.
This book was so wonderfully written, I was able to appreciate all of it: the settings, sweet characters, including the villains, a great plot structure, excellent tone and amazing voice of the author.

After checking out their website, I discovered all books published by Algonquin had beautiful covers. Peruse their website located here:

https://algonquinyoungreaders.com/books-for-teens

The book I’m about to review is also just as beautiful.

This review ARC is in a paperback format.

The author, Tracey Baptiste lived in Trinidad until she was fifteen; she grew up on jumbie stories and fairy tales. She is a former teacher who now works as a writer and editor.

This author has a definite style of writing and a clearly enjoyable voice. Her ability to get inside her characters’ heads and draw you into their thoughts, fears and anxieties is very cleverly written. Right away, you feel the struggle the Protagonist has with her own heritage and the judgements of others around her and how they effect her need to belong.
With each new setting, the author introduces a new drama keeping the pace of the story moving forward to its climatic conclusion. I would have welcomed more descriptive narrative introduced about each setting just to make them even more interesting and compelling but the author did well balancing narrative and dialogue and I was able to imagine, through the use of both, where the story was taking place. However, I note that normally in children’s book, with the exception of epic fantasy, description narrative is kept at a minimum to propel the story along faster.

The quality of writing was expertly done and the story is well-edited. I found no plot holes or misspelled words/missing words or any change in pace suggesting a plot issue. The author’s voice flows smoothly from one transition to another giving you moments of culture and accents in dialogue for a true Caribbean flavor. Descriptions of dress and hair styles, use of colors in clothing and community traditions fill the book with hints of life in Caribbean/West Africa. Through the author’s voice, I could envision it all and I love this book for sharing all these lovely tidbits with me.

The story structure was interesting. There was only one spot that needed re-reading, but in all, the story moved along nicely. Plot development was strong with character driven goals moving the story along at a constant pace.

Every single character was useful and important to the Protagonist in achieving her goals. Through their interactions, they successfully propelled her forward to achieving each goal set out in the story in a clear and decisively written manner. I found every character unique and necessary to the story development. The only one I didn’t quite get was the White Witch, but I suspect I would understand more about her, if I had read the first book before this one.

From beginning to end, I enjoyed this book. It was very entertaining and eye-opening to a culture I wasn’t that familiar with. Life by the ocean must be incredible and the author captured this feeling exquisitely.
I think the premise for this series promises to be insightful, rich and original. I hope the rest of the Jumbies series continues to entertain ages eight through to twelve as this one book successfully entertained me. ( )