Entrenched secrets, mysterious spirits, and an astonishing friendship weave together in this extraordinary and haunting debut that School Library Journal calls “a powerful story about loss and moving on.”Nothing matters. Only Bird matters. And he flew away. Jewel never knew her brother Bird, but all her life she has lived in his shadow. Her parents blame Grandpa for the tragedy of their family’s past: they say that Grandpa attracted a malevolent spirit—a duppy—into their home. Grandpa hasn’t spoken a word since. Now Jewel is twelve, and she lives in a house full of secrets and impenetrable silence. Jewel is sure that no one will ever love her like they loved Bird, until the night that she meets a mysterious boy in a tree. Grandpa is convinced that the boy is a duppy, but Jewel knows that he is something more. And that maybe—just maybe—the time has come to break through the stagnant silence of the past.
I'm actually procrastinating this review! (Proof: I just found this super sweet GIF of Sam and Frodo after they nearly drown.) Why am I procrastinating?It was so dang good I can't turn it into words!5-stars isn't even enough! It tore up all my feels and hit all my heartstrings. I just want to gather up EVERYONE in the book and hug them. (I don't even do hugs. But they all need one.)It's totally sad and beautiful all at once. Can I just mention tha..
This is a story of granite and galaxies, Jamaican mento music and Jamaican superstitions. It’s the story of how the past haunts the present, and how friendship blooms in the most unlikely places. The characters are fascinating: a mixed-race girl is haunted by her dead brother; an adopted boy fears losing his parents to a new baby; a grandpa must break the curse that makes him mute; and parents must learn to love in the face of heartbreaking loss. Crystal Chan has pulled ..
