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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
One beef with this book, which I believe kids in that agespan (middlegrade) would understand. Scorpions are arachnids not insects.
That said I really enjoyed the story and it was a nice read while I'm in my big book slump. And I loved the use of mythology.
That said I really enjoyed the story and it was a nice read while I'm in my big book slump. And I loved the use of mythology.
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was certainly a fun book. It just fell into the awkward place between being too short for it to be a book I could be truly invested in and too long to feel like a quick fairy tale style story. This therefore leaves me with difficulty to review it personally as I enjoyed all of it and there was nothing inherently wrong with any of it but I also didn't feel strongly about it.
However this is a book I would recommend to early readers provided they are not easily scared. Though through an adult lens this seemed very mild indeed for an early reader aged 6+ I would highly recommend this book.
However this is a book I would recommend to early readers provided they are not easily scared. Though through an adult lens this seemed very mild indeed for an early reader aged 6+ I would highly recommend this book.
Couldn't keep my interest. I wasn't invested in the characters or the story.
Actual rating: 4,5 stars
Content 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 death
My opinion
Okay, 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.
Content 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 death
My opinion
Okay, 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.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
An excellent nostalgic story on the folktales found in the Caribbean. The lyrical writing, climactic action sequences and the lovable characters made this a 5 star read for me. I recommend this children's book by Ms Baptiste to readers of all ages.