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litpages3's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
4.25
jengennari's review against another edition
5.0
A nail-biting, cricket-bowling, mermaid-myth story about a girl who has her suspicions about Daddy's new girlfriend--that turn out to be true. Loved this Caribbean tale and the friendship between Josephine and her neighbor Ahkai.
iamprincessx's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book and I’m upset I have to wait another year for the next one.
francica's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
4.0
My fishy stepmom was a wonderful book and a great start to Read Caribbean Month. Set on the island of Barbados, the story follows cricket lover 11 year old Josephine Cadogan, who along with her best friend Akhai and what I call their many "Operations" (You have to read the book to understand what this means.
What I liked about this novel is that while it was hilarious and quite a light read it dealt with a serious topic in a very clever way and that is the loss of a parent.
Josephine had lost her mother, and she was intent on not allowing another woman to take her place. I think this was a nice theme for a children or a book for younger readers because it is a topic not often considered. As a teacher myself, I have had many students who would have lost parents and it was indeed difficult so Josephine's character to me was very relatable in that way.
Oh gosh!! The Fishy Stepmom Mariss, what a character. And as a lover of West Indian Foklore myself I loved how that element of mystery and fantasy was woven into her character. The ending as well was very nice.
All in all I liked this book and would recommend it.
What I liked about this novel is that while it was hilarious and quite a light read it dealt with a serious topic in a very clever way and that is the loss of a parent.
Josephine had lost her mother, and she was intent on not allowing another woman to take her place. I think this was a nice theme for a children or a book for younger readers because it is a topic not often considered. As a teacher myself, I have had many students who would have lost parents and it was indeed difficult so Josephine's character to me was very relatable in that way.
Oh gosh!! The Fishy Stepmom Mariss, what a character. And as a lover of West Indian Foklore myself I loved how that element of mystery and fantasy was woven into her character. The ending as well was very nice.
All in all I liked this book and would recommend it.
erin_winship's review
3.0
i read this book for my class and i didn't enjoy it that much. i found it hard to get through and i didn't like josephine a lot. she was really bratty and she made it difficult for me to like her. her story was sad, her fear of moving on past her mother. her fear of her father moving on and her active imagination make an interesting story. the ending felt rushed and the middle felt slow. it could have been a lot shorter. i also didn't see her change and it felt very sudden.
mekeisha's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
cozylifewithabby's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
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
3.25
Josephine wants her daddy all to herself, but while she is in the midst of trying to get on the cricket team, her father falls in love with a mermaid type monster. Josephine must save the day and learn some lessons along the way. I enjoyed Josephine's character and her friend Akai. It was an excellent middle grade magical realism text.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infertility and Animal death
sherrise's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
mswocreader's review
5.0
Josephine is a mischievous little girl who lives in the seaside village of Fairy Vale, Barbados with her father. She has a habit of chasing away every woman her widowed father dates. She plans on it just being the two of them and this year is the year she will make the school cricket team.
One day a mysterious woman shows up on her father's arm. But for some reason this new woman, Mariss isn't succumbing to Josephine's attempted pranks. She immediately senses something is off about the way men and women bend to Mariss' will so easily. And what's with the way the fish act around her? This pushy woman has forced her way into Josephine's life fairly quickly and is positioning herself to be her new mother.
This book was a good read. It's been awhile since a book had me laughing the way this one did. There was this scene where Josephine tries to sabotage Mariss by pouring wiri wiri pepper into her soup and I was on the edge of my seat waiting for her reaction. If you've ever tasted it you know it is not for the weak!
I loved how well it showcased Josephine's father's heritage as well. He's an originally from Guyana and not to get too deep into it but some Guyanese people face discrimination in Barbados (Rihanna talked a little bit about it in an interview last year). I myself have Guyanese family in Barbados so it was a beautiful and familiar thing to hear her Josephine talk about her father's homeland and foods and traditions he brought from there. And there are many people in the Caribbean whose family has roots on other countries and they balance traditions and foods from both.
The characters use Bajan Creole freely and it's not explained or translated. Young readers who aren't of Caribbean heritage will just have to use context clues to figure it out. And they will see that though they live a little differently the children in the Caribbean have many similarities to them as well.
I'm also a lover of any water related mythos and was a big fan of mermaids as a child so that's one of the reasons I wanted to pick up this book.
This book also deals with grief but in a way that's not preachy while still showing how you never completely get over loss but slowly do heal. And I think the kids will enjoy the magic and the fast pace. Shakirah Bourne writes in a way that is guaranteed to easily capture even the most reluctant reader's attention.
If your children liked The Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste they'll love this one. And if you're looking for more Caribbean folklore based books for your children be sure to pre-order A Comb of Wishes.
See original review
https://womenofcolorreadtoo.blogspot.com/2021/06/josephine-against-sea-by-shakirah-bourne.html
One day a mysterious woman shows up on her father's arm. But for some reason this new woman, Mariss isn't succumbing to Josephine's attempted pranks. She immediately senses something is off about the way men and women bend to Mariss' will so easily. And what's with the way the fish act around her? This pushy woman has forced her way into Josephine's life fairly quickly and is positioning herself to be her new mother.
This book was a good read. It's been awhile since a book had me laughing the way this one did. There was this scene where Josephine tries to sabotage Mariss by pouring wiri wiri pepper into her soup and I was on the edge of my seat waiting for her reaction. If you've ever tasted it you know it is not for the weak!
I loved how well it showcased Josephine's father's heritage as well. He's an originally from Guyana and not to get too deep into it but some Guyanese people face discrimination in Barbados (Rihanna talked a little bit about it in an interview last year). I myself have Guyanese family in Barbados so it was a beautiful and familiar thing to hear her Josephine talk about her father's homeland and foods and traditions he brought from there. And there are many people in the Caribbean whose family has roots on other countries and they balance traditions and foods from both.
The characters use Bajan Creole freely and it's not explained or translated. Young readers who aren't of Caribbean heritage will just have to use context clues to figure it out. And they will see that though they live a little differently the children in the Caribbean have many similarities to them as well.
I'm also a lover of any water related mythos and was a big fan of mermaids as a child so that's one of the reasons I wanted to pick up this book.
This book also deals with grief but in a way that's not preachy while still showing how you never completely get over loss but slowly do heal. And I think the kids will enjoy the magic and the fast pace. Shakirah Bourne writes in a way that is guaranteed to easily capture even the most reluctant reader's attention.
If your children liked The Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste they'll love this one. And if you're looking for more Caribbean folklore based books for your children be sure to pre-order A Comb of Wishes.
See original review
https://womenofcolorreadtoo.blogspot.com/2021/06/josephine-against-sea-by-shakirah-bourne.html