A review by tcbueti
Bayou Magic by Jewell Parker Rhodes

5.0

It’s finally Maddy’s turn to visit Grandmére in Bon Temps Bayou. Her older sisters have already been and complained about weird and wild it is, but Maddy is different, always has been. She feels things, notices and imagines (?) things they miss. She can feel the magic of life in Bon Temps, the animals and people. She meets Bear, a boy whose whole life is exploring the bayou, and whose dad works in the ill-fated Deepwater Horizon oil rig. Shortly after arriving, Maddy sees something in the water—could it have been a girl? A mermaid? From her grandmother, she learns how slaves coming from Africa were followed by water sprits, even though their despair made them turn away from their old beliefs. After the Deepwater explodes, creating a massive oil spill, the survival of the bayou may depend on harnessing the power of these ancient spirits—and Maddy may be the only one who can make that happen.

Sensitive story about friendship and loyalty: Bear keeps looking for the mermaid, just on Maddy’s word, and Maddy helps Bear when his heartsick dad comes
Home from the rig and is drunk and abusive. Healing comes in many forms: time and food and nature.

Full of a slow magic and power, very atmospheric. Parts, especially toward the end, are quite suspenseful and thrilling. Charming chapter-heading woodcuts.

Issues: They only save their little corner or the gulf. Why couldn’t the mermaids cap the spill?
Abrupt ending: Bear’s dad is killed. He helps try to save birds, them
Maddy rouses mermaids, then she’s going home with her mom’s promise that she’ll return each summer.