A review by permanentlei
The Halfway Tree (Parts 1 & 2) by True Nicks

adventurous mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.25

Let’s try keep dis ting spoiler free for the kids who ain’t read it yet. 

The Halfway Tree by True Nicks is releasing tomorrow and I encourage you all to pick it up if you haven’t already preordered. 

This story takes place in Trinidad and Tobago in the mid-2000s and we follow Cherise Martin’s adventures as her life is thrown for a massive loop. Between a missing father, family issues, and jumbies she’s having a time of it. 

First and foremost, the atmosphere in this book was on point. I would often find myself laying in bed lost in the pages. From the setting, to the descriptions, to the characters, to the dialect.  Despite coming from The Bahamas, a lot of the quiet moments in the book were so familiar to me (my pa also watched old westerns on what limited channels we got on cable). In my opinion, it was the small moments like that really added to the atmosphere to make the book something special. 

But don’t get me wrong the jumbies were a big ting too! 🤣 I may have jumped a lil bit trying to take this picture. I run from sounds in the dark. Y’all better hope I don’t have no nightmares. 🤣

Still tho, the big moments hit just like the small ones. I kinda feel off my big book game this year so I stalled a bit at times but I kept coming back to see what would happen next. I definitely got antsy at points. 

⭐️ ⭐️ 4 Stars ⭐️ ⭐️ plus a bonus half star for the Caribbean rep 💫 and props to keeping the child POV really believable. 

I received an ARC from Jamet.te Publications in exchange for and honest review. 

I plan on getting the final copy myself and posting a long, full of spoiler review later!