Winner of the Stonewall Book Award
Winner of the Lambda Literary Award
Born during a storm, Caroline Murphy, a 12-year-old black girl, is convinced that she has been cursed with bad luck.
The old ladies around her way say this is the fate of any child born during a hurricane. Recent events in her life seem to confirm this. Feeling unwanted by everyone, especially since the abrupt departure of her mom, Caroline leads a difficult life. She is bullied by those at her school in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, including her teacher, for her skin, which is darker than theirs. She is also followed around by a spirit—the woman in black—that she is sure only she can see. The arrival of a new student from Barbados changes Caroline’s life significantly. Also bullied, the exuberantly dreadlocked Kalinda becomes Caroline’s first and only friend, and soon Caroline’s feelings blossom into something more than platonic. This spells problems for Caroline, since feelings like these are considered sinful in Catholic school. Caroline now must deal with growing up without a mother and her feelings for Kalinda, all while trying to figure out why the woman in black will not leave her alone. Her journey to the answers to her most burning questions finds her discovering much about herself and those around her. Writing in Caroline’s present-tense voice, Callender draws readers in and makes them identify with Caroline’s angst and sorrow and joy and pain.
Embedding their appealing protagonist in a fully realized Caribbean setting, Callender has readers rooting for Caroline the whole way.
BIO
Kacen Callender is a bestselling and award-winning author of multiple novels for children, teens, and adults, including the National Book Award-winning King and the Dragonflies and the bestselling novel Felix Ever After. Kacen enjoys playing RPG video games, practicing their art, and focusing on healing and growth in their free time. They currently reside in Los Angeles, California.
REVIEWS
[Caroline and Kalinda's] journey toward understanding is harrowing but rewarding, because of all the dangers in this novel…the greatest by far is isolation. When Caroline risks heartbreak and scorn to tell Kalinda how she feels, most readers will understand why. They will also know why Caroline embarks on a perilous search for her mother. The stakes are high, the revelations are serious and Callender doesn't sugarcoat. But readers who face troubles of their own may recognize Caroline's fierce resolve…It's not a soft or gentle vision; these are not circumstances anyone wants children to face. But Caroline's insistence on love, no matter what, might be just what young readers need to see. --Nalini Jones The New York Times Book Review
Twelve-year-old Caroline Murphy was born during a hurricane, which is considered a curse in her home of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, and she’s convinced that she’s the recipient of bad luck. Caroline’s mother left her alone with her father more than a year ago, sending occasional postcards that slowly dwindled to nothing; Caroline is bullied at school for her darker skin; and she begins to see a spirit dressed in black and wonders whether it means help or harm. When Kalinda arrives from Barbados, she strikes Caroline as a true individual, someone who can help her on her quest to find her mother, and things begin to look up. Then Caroline’s admiration of Kalinda becomes romantic love, which is not well received in her community, and she must face her feelings on all fronts. Callender’s debut novel contains absorbing descriptions of the island (“The paint gets big bubbles whenever it rains so that I can pick and pick and pick at them until they burst”) and is a folkloric tale about overcoming old narratives and creating new ones. --Publishers Weekly
Writing in Caroline's present-tense voice, Callender draws readers in and makes them identify with Caroline's angst and sorrow and joy and pain.Embedding her appealing protagonist in a fully realized Caribbean setting, Callender has readers rooting for Caroline the whole way. --Kirkus Reviews
[H] Scholastic Press / March 27, 2018
1.0" H x 8.4" L x 5.4" W (0.75 lbs) 224 pages