Root Magic, Eden Royce
Root Magic, Eden Royce
List: $26.99 | Sale: $18.89
Club: $13.49

Root Magic

Author: Eden Royce

Narrator: Imani Parks

Unabridged: 9 hr 54 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/05/2021


Synopsis

“A poignant, necessary entry into the children’s literary canon, Root Magic brings to life the history and culture of Gullah people while highlighting the timeless plight of Black Americans. Add in a fun, magical adventure and you get everything I want in a book!” —Justina Ireland, New York Times bestselling author of Dread NationWalter Dean Myers Honor Award for Outstanding Children's Literature! A Mythopoeic Fantasy Award winner!Debut author Eden Royce arrives with a wondrous story of love, bravery, friendship, and family, filled to the brim with magic great and small.It’s 1963, and things are changing for Jezebel Turner. Her beloved grandmother has just passed away. The local police deputy won’t stop harassing her family. With school integration arriving in South Carolina, Jez and her twin brother, Jay, are about to begin the school year with a bunch of new kids. But the biggest change comes when Jez and Jay turn eleven— and their uncle, Doc, tells them he’s going to train them in rootwork.Jez and Jay have always been fascinated by the African American folk magic that has been the legacy of their family for generations—especially the curious potions and powders Doc and Gran would make for the people on their island. But Jez soon finds out that her family’s true power goes far beyond small charms and elixirs…and not a moment too soon. Because when evil both natural and supernatural comes to show itself in town, it’s going to take every bit of the magic she has inside her to see her through.

About Eden Royce

Eden Royce is a writer from Charleston, SC, now living in the garden of England. Her debut novel, Root Magic, was a Walter Dean Myers Award Honoree, an ALA Notable Children's Book, a Mythopoeic Fantasy Award winner, and a Nebula Award Finalist for outstanding children’s literature. She is also a Shirley Jackson Award finalist for her short fiction for adults. You can find her online at edenroyce.com.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Gavin on May 23, 2021

Atmospheric and all-round-fantastic, a story of twins who discover family magic in their historical setting of South Carolina in the 1960s. Check out my interview with the author on my YouTube channel about 'Root Magic': [URL not allowed] Jez and Jay are twins who have just lost their Gran......more

Goodreads review by Justina on August 31, 2020

Excellent fun! I highly recommend. Bonus for a sensitive depiction of Gullah Geechee culture. Loved it.......more

Goodreads review by Diana on October 19, 2024

Reading ROOT MAGIC was such a joy — can I give it more than five stars? The protagonist, 11-year old Jezebel Turner, is a mighty and memorable middle grade heroine. Set in South Carolina in 1963, the story follows Jezebel as she begins to study rootwork, a tradition passed down from her Gullah ances......more

Goodreads review by Ms. Woc Reader on December 15, 2020

Root Magic is set in 1963 and follows young Jezebel Turner who is turning 11 and entering sixth grade. While her twin brother Jay has no problems making friends that's not the case for Jez. Her peers who often ostracize her because of her family's connection to root work leaving her to feel inferior......more

Goodreads review by Betsy on March 30, 2021

When I was a kid, one of my favorite novels was Virginia Hamilton’s The House of Dies Drear. I don’t think I really realized at the time what a novel thing it was. Today, kids would not be particularly shocked to encounter a book that combined the long arm of slavery to the present day alongside a......more