The Jumbies

""I think you like to look for dangerous things."<br/><br/>I was looking for books to read for Women in Horror Month and Black History Month (both in February), and I came across The Jumbies series. I don't read a ton of middle grade books, so I wasn't entirely sure how this was going to go. I decided to take a chance on it, and I'm so glad I did! <br/><br/>The Jumbies is set on a Carribbean island, and the story is rooted in Carribbean folklore. This was not something I had been exposed to before, so I loved digging into this new environment. According the the author's notes at the back of the book, "jumbie" is a generic term for any bad entity. There are different types mentioned in the book, such as douens, soucouyants, and lagahoos. Look these up! They're all really interesting. <br/><br/>The main character in The Jumbies is Corinne La Mer, and I enjoyed getting to know Corinne. She has a lot of spirit, she cares deeply about her friends and family, and she's very, very curious about things. As you can guess, this gets her into trouble quite often. <br/><br/>I think The Jumbies is pretty spooky for a middle-grade book. It's not too spooky, but I think it's a great selection for a kid who likes stuff on the darker side. There are great creatures, magic, bravery, and more. It's a lot of fun. <br/><br/>I ordered the second book (Rise of the Jumbies) while I was still reading this one, and I'll have a review for that one coming soon. Across both books, I think there's a theme of finding out what family means to you, and also seeing that sometimes your friends may treat you more like family than your blood relatives. Everyone in this book wants a family, and many of them create their own. People who are alone end up banding together, and I loved seeing everyone find where they were supposed to be across the two books."