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careinthelibrary's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Root Magic is great! I liked the two siblings and the whole cast of characters. The history that was incorporated into the story was fantastic and done naturally. I appreciated this one and will look forward to reading something else from this author in the future. Some really cool imagery and a world that I won't soon forget.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality, Violence, Racism, Hate crime, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Blood, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Bullying, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, and Murder
a1ice_booklover's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
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? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Hate crime
Minor: Blood, Gun violence, and Alcohol
A little scaryofpagesandparagraphs's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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? N/A
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime and Police brutality
Moderate: Bullying, Death of parent, Grief, and Racism
jojo_'s review
adventurous
dark
emotional
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Racism, Bullying, Hate crime, and Police brutality
Moderate: Death of parent and Grief
Minor: Animal cruelty, Murder, and Animal death
f18's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Hate crime, and Police brutality
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Blood, Bullying, Gun violence, and Racism
Minor: Animal death, Body shaming, Cursing, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Sexism, Slavery, and Violence
drowningallison_reads's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
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? Yes
5.0
Ugh this is such a sweet book. I know it's marketed towards children but, it didn't feel like a children's book at all! It's whimsical and fantastical while touching on very real issues that African-American's faced during the Civil Rights Movement in the US. I would recommend anyway read this novel!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Death of parent, Grief, and Hate crime
Moderate: Bullying and Gun violence
Minor: Blood and Murder
ceallaighsbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-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? Yes
4.75
“All of that is what makes us Gullah Geechee people who we are. If no one tells the stories anymore, if no one learns the magic anymore, our ways will disappear from the world. Then all we’ll have is what the people think of us.” He bent his head to look both me and Jay in the eyes. “And how important is what other people think of us?”
I don’t read a lot of Middle Grade novels but I couldn’t resist reading this one for its Gullah Geechee rep and exploration of the root magic tradition.
This was such a precious, warm story full of a nuanced exploration of the difficulties of childhood, especially in regards to the effects of systemic racism and a lack of appreciation for the “old ways”. The values expressed through this book were those of community, family, loyalty, and a pride in ones self and ones traditions in the face of outside pressure to forget such things or dismiss them as unmodern and therefore unimportant or even ignorant.
The themes of bullying, police brutality, and racism were treated with great intention and yet also with such subtlety that I think Royce really captured the way children experience such issues and why approaching these conversations openly and honestly with children at a young age will help them build the tools and strength needed to be able to thrive in spite of these outside forces throughout their lives.
“History, Thomas, is the story of who we are. And sometimes, Negro history is told by people who don’t think we’re important. People who don’t think we make a difference in the world.” She gazed around the class then, like she was making a point to look at each one of us. “But we do matter. What we think matters. Our voices matter. And our stories matter too much to let someone else tell them. People need to know that.”
The character development was also very strong and I thought the adult characters in particular were a lot more complex and felt a lot more like real people than I usually find them to be represented in MG books.
There were some pretty scary parts, one of a supernatural nature, another of a police brutality nature, and the bullying episodes were pretty intense, but they were all perfectly handled and important to the story overall.
The philosophy of this book was also incredibly excellent. The profound respect and appreciation that Gullah Geechee traditions have for the natural world was very apparent in this book but I also loved how both Doc and Jezebel had their own views and values and were able to interpret and change their sacred practices according to their own personal codes. (Jezebel’s point blank refusal to harm any animals gor any reason in her magic was 😚👌🏻. And I loved that she even considered that “but we eat animals” and she acknowledges that that’s ok but for her and her magic, she wants to find another way. 🥰❤️🥰❤️🥰
I was also particularly in love with the choices made surrounding the character of Susie—I can’t say more about it without giving some major spoilers—but her involvement with Jez’s life was my favorite part of the story.
And the foodddd. All I wanted to eat for a week after finishing this book was different rice dishes. 😋😋 Might need to track down a Gullah Geechee cookbook soon… 🥰
“I walked up to the marsh, a place that had held such fascination and fun and fear for me, and placed my feet at the edge of the water. Here was where I had almost lost everything, even my life, but it was also the place where I found that I was connected to the people who loved me. And it didn’t matter that some of them might be gone for now. I was here, and I would remember them, always.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Police brutality, and Racism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Blood, and Hate crime
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