Reviews

Root Magic by Eden Royce

twstdtink's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

A truly amazing book that should be in every middle school library. I was initially drawn to Root Magic because of its banned/challenged status, but I soon found myself immersed in its rich characters, beautiful setting, and vibrant cultural backdrop. Royce weaves a tale of family bonds, highlighting the enduring legacy of the Gullah-Geechee people that echoes across generations. Even though this wasn't about my heritage, it resonated with me, and it wasn't easy to part with these characters at the end.

This book does contain paranormal elements that might be too intense for some young readers. There is also talk about racism, police brutality, and the assassination of JFK. The book takes place in the 1960's and I feel all subject matter is relevant and important to the story. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism

scienceworks's review

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.5

bibliobrandie's review

3.0

Set in South Carolina (in the marsh, the second Carolina marsh book of the month for me!) in 1963, Root Magic is filled with history and Gullah culture. This story follows Jezebel, her twin brother Jay, and their family just after the passing of their grandmother. Jezebel and Jay have turned eleven and are starting to learn about root work and their family history.
This started off really strong for me but was very slow going in the center and I couldn't quite figure where the author was going. It picked up again in the end but it made for a slower read.

lostyesterday's review

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

plantingneurons's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

marieintheraw's review

4.0

What do you get when you add family, magic, historical fiction and horror in together? This book. I knew with how it opened that this book was going to be something special and I was not disappointed.

tophat8855's review

4.0

Listened via Hoopla. A wonderful Tale about the Gullah people on the coast of the Carolinas, places in the 60s (JFK’s assassination is mentioned as a new item in the story). Don’t know how important it is to include a “good” white cop in the story, but the book is for kids. But the story of root magic and respecting those folk traditions is a good thing to introduce kids to. Jezebel is a great character and I think a lot of kids will be shot to relate to her and her worries.

makeda_colourlit's review

adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense 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

4.0

cxppatee's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

basicallybisaha's review against another edition

adventurous informative mysterious tense 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? No

5.0