Bumps in the Night
by Amalie Howard
Intermediate    Delacorte    304 pp.
2/24    9780593645871    $17.99
Library ed.  9780593645888    $20.99
e-book ed.  9780593645895    $10.99

Twelve-year-old Darika Lovelace is spending the summer in Trinidad with her grandmother; she feels like her dad and stepmother don’t want her around because she has been getting in trouble. She also misses her mom, who left two years earlier. When she arrives in Trinidad, she notices a strange woman looking at her; she asks about it, but Granny brushes her off. Later, Granny asks her to clear out her mother’s childhood room and finish the mural her mom started. While painting the mural, Darika begins to have strange visions of her mom trapped in a tree she painted. Darika learns from some neighborhood kids that she is a witch and must save her mother. Howard mixes Trinidadian folklore with present-day issues to create a fast-paced adventure. Her descriptions of the island are vivid and create a strong sense of place; references to popular video games add appeal. Fans of Baptiste’s Jumbies series will enjoy this accessible page-turner.

From the January/February 2024 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.