Bumps in the Night
Delacorte Press, 2024
Agent: Thao Le
The creepy middle grade debut from USA Today bestselling author Amalie Howard in which a girl stays with her grandmother in Trinidad for the summer and discovers that she comes from a long line of powerful witches.
Darika “Rika” Lovelace is in trouble. The kind of trouble that sends her to her grandmother’s estate in Trinidad for the whole summer. But something about the island feels…different. As soon as she steps off the plane, strange things start happening!
Rika meets a group of kids called Minders, who seem to have elemental powers. Even worse, she can sense jumbies lurking in the shadows. Needless to say, she wants a ticket home. But when the Minders let slip that her long-lost mom is in danger, she knows she can’t leave.
Thrust into a magical adventure involving bloodcurdling monsters, a supernatural silk cotton tree, and an endless maze, Rika must defeat the fearsome jumbie king to save her family and new friends. But unless she learns to believe in herself, she’ll never beat him or escape his twisted maze.
Reviews:
"Combined with fantastical, climate-conscious scenarios and vivacious and illuminating Black Indo-Trinidadian diaspora folklore that springs from the pages, this beguiling read is one to savor." —Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Exciting, culturally rich fun and adventure." — Kirkus Reviews
"Popular with adults and teens, Howard fills her first middle-grade fantasy with Trinidadian folklore. She smoothly intertwines environmental issues and romance into the story for more depth. Many young readers will empathize as Rika learns to connect with her blended family, all the while gaining confidence in herself and her magic. An excellent read for those who crave adventure with a touch of spookiness." — Booklist
"A fast-paced adventure." —The Horn Book