Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews

A family emergency sends a tween to live with a relative she didn't know existed and who holds the secret to her beloved grandmother's past.Eleven-year-old Delphinia Baker is used to being uprooted. Her dad's in the military, and changing duty stations means Del and her grandmother must pack up and move too. However, when Gramma suddenly falls ill, Del's world changes unimaginably. With her father deployed, she's sent to stay with Nana Rose, Gramma's mother, on one of South Carolina's Sea Islands. Nana Rose runs a boarding school dedicated to keeping the lore and traditions of the Gullah people alive, including conjure magic. Del is skeptical about magic, and her worries about Gramma plus the island's isolation weigh on her mind. The school, the teachers, and even the other students feel strange. Eva, Del's roommate, is friendly, but Del is reluctant to open up to her. Soon it becomes clear that the magic is real, and Del is determined to discover why Gramma kept this part of her life hidden. Her struggles to work magic cause her to worry whether she will ever understand her family's past-and land her in some precarious situations. Following her acclaimed debut, Root Magic (2021), Royce offers readers another strong fantasy steeped in Gullah culture, featuring mythic creatures, ghosts, and brooms that facilitate spells. Del is a fully realized protagonist who convincingly changes from a wary observer to a young person embracing her heritage.A rich window into a unique cultural community. (Fantasy. 8-12)

ALA Booklist

Del Baker has never known what it's like to have a large family, or "roots," as her grandmother says. It has always just been her, her grandmother, and her father, who is frequently deployed. When her grandmother gets ill, Del finds out that she has a great- grandmother who lives on an island in South Carolina. Further surprises arise as Del learns that not only did her grandmother keep her own mother a secret, but she also hid the fact that she comes from a magical community. Del is soon immersed in the enticing world of conjure magic, a branch of magic that stems from her ancestors who were once enslaved. Royce has created a unique world that celebrates the magic and folklore of the African diaspora. This book has a quieter plot than other fantasy adventures, deferring instead to the internal struggles of identity, familial belonging, and friendship. An excellent read for anyone who enjoys getting lost in a world of magic.

Horn Book (Tue Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Because her father is in the Air Force, eleven-year-old Delphinia Baker moves to a new state every year, making it difficult to form lasting friendships. Del is grateful for the one constant in her life: her grandmother. However, when Gramma falls ill while Del's father is deployed, Del is sent to stay with her great-grandmother, Nana Rose, who runs a school on an island off the coast of South Carolina. Del didn't know she had a great-grandmother -- nor did she know that she comes from a long line of conjurers, spell workers whose magic is tied to the land and the community. At first, Del wants nothing to do with the strange school, but she soon learns that magic is more than incantations and enchantments. Magic is family, community, and life. Still, the mystery remains: why did her grandmother hide the existence of the school, the island, and her family? This heartfelt fantastical novel discusses resonant topics such as belonging, friendship, and grief. Royce's (Root Magic, rev. 3/21) narrative is filled with magic, but the heart of the story lies in its connection to Southern conjure and Gullah Geechee culture. Share with readers who enjoyed Dumas's Wildseed Witch and Clayton's The Marvellers (rev. 5/22).

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

A family emergency sends a tween to live with a relative she didn't know existed and who holds the secret to her beloved grandmother's past.Eleven-year-old Delphinia Baker is used to being uprooted. Her dad's in the military, and changing duty stations means Del and her grandmother must pack up and move too. However, when Gramma suddenly falls ill, Del's world changes unimaginably. With her father deployed, she's sent to stay with Nana Rose, Gramma's mother, on one of South Carolina's Sea Islands. Nana Rose runs a boarding school dedicated to keeping the lore and traditions of the Gullah people alive, including conjure magic. Del is skeptical about magic, and her worries about Gramma plus the island's isolation weigh on her mind. The school, the teachers, and even the other students feel strange. Eva, Del's roommate, is friendly, but Del is reluctant to open up to her. Soon it becomes clear that the magic is real, and Del is determined to discover why Gramma kept this part of her life hidden. Her struggles to work magic cause her to worry whether she will ever understand her family's past-and land her in some precarious situations. Following her acclaimed debut, Root Magic (2021), Royce offers readers another strong fantasy steeped in Gullah culture, featuring mythic creatures, ghosts, and brooms that facilitate spells. Del is a fully realized protagonist who convincingly changes from a wary observer to a young person embracing her heritage.A rich window into a unique cultural community. (Fantasy. 8-12)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

A Black tween discovers she has magical ancestry after meeting a distant relative in this beguiling family mystery by Royce (Root Magic). Because of her father’s military career, 11-year-old Delphinia Baker is used to moving every year or so. Though she’s never really had a chance to settle anywhere, Del insists that she’s fine as long as she has maternal grandmother Gramma (“I don’t need friends... I have you,” Del says). But when Gramma has a health scare, Del is sent to South Carolina to spend the summer with Gramma’s mother Nana Rose, her estranged great-grandmother, whom Del has never met. Nana Rose is nothing like Del expects: she travels on the back of an alligator and runs Vesey Conservatory, a school that teaches conjure magic based in Gullah traditions. While Del is skeptical of magic’s existence at first, when faced with ghost butlers, enchantment-casting teachers, and sentient brooms, her disbelief is replaced by two big questions: Why did Gramma never mention this place, and why did she leave it all those years ago? Royce employs Del’s observant first-person narration to seamlessly weave together an engaging tale of magic, friendship, and family steeped in Black Southern culture that highlights the importance of knowing one’s history. Ages 8–12. Agent: Adriann Ranta Zurhellen, Foundry Literary & Media. (June)