Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Two teens, one a Black girl from the Caribbean and one a Black biracial girl from Brooklyn, struggle to find their identities. Fifteen-year-old Marisol and her mother, Lourdes, have recently settled in a tiny apartment in Brooklyn. They are soucouyant, witches who shed their skins during the new moon and “sip from / a soul,” nourishing themselves through the life force of their enemies. But the American dream Mummy is seeking doesn’t include freedom for Marisol, who feels “forever alone.” Monthly she shape-shifts, igniting her firesoul and shedding a layer of the skin—“Black, girl, poor, and immigrant”—given to her in America. Seventeen-year-old Genevieve lives with her white anthropologist father, white stepmother, and twin half siblings. She dreams of her mother, a Black woman who’s a mystery, and struggles with her skin, which feels like it will “burn and melt,” itching “like a billion tiny needles.” The girls’ worlds collide when Lourdes is hired as a nanny by Genevieve’s stepmother. Marisol and Genevieve are two sides of the same coin, both reaching for maternal connections, and soon, loyalties in their families and within themselves will be tested. The girls’ intertwined tales, blurring and shifting over the course of the narrative, unfold in lyrical alternating first-person verse and are cleverly used to discuss beauty ideals and colorism. Readers will enjoy the ways the monstrous characters’ human facades shift unexpectedly. A vividly creative, heart-pounding poetic journey infused with Caribbean folklore.(Verse fantasy. 14-18) Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Publishers Weekly
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Fifteen-year-old Marisol—a soucouyant, or shape-shifting witch, who turns into a flying fireball once a month and feeds on other people’s life forces—longs to escape her magical legacy and wishes she could have a different life. Far away from the monsters and myths back home in the Caribbean and trying to forge a new path in New York City, she and her mother eke out an existence working at a bakery owned by their boss and landlord, Jean-Pierre. Meanwhile, Genevieve, a 17-year-old Black and white dancer living with a painful skin condition that keeps her up at night, struggles to juggle the demands of high school and her boyfriend Micah’s jealousy. The arrival of a new nanny for her white father and stepmother’s twin newborns compels Genevieve to discover a hidden connection to her absent mother, her cultural roots, and Marisol. Using gripping verse, Zoboi (Nigeria Jones) delves into each teen’s inner turmoil, tackling themes of misogynoir, colorism, and immigration via complicated mother-daughter dynamics. The girls’ shifting perspectives appear on alternating sides of the book’s pages, only combining once they meet; an ambiguous resolution rounds out this searing exploration of personal growth and self-discovery. Ages 13–up. Agent: Linda Camacho, Gallt & Zacker Literary. (Feb.)

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Ever since she could remember, it has been Marisol and her mother. The two attempt to eke out a life in Brooklyn while keeping their true identities hidden. They’re soucouyants, or shape-shifters, who rely on the life force of others. After being kicked out of their home and fired from their shared job, Marisol and her mother find unlikely employment with Genevieve’s family. Genevieve is biracial but never knew her mother. She just knows that her white father has an obsession with Caribbean culture and that her white stepmother can’t look at her without seeing her father’s betrayal. Marisol’s mother moves into the home to help care for Genevieve’s infant siblings, but Genevieve can’t help but notice that there is something different about the new nanny and her daughter. While they are different in age, cultural upbringing, and appearance, Marisol and Genevieve both have to grapple with their jealousy and powerful magic. Zoboi’s novel in verse is bold and exciting; employing alternating perspectives, the author plays with language and the book’s format to craft fully realized characters by exploring their envies and desires. Readers will fly through Zoboi’s latest masterpiece and crave more stories featuring Caribbean folklore. An ambitious contemporary fantasy that will grip readers from the first page.

School Library Journal
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Gr 7 Up—A contemporary YA fantasy novel in verse rooted in Caribbean folklore, specifically the myth of the soucouyant—women who shed their skins and consume souls by the light of the new moon. Zoboi intricately weaves the narratives of two young women residing in modern-day Brooklyn. Fifteen-year-old Marisol is an undocumented Haitian immigrant navigating life with her mother, Lourdes, who is also a soucouyant and her guide. She often controls who Marisol seeks during her transformation to seek vengeance on those who have harmed them. Genevieve is a biracial American teenager living with her all-white family and struggles with her identity and how to fit in: with her family, her classmates, even in her own skin. An old family secret is unearthed and the girls' everyday lives become intertwined with the magic of the Caribbean folklore that will shape their future and families forever. This narrative explores themes of heritage, cultural appropriation, complex family dynamics, and the journey of coming of age. The verse format offers a rhythmic and accessible read while challenging stereotypes regarding colorism and racism. Readers do not need to be familiar with soucouyant and similar stories; the lore is detailed throughout the story. VERDICT An essential book for any middle school and high school collection.—Erica Coonelly