Lambda Literary Award Winner: “Lush descriptions bring the Caribbean environment to vivid life . . . An excellent and nuanced coming-of-age tale.” —School Library Journal
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year and Winner of the Stonewall Book Award
Being born during a hurricane is considered unlucky where twelve-year-old Caroline Murphy lives, and she has had her share of bad luck lately. She’s hated and bullied by everyone in her small school on St. Thomas of the US Virgin Islands. A spirit only she can see won’t stop following her. And—worst of all—Caroline’s mother left home one day and never came back.
But when a new student named Kalinda arrives, Caroline’s luck begins to turn around. Kalinda, a solemn girl from Barbados with a special smile for everyone, becomes Caroline’s first and only friend—and the person for whom Caroline has begun to develop a crush. Now, Caroline must find the strength to confront her feelings for Kalinda, brave the spirit stalking her through the islands, and face the reason her mother abandoned her. Together, Caroline and Kalinda must set out in a hurricane to find Caroline’s missing mother—before Caroline loses her forever.
“Absorbing descriptions of the island . . . a folkloric tale about overcoming old narratives and creating new ones.” —Publishers Weekly
“Callender draws readers in and makes them identify with Caroline’s angst and sorrow and joy and pain [and] has readers rooting for Caroline the whole way.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
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Hurricane Child
Lambda Literary Award Winner: “Lush descriptions bring the Caribbean environment to vivid life . . . An excellent and nuanced coming-of-age tale.” —School Library Journal
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year and Winner of the Stonewall Book Award
Being born during a hurricane is considered unlucky where twelve-year-old Caroline Murphy lives, and she has had her share of bad luck lately. She’s hated and bullied by everyone in her small school on St. Thomas of the US Virgin Islands. A spirit only she can see won’t stop following her. And—worst of all—Caroline’s mother left home one day and never came back.
But when a new student named Kalinda arrives, Caroline’s luck begins to turn around. Kalinda, a solemn girl from Barbados with a special smile for everyone, becomes Caroline’s first and only friend—and the person for whom Caroline has begun to develop a crush. Now, Caroline must find the strength to confront her feelings for Kalinda, brave the spirit stalking her through the islands, and face the reason her mother abandoned her. Together, Caroline and Kalinda must set out in a hurricane to find Caroline’s missing mother—before Caroline loses her forever.
“Absorbing descriptions of the island . . . a folkloric tale about overcoming old narratives and creating new ones.” —Publishers Weekly
“Callender draws readers in and makes them identify with Caroline’s angst and sorrow and joy and pain [and] has readers rooting for Caroline the whole way.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Lambda Literary Award Winner: “Lush descriptions bring the Caribbean environment to vivid life . . . An excellent and nuanced coming-of-age tale.” —School Library Journal
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year and Winner of the Stonewall Book Award
Being born during a hurricane is considered unlucky where twelve-year-old Caroline Murphy lives, and she has had her share of bad luck lately. She’s hated and bullied by everyone in her small school on St. Thomas of the US Virgin Islands. A spirit only she can see won’t stop following her. And—worst of all—Caroline’s mother left home one day and never came back.
But when a new student named Kalinda arrives, Caroline’s luck begins to turn around. Kalinda, a solemn girl from Barbados with a special smile for everyone, becomes Caroline’s first and only friend—and the person for whom Caroline has begun to develop a crush. Now, Caroline must find the strength to confront her feelings for Kalinda, brave the spirit stalking her through the islands, and face the reason her mother abandoned her. Together, Caroline and Kalinda must set out in a hurricane to find Caroline’s missing mother—before Caroline loses her forever.
“Absorbing descriptions of the island . . . a folkloric tale about overcoming old narratives and creating new ones.” —Publishers Weekly
“Callender draws readers in and makes them identify with Caroline’s angst and sorrow and joy and pain [and] has readers rooting for Caroline the whole way.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Kacen Callender is a bestselling and award-winning author of multiple novels for children, teens, and adults, including King and the Dragonflies, winner of the National Book Award, Coretta Scott King Honor and Lambda Literary Award and Hurricane Child, winner of the Lambda Literary Award and Stonewall Honor Award, and the bestselling novel Felix Ever After. They live in US Virgin Islands.
Read an Excerpt
My ma's voice is rough and low. When she speaks to strangers on the telephone, they call her "sir." I guess it must be surprising to some people, the way her voice sounds, because she's so beautiful--just about the prettiest woman you've ever seen--but I think it suits her just fine. I love the way her rough voice vibrates through the air like a beat on a drum. She sings around the house. Under her breath, since people say her voice is so ugly all the time.Why you wanna fly, Blackbird?That's the song that's stuck in my head now.You ain't never gonna fly.***Kalinda walks into the room, head as high as ever, taking her time smiling and greeting everyone in the room. She leaves me for last, but I know it's only because she has the most to say to me. She takes someone else's seat beside me and takes my hand and tells me that I would never believe what has happened.
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