Publishers Weekly
03/25/2019
The Texas Buffalo Bayou is both an evocative character and setting in this atmospheric novel about an angel thief searching for redemption. Cade doesn’t enjoy helping his father steal stone angels from graveyards, but it helps to ease financial burdens for the kind, elderly antiques dealer who took in Cade and his father when Cade was an infant. Still, stealing doesn’t seem right to Cade, and he wonders what Soleil, his religious new crush, would think if she found out. Cade wants to do “something good” to make up for his sins, and he finds that opportunity in Zorra, an abused ocelot left to die in her cage. The vivid bayou setting serves as the connecting force as Appelt (The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp) intertwines the present-day story of Cade and Zorra with a historic tale involving a former slave and the angel monument that guides her and her daughters to safety. Using short vignettes and multiple viewpoints (including that of the bayou) that can make the novel feel overfilled, the author shows the best and worst sides of humanity and underscores the powerful force of the bayou, which both holds and erases secrets. Ages 14–up. (Mar.)
BCCB
A heartfelt love letter to Houston that acknowledges the bad parts of its history while uplifting the good.
Horn Book
Narrative strands are like tributaries that begin as separate entities but eventually merge into a single thematic connection: that love, whether lost or found, is always powerful.
starred review Booklist
Richly drawn and important.
Library Journal - Audio
01/01/2020
In 1840s Texas, Achsah searches for an angel statue that will help guide her enslaved daughters to safety. In the present, Cade struggles with his family stealing stone angels to make ends meet. He knows it's necessary, but doesn't feel right helping to steal them. As his family seeks out a rare angel statue carved by an enslaved person named Luc Bel James, Cade finds himself wanting to be a better person for Soleil, a girl he has a crush on. Laurel Kathleen brings to life the well-developed characters and plot with her smooth narrative style. Her pacing fits well with the story and the masterful portrayal of ever-changing emotions. Themes of redemption, love, family, and courage are well-presented without overshadowing the plot. Points of view and time period switches are easy to follow. VERDICT Fans of realistic fiction and stories that span time and showcase courage will enjoy listening to this book.—Kira Moody, Salt Lake Cty. Lib. Services
School Library Journal
05/01/2019
Gr 9 Up—Houston today: a teenage boy and his father steal marble angels from cemeteries in the dead of night. A teenage girl, inspired by a young boy and a honey bear jar, takes a chance on love. An ocelot, trapped by a poacher, suffers and starves alone in its cage. Houston, 1846: a freed black woman runs away with her two enslaved young daughters, searching along the bayou for the marble woman who will mark their salvation. The Buffalo Bayou sees it all. The Buffalo Bayou gives what it can, and the Buffalo Bayou remembers. Told in interspersed perspectives across time, these tales are connected by their setting as well as by themes of desperation, hope, and faith. Short chapters and lyrical prose give this novel an atmospheric, poetic sensibility. Elements of historical fiction, contemporary fiction, and magical realism will appeal to a range of readers. VERDICT Spiritual, succinct, and emotionally gripping, this brief but powerful novel is a masterpiece, deserving of a place in every library that serves teens.—Liz Overberg, Zionsville Community High School, IN
Kirkus Reviews
2019-02-10
A Texas bayou holds memories and secrets, weaving together people and animals through connected histories.
Buffalo Bayou takes her place as part of an ensemble cast that spans nearly two centuries. Sixteen-year-old Cade Curtis is a white boy who works alongside his father stealing angel statues from cemeteries for an antiques dealer, and Soleil Broussard is a 16-year-old Creole Christian with a tiny honey bear jar tattooed on her wrist. The two attend school together in present-day Houston, Texas, but the story intertwines their connection with stories of slaves and an ocelot in a narrative that runs away like the rushing of a river. Texas is a gorgeous backdrop for the story, eliciting haunting imagery that spotlights the natural beauty of the state. Each character helps piece together a quilt of experiences that stream from the omnipresent bayou who sees, hears, and protects, and the revelations of their overlapping connections are well-paced throughout. The novel is less successful, however, at underscoring why there are so many voices battling for space in the text. Too-short vignettes that are rather haphazardly forced together provide glimpses into the lives of the characters but make it difficult to follow all of the threads. While an author's note offers historical background explaining the inspiration for the characters, it does not provide sufficient cohesion.
Moving imagery is muddied by disjointed character representation in a novel that feels overcrowded. (author's note) (Fiction. 13-15)
