Honeysuckle and Bone

September 30, 2024
A ghost haunts a grieving 18-year-old in Tobias’s lush and alluring debut. Life in New York is miserable for Carina Marshall now that her best friend, Joy, is dead and her peers all hate her. To escape, Carina tells her parents she’s driving cross-country but instead flies to Jamaica—a trip her Jamaican-born mother has forbidden, citing danger and expense. Joy was supposed to spend the summer nannying for the Halls, a prominent Jamaican family she’d never met, so Carina lies to the family and takes Joy’s place. The Halls’ estate, Blackbead House, is gorgeous; there, Carina immediately befriends some teenage employees, but she’s also beset by violent visions, a cloying scent, and spectral messages demanding her departure. After hearing stories about a spirit tied to Blackbead, Carina starts digging, desperate to prove her tormenter isn’t Joy seeking vengeance from beyond. Though Carina’s supernatural encounters lack cogency and coherence, which undermines the tale’s success as a ghost story, her first-person-present
narration fosters tension while immersing readers in the sights, sounds, and culture of Jamaica. All of Tobias’s fully fleshed characters have brown skin, and most speak with a “melodic lilt of patois.” Ages 14–up. Agent: Chelsea Eberly, Greenhouse Literary.

Starred review from November 1, 2024
Eighteen-year-old New Yorker Carina Marshall is working as an au pair for the wealthy, prominent Hall family in Jamaica for a few months until their permanent nanny arrives. Jamaican American Carina's days are filled with tending to Jada and Luis, the family's youngest kids, and spending time with the other staff members at Blackbead House, the Halls' formal mansion. She also accompanies the Halls to high-profile events--Ian, the patriarch of the family, is running for prime minister. Amid what should be a carefree summer job, Carina harbors a deep secret that no one in the country knows: She's being plagued by a mysterious entity that seems to want her gone, no matter what it takes. She feels a "dense heat" and notices a "honeyed scent," both of which are preludes to something going wrong around her. As Carina's circumstances deteriorate, she faces a decision that could put her new friendships and her job on the line--and reveal everything she hopes to keep hidden. Carina is an enigmatic character who harbors many secrets, which unravel and will intrigue readers as they follow her journey to uncovering what's happening at Blackbead House. The story's ominous elements contrast vividly with the beautiful ones, and the portrayal of the luxurious Jamaica the wealthy enjoy stands in stark contrast to that of those who are less fortunate. The deliberate pacing in this book centering on a Black cast helps build the tension. A deliciously dark and mysterious debut.(Horror. 13-18)

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November 1, 2024
Grades 9-12 Carina is apprehensive as she makes her way to Jamaican Blackbead house, where she'll be the nanny for the well-to-do Hall family. But it's not because she's in another country or starting a new job; it's because she's stolen the identity of her ex-friend, Joy. As she settles in and makes friends with her coworkers, she begins to experience inexplicable things--a blazingly hot room, ominous messages, an overwhelming floral perfume, and more. At first, she thinks someone in the house is on to her, but the occurrences are too strange, and soon she's convinced it's a duppy, a tormented spirit. Tobias brings lots of ghostly atmosphere to her debut, with evocatively described hauntings in the sweltering Jamaican heat. Carina's growing friendship with the other young staff members--and one burgeoning romance--nicely ground the plot, and her search for the identity of the duppy contains plenty of twists. Though a few too-convenient moments might distract some readers, those in it for the eerie vibes and buried secrets will be satisfied.

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Starred review from January 1, 2025

Gr 9 Up-Desperate for a fresh start, 18-year-old Carina assumed her best friend Joy's identity, right down to her job offer as an au pair in Jamaica for the Halls, a high-society political family. As a Jamaican American on her first trip to the island, Carina occupies a complicated position among the staff of Blackbead, the Halls' opulent estate-she's far more privileged than her young Jamaican counterparts, who nevertheless wrap her into the tight-knit clique they call the Young Birds. The Halls, on the other hand, call her "a member of the family" while subjecting her to exacting standards. As she immerses herself in Jamaica, Carina is increasingly tormented by sleeplessness, the pervasive scent of honeysuckle, and dark hallucinations. Aaron, one of the Young Birds, suggests that it could be the influence of a duppy (spirit), and the two begin an investigation into the history of Blackbead and the Hall family that threatens their safety-and the safety of Carina's most closely guarded secrets. Tobias's debut is an atmospheric ghost story that shines in multiple respects, from its tense, satisfying mystery and tight pacing to its thoughtful commentary on class in Jamaica and Jamaican American identity, as well as its vibrant secondary characters. VERDICT A well-executed mystery with horror elements, this novel stands out for its social commentary and richly detailed Jamaican setting. A first purchase, hand to fans of Kit Frick's I Killed Zoe Spanos or Ibi Zoboi's American Street.-Elizabeth Giles

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