Hurricane Child by Kheryn Callender (review)

People of the U.S. Virgin Islands say that being born during a hurricane is bad luck, and it seems so for twelve-year-old Caroline Murphy. Being an outspoken girl with a smidge of adolescent B.O. and a secret ability to see spirits is not the recipe for social success, and neither is being the girl whose mother just up and left her family. Then a new student, Kalinda Francis from Barbados, arrives, and Caroline suspects that Kalinda can also see spirits. Caroline musters up the confidence to not only befriend Kalinda but also enlist her as help in finding her mom—that is, until Caroline begins to develop feelings for her first and only friend. Love, whether familial, amiable, or romantic, is an unmistakable driving force in Callender’s debut novel, which expertly weaves together the intricacies of adolescents’ home and school lives and emergent sexual identities and relationships. The blossoming of Caroline and Kalinda’s friendship into romance is subtle and innocent, but it also acknowledges the societal and religious pressures against such connections. The answers that lie at the end of this journey are sure to surprise readers, leaving feelings of both heartbreak and reassurance. Tied closely to Caribbean folklore, culture and language, this story focuses on the outcasts of the world, on the things too difficult to speak aloud, and on the journey for love and truth, and it’s sure to take readers on an emotional and adventurous ride.