Hoodoo

October 5, 2015
Smith debuts with a supernatural coming-of-age story set in a 1930s Alabama town. Twelve-year-old Hoodoo Hatcher was born into a magical family, but he has no knack for folk magic himself. His father was "a powerful mojo man" who allegedly met with a "bad end" after placing a curse on a man. One day a stranger comes to collect a debt left by Hoodoo's father, and the boy must learn to access the supernatural to help his father in the afterlife. Hoodoo's distinctive first-person narrative is speckled with lively dialect and atmospheric details of Southern life, from fried catfish dinners and moonshine to "mojo bags" full of cat's-eye stone and rat bone. The action of the novel moves swiftly, and readers should be easily drawn into its dark, supernatural ambience. There's little doubt that Hoodoo will prevail, yet chilling moments throughout will keep readers on edge: "The Stranger smiled, but he didn't have any teeth, just a mouth full of black, oozing swamp water." Ages 10â12. Agent: Adriann Ranta, Wolf Literary Services.

June 1, 2015

Gr 5-7-"When I got born, Mama Frances took one look at me and said, 'That child is marked. He got hoodoo in him.' That's how I got my name." But, for all that his dead daddy was known as a powerful mojo man, at age 12, Hoodoo Hatcher is the only one of his family who can't do any kind of conjuring or even cast a simple spell. Mama Frances assures him that his time will come, but Hoodoo worries that his grandmamma is just trying to make him feel better. Then the Stranger comes to town-dark-cloaked, red-eyed, and cold-and fearful things begin to happen: swarms of flies, screams in the distance, and corpses in the graveyard dug up with all their hands chopped off. "I saw your daddy, boy. He owes me a debt and I come to collect.... Mandagore. The Hand That Did The Deed," says the Stranger. Hoodoo discovers an old folk magic spell book, and learns what the demonic visitor is seeking-not "Mandagore" after all but "Main de Gloire." The Stranger wants the secret of the Hand of Glory, left hand of a man hanged for murder, with which an evil magician can call and control the dead. When Mama Frances at last tells Hoodoo the tale of his father's terrible death, the boy realizes that it is his father's hand that the Stranger wants. Worse yet, the old curse is reaching out to Hoodoo himself as he notices that his own left hand is growing unaccountably strong. For the first time, he experiences the tempting thrill of occult power-and knows that the Stranger wants his soul as well as his father's. But can Hoodoo find the strength-and the courage-to defy the Devil himself? The chilling supernatural Southern Gothic plot action is enhanced by atmospheric description of rural life in Depression-era Alabama. There are dark hints of racial tensions and the hardships of poverty, balanced by strong family and faith relationships. Readers will particularly enjoy Hoodoo's authentic and engaging narrative voice. The author takes some liberties with historical details and with the obscure but very real folk magic texts that Hoodoo uses, although few readers in the intended audience will be aware of it. VERDICT Reminiscent of the adult horror fiction of the late Manly Wade Wellman, this debut novel will appeal to thoughtful middle grade fans of the supernatural.-Elaine E. Knight, formerly at Lincoln Elementary Schools, IL

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