Speculation by Nisi Shawl

Speculation by Nisi Shawl. Tu Books, Lee & Low, 2023. 9781620149591






Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 4



Format: Hardcover



Genre: Historical fiction, magical realism



What did you like about the book?  Ten-year-old Winna and her baby sister Tupelo find themselves parked with their grandparents when their single mom lands in the hospital. Although the girls live in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Gramma and Grandpa Carl live in Paw Paw, a small rural town about an hour away. Right off the bat, Winna breaks her glasses and until a replacement can be procured, Grandpa offers up a magical pair that used to belong to Gramma’s sister Estelle (who died as a child). Through these spectacles, Winna can talk with ghosts and also see into the past, shades of Edward Eager, “who wrote about magic happening to regular, ordinary kids, just like her. Or almost just like her – they were white.” Through her conversations with Estelle’s spirit, Winna learns that a curse has been placed on her family by one of its matriarchs and that the burden can only be lifted if she can find that woman’s missing child, a baby named Key who would now be about 100. Together with her cousin Benny, Winna fixes her sights on locating Key and getting him to an upcoming family reunion, which she hopes will restore her mother’s health. Shawl has created a memorable narrator and family (a detailed genealogy at the back of the book takes up 5 pages) and her kid dialogue and relationships were authentic, sharp, and funny. I appreciated the effort Shawl put into developing Grandpa Carl and Miss Ross (a White social worker who helps with the investigation) as three-dimensional characters, giving Winna a realistic mooring among caring adults. Grandpa Carl especially comes alive as a conjure man and family historian, who occasionally gets several pages of stories in italics as he shares family history with Winna. Winna and her immediate family identify as Black while Miss Ross and several members of Winna’s extended family (initially) identify as White.



Anything you didn’t like about it? As you may have surmised from that last sentence, part of the family’s burden comes from the ghost matriarch’s decision to adopt out Key, who can pass as White, to a White family. This was a really interesting element that explored a realistic situation, but I wonder if elementary-aged readers will be able to figure out the whole backstory; sometimes the text was a bit cryptic or even awkward on the subject. Also confusing and never fully explained: Mom’s illness. I was initially unsure about when the book was set. For the first few chapters, I thought it was the present day, then maybe during the Vietnam war, and then finally learned the date (1962) from one of Willa’s letters.



To whom would you recommend this book?  Upper elementary readers interested in Black history or drawn to stories with magical realism elements. The very attractive cover art will make this book eye-catching on display. A good read alike for those who enjoyed When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller



Who should buy this book? Elementary and middle school libraries, public libraries



Where would you shelve it? Fiction



Should we (librarians/readers) put this on the top of our “to read” piles? No



Reviewer: Susan Harari, Keefe Library, Boston Latin School, Boston, MA



Date of review: May 12, 2024