Shy, quiet, artist type Emmaline (Emma) Guthrie is in for one hell of a summer away from D.C on St. Helena Island in the South Carolina low country alongside her fraternal brother Jackson, and her secret crush Cooper Beaumont who she has known ever since she started coming to South Carolina to visit her father 8 years ago.
What turns out to be a fun filled summer and maybe some alone time with Cooper, ends up being an intense chase towards finding a cure for Jack when he is cursed with a 300 year old Gullah curse called the Creep after uncovering a buried pirate treasure and Emma has to quickly learn how to be a Hoodoo Apprentice under the guide of 97 year old Gullah Cordelia Whittaker in order to save him and Cooper from certain death.
First of all, congratulations to author Lea Nolan for actually taking the time to research the Gullah and actually using that research to write Conjure. I truly believe that the research she put into writing this book made it that much more interesting to read and to follow and made me want to learn more about the Gullah and their traditions of using Hoodoo instead of Voodoo as part of their lifestyles.
I have to say that I really enjoyed reading Conjure and loved the idea behind Hoodoo training, mixed with pirates, ghosts, a 300 year old family curse, and of course, a romance between two best friends that you just knew was either going to make or break this story.
Of course, silly me read Allure, the second novel in this series, first before someone shared Conjure with me which I absolutely appreciated. Even though Emma is 14 years of age, and a bit young for the young adult market, she doesn't act her age. In fact, she plows ahead with determination and spunk and fire that I really appreciated and found absolutely appealing and not annoying wondering if she was going to be so emo, or too young for me to like.
Since I have already read Allure, I will be following up this review with one for that book shortly. I absolutely look forward to the third novel in this series with hope that Nolan continues her wonderful storytelling blending action, adventure, and romance along with some historical aspects of the South Carolina lowcountry and the Gullah.
Published October 23rd 2012 by Entangled Publishing, LLC
Author - Lea Nolan
Title - Conjure (Hoodoo Apprentice # 1)
Published by Entangled Publishing, LLC
Released - October 23, 2012
Borrowed via Library ILL loan system
Genre - Action, Adventure, Suspense, YA
If you're interested, there's a fantastic film by Julie Dash called Daughters of the Dust that centers on the Gullah community. This book has been on my radar for a while. I saw Nolan at an author panel earlier this year and really enjoyed her talk. Nice review, I will have to get this one soon.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for taking the time to read both Conjure and Allure and for posting your reviews! I whole heartedly concur about Julie Dash's Daughter's of the Dust. It is a gorgeous film. I first saw it back in 1991 in an African-American film history class in college. It began my love affair with the Gullah and their fascinating culture.
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