Review by Booklist Review
Three best friends, high-school seniors in Providence, Rhode Island, lose their fourth to a tragic car accident. In her grief, Miliani (Filipina) proposes that they bring Jasmine back to life. Mili's Aunt Lindy, adept at dark magic, agrees to guide them. They must perform lesser spells to build their abilities, eventually opening the spirit realms to reach Jasmine. What Mili doesn't share with biracial Natalie (white and Black) and Inez (Dominican) is that they will need to anchor Jasmine's spirit to a living person. Mili also hides her romantic relationship with Jasmine. As their powers grow, the friends try to fix all their problems with magic: Nat attempts to save her drug-addicted mother, Inez struggles to reconcile magic with her Catholic faith while facing an unplanned pregnancy, and Mili encounters the secret that plagues her family. This is not a fast-paced read, but genuinely creepy moments abound. While Jasmine is a cipher, and the friends' alternating voices are difficult to distinguish, the mixture of magic and realism is compelling, as are the family and friendship dynamics.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Seventeen-year-old Miliani, of Philippine heritage, is grieving the death of her best friend and girl she loves, Jasmine, who was killed by a drunk driver while riding with her identical twin sister. But when Miliani and others sense Jasmine's presence lingering at her funeral, Miliani hatches a plan to raise her spirit from the dead. She recruits her surviving best friends--Latina-coded Inez, a devout Catholic who soon finds herself pregnant, and biracial (Black and white) Natalie, who struggles to support her younger brother in the face of their mother's drug reliance. Miliani leads her friends through increasingly powerful magical rites to prepare for Jasmine's resurrection, but she hides a secret: the price of resurrecting the dead is high, and Jasmine will need to share a body to survive. In alternating voices, Neilson's intensely character-driven, slowly paced debut traces three grief-stricken teens' loss of a beloved figure--and hoped-for versions of themselves. Imbuing each with distinct flaws and gifts, to say nothing of the complicated relationships binding the girls together in love and friendship, the story fully immerses the reader in a magic-infused Providence, R.I. Ages 14--up. Agent: Jess Regel, Foundry Literary + Media. (May)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 9 Up--Friends Miliani, Inez, and Natalie really miss their friend Jasmine, who died suddenly in a car crash. They miss her so much that they are each willing to do things that perhaps they should not do. Mialani misses Jasmine so much she wants to tether her spirit to Jasmine's twin, even if it will be horrible for the human anchor. Under the tutelage of Miliani's aunt, the girls practice magic and spells to gain enough strength to bring back Jasmine. Even after all the things that they have made happen, the girls begin to wonder if this magic is just an unsafe distraction from truly grieving for Jasmine. The characters each have a high-interest back story. There is plenty of modern-day teenage angst intertwined with traditional Filipino lore. There is Filipino, Latinx, Black, and queer representation in the main characters. VERDICT This debut is a worthy addition to YA collections and will be solid recommendation for readers who enjoy the fantasy genre.--Helen Prince
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Three Rhode Island high school seniors plan to magically resurrect their dead best friend. Told through alternating perspectives, the novel follows the three main characters as they wrestle with various forms of grief as well as other pressing issues. Biracial Natalie, who doesn't know her Black father, is terrified that her drug-addicted White mother will overdose and die. Inez suffers from anxiety, wrestles with her Catholic upbringing, and worries about sponsoring her father's immigration after he was deported to the Dominican Republic. Miliani misses her mysteriously distant mother as well as her late grandfather, who taught her magical practices from the Philippines. Each of them struggles profoundly with their friend Jasmine's sudden death in a drunken driving accident, particularly Miliani, who was in love with Jasmine. She blames herself for what happened and will stop at nothing to bring Jasmine back--even if it comes to forcing Jasmine's surviving identical twin to host her dead sister's resurrected spirit, a part of the plan she keeps secret from the others. Heartbroken, Miliani leads her friends to dangerously pursue dark magic that pushes their limits and unearths many secrets. Fresh twists keep pages turning, eerily and heartbreakingly building toward a satisfying conclusion in which questions are answered. The mysteries are skillfully layered, and the expert pacing keeps the story flowing well. Riveting, deeply moving, and full of heart. (Paranormal. 14-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
