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A review by serendipitysbooks
Daughters of Jubilation by Kara Lee Corthron
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
Daughters of Jubilation is a YA novel that is part historical fiction part fantasy. Sixteen year old Evalene Deschamps has inherited a special type of magical power that the women in her family refer to as jubilation. During the summer of 1962 Evvie is forced to learn more about her powers - how she can control them and what she can do with them. She discovers fairly quickly that her jubin’ is tied to strong emotions like love, fear and anger. This is the summer that she begins a relationship with her long-term crush so passionate and romantic love is new to her. Being a Black girl in the American South ensures she has plenty of experience with fear and anger. And then a sinister man from her past, someone she doesn’t initially remember, reappears and the stakes for Evvie and her family get a whole lot higher.
I really enjoyed this book. The first chapter hooked me and the remainder of the story held my interest to the very last page. Evvie was a delight - intelligent and hardworking but also head-strong and sassy; an ideal heroine who was perfect to root for. It was so easy to share her happiness when she was with Clay (but also wanting her take precautions!), her frustrations when she was with her grandmother and trying to master the jubilation, her anger and protectiveness when she learned her friend was being abused, and her horror and fury upon remembering what Virgil had done and what he was threatening. The fantasy element was not too indepth or convoluted for me (I’m not a big fantasy reader). It allowed the author to portray the Jim Crow south in a new light and to disrupt it’s traditional power dynamics. Oh, that the many, many Black women who suffered at the hands of Black men had powers like Evvie’s. I loved the strong element of female bonding, past and present, especially as portrayed during the book’s climax. This is a dark and difficult read at times - sadly not even magical powers are enough to ensure an uncomplicated, trouble free happy ending. However, I’m glad that I read it and am a little surprised that it has flown under the radar.
I really enjoyed this book. The first chapter hooked me and the remainder of the story held my interest to the very last page. Evvie was a delight - intelligent and hardworking but also head-strong and sassy; an ideal heroine who was perfect to root for. It was so easy to share her happiness when she was with Clay (but also wanting her take precautions!), her frustrations when she was with her grandmother and trying to master the jubilation, her anger and protectiveness when she learned her friend was being abused, and her horror and fury upon remembering what Virgil had done and what he was threatening. The fantasy element was not too indepth or convoluted for me (I’m not a big fantasy reader). It allowed the author to portray the Jim Crow south in a new light and to disrupt it’s traditional power dynamics. Oh, that the many, many Black women who suffered at the hands of Black men had powers like Evvie’s. I loved the strong element of female bonding, past and present, especially as portrayed during the book’s climax. This is a dark and difficult read at times - sadly not even magical powers are enough to ensure an uncomplicated, trouble free happy ending. However, I’m glad that I read it and am a little surprised that it has flown under the radar.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, and Violence