Victoria Bond

First, I want to note that while this is the third book in a trilogy, you probably wouldn’t have a problem reading it as a standalone, it provides enough information about the characters that you likely won’t feel lost, though obviously ideally, if you have access to all three books, you’d get the most of out of them, especially out of the kids coming of age, if you did read all three in sequential order.

There is a mystery in this involving grave robbing, sleuthing is at a minimum show more though and the resolution happens by accident really, so for traditional mystery readers (which I’m not), the mystery aspect might prove a little underwhelming, but the gotcha moment is well-written and emotionally charged.

The book isn’t lengthy enough to do a truly deep dive into history, but it gives you plenty to think about from what it was like to live in the first incorporated black town in America yet still be fairly powerless when white men come around, to the use of black corpses (without consent) in medical experiments/schools, and the black farmers who never received their due as scientists all because of the color of their skin.

Zora and Me: The Summoner is at its best, its most emotional, when you’re living that history through these two girls, through Carrie’s sore hands from having to labor in laundry at a young age and through Zora’s fractured family life and the challenges she faces in further education. Their personal lives offer up several moving moments over the course of the book, but none more heartening than their friendship. If you’re tired of stories depicting the toxic side of female relationships, Zora and Carrie are very much the antithesis of that, their support of one another is a beautiful thing. And I love that the ending gives a glimpse of what became of their friendship later in life.

I received this ARC through a giveaway. show less

If the mark of a great book is the first paragraph, "Zora and Me: The Summoner" is a great book. The opening device is intimate and compelling. Reading those first two pages, I was struck by the poignancy of these words and the circumstances in which I read them.*

“Grief and loss afflicted us both. It chased us through a grove in the lightning and rain. At kitchen tables and on porch swings, at swamp banks and in dark cabins, loss bore down on our necks with icy blue and stinging breath. . show more . Despite our efforts, loss touches us all. Stand brave, dear girl. Loss will not be your undoing.”

From this opening, I found it difficult to put down the book.

A story of loss, love, and mystery, "The Summoner" is at its heart, equal parts frightening and exhilarating coming of age. Well researched, it illuminates a rich moment in African American history, breathing life into the nuanced realities of time and place and the back story of a literary treasure. This third installment in the series stands alone and is thoughtful of its audience. Before finishing the book, I had already suggested it to a middle school English teacher, reading aloud favorite passages and likening the story to a primer in resilience that might serve her students well.

*read on July 13, 2020, amid the Covid-19 pandemic and just weeks after the death of George Floyd, who died as a result of a police officer kneeling on his back such that Mr. Floyd could not breathe. show less

I picked up this book from the library because the concept - a young adult book in which the famous author Zora Neale Hurston is a central character - sounded really intriguing. I was not disappointed. Although the target audience is a bit younger than most of the books I read, I was still really impressed by the story. Zora comes across as an imaginative, strong-willed girl, and her best friends, the narrator Carrie and Teddy, a little boy with a knack for animals, are just as fun to read show more about. I particularly enjoyed Zora's tall tales (or maybe it would be better to phrase it as 'over-active imagination'). The group lives in Eatonville, Florida, the first incorporated all-black township in the United States, around the 1900s. They have some really delightful adventures, and eventually Zora and Carrie are drawn into a mystery that is bigger than they are. The book takes on racial issues of the time, and I think it might be a fairly interesting book to teach in a middle school class. Although I took issue with a certain plot point at the end, overall the book is really very enjoyable even for adult readers, and I think children in the intended age range (the publisher's site recommends it to ages 10 and up) would absolutely adore it. show less

This was a wonderful finale to the trilogy and you are truly transported to this town and live a little bit of history as two girls face a lot of hardships. Death, Gate crimes, racial slurs are just some of the things Zora and her friend face as well as a mini mystery to solve as the reader is transported to the past.