Tumble & Blue
by Cassie Beasley
published by Dial Books
August 29th
Cassie Beasley blew me away with her debut, Circus Mirandus. The magical realism, the relationships between the characters, the development of the story. Tumble & Blue has many similarities - magical realism, great relationships between the characters, and a fantastic story that opens up in front of your eyes - but feels like a completely different story. This cements Beasley as an author that has an amazing talent, in my mind.
Beasley wraps multiple story strands together into this amazing tale. There's Munch, the alligator who is in charge of fates, as well as having the starring role in a crazy family rivalry story. There's a huge family (in fact, you may want to write characters down as you meet them) that all have talents - many of them undesirable talents - who want to change their fates. And there's Blue, a character who will weave their way into your heart with his inability to win at anything but has a winning heart. And Tumble, who has a secret that is driving her need to be a hero.
I'm not sure when the book entered my heart, but at some point, it got to be where I had trouble putting it down. I needed to know what was going to happen to the characters and make sure they were all ok!
This book has an interesting theme that would be fun to discuss - can you change your fate, your destiny? I think talking about that, and if curses are real, would make for a lively discussion!
I'm adding this book to our Mock Newbery list. I think it's a beautiful story that will for sure capture the hearts of readers. Be sure to look for it on August 29th!
Goodreads summary
The magic-infused story of a golden gator, two cursed kids, and how they take their destinies into their own hands.
When the red moon rises over the heart of the Okefenokee swamp, legend says that the mysterious golden gator Munch will grant good luck to the poor soul foolish enough to face him.
But in 1817, when TWO fools reach him at the same time, the night’s fate is split. With disastrous consequences for both . . . and their descendants. Half of the descendants have great fates, and the other half have terrible ones.
Now, Tumble Wilson and Blue Montgomery are determined to fix their ancestors’ mistakes and banish the bad luck that’s followed them around for all of their lives. They’re going to face Munch the gator themselves, and they’re going to reclaim their destinies.
But what if the legend of Munch is nothing but a legend, after all?
Just requested this from our library and I'm #17 on the holds list.
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