Raven, Rising
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
*A KIDS' INDIES NEXT LIST PICK*
Perfect for fans of Christine Day and Cynthia Leitich Smith, this debut novel follows a Cherokee girl who, after the tragic loss of her parents, tries to acclimate to difficult social dynamics in her new school and a curious magic that her mother may have passed down to her.
Raven Miller only just moved to Bear Creek Falls, but she already hates it. There’s a clique that has it out for her, a vice principal who keeps targeting her for dress code violations, and a cruel rumor going around that Raven is a witch who killed her parents. If it weren’t for her new friends Laurel and Hazel, she’d be lost.
The “witch” stuff would be easy to shrug off, but Raven does possess magical powers in the kitchen—the treats she makes can mysteriously change the lives of those who eat them. Though she doesn’t bake anymore—not since the accident that took her parents’ lives.
Then the clique’s bullying and the vice principal’s watchful eye intensifies. When the girls’ attempts to retaliate fall flat, Raven wonders if the magical sweets she used to make could whip up a justice so powerful it would set everything right. In order to find out, she’ll have to face the things she’s been avoiding. Can Raven rise above the pain of her past to secure a better future?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Cherokee Nation citizen Derr makes her debut in this cozy, lived-in fantasy novel about a magical tween baker healing from loss. Twelve-year-old Raven Miller used to love to bake, a hobby she shared with her mother, who was white. Following her parents' deaths, however, she stops baking. Newly arrived in Bear Creek Falls, where she now lives with her aunt Coral, Raven attempts to get back into a routine. But attending school proves just as isolating as staying home, especially when popular girls start spreading rumors that Raven is a witch who killed her parents. Things start looking up when Aunt Coral allows Raven to take in a stray cat and her kittens, and Raven befriends classmates Laurel and Hazel. Together, the tweens organize against their reproachful vice principal, whom they believe is unfairly targeting BIPOC students with dress code violations. As Raven grapples with grief and guilt, she simultaneously contends with feelings of disconnect from her culinary passions and her father's Indigenous heritage. Warm and winning interactions between family and friends buoy the somber undercurrent that runs through each smoothly layered, expertly conceived plot thread. The outcome is a gentle, uplifting portrait of a tween seeking and finding support. Includes an author's note and Cherokee glossary. Ages 8–12.
