SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About TLT
  • Reviews
    • Book Reviews
    • A to Z Book Lists
    • Book Review Policy
  • Teen Issues
  • Middle Grade Mondays
  • Programs
    • TPiB
    • Tech Talk
  • Professional
    • Teen Services 101
    • Things We Didn’t Learn in Library School
  • MakerSpace
  • Projects
    • #SVYALit
    • #FSYALit
    • #MHYALit
    • #Poverty in YA Lit

February 10, 2022 by Amanda MacGregor

Book Review: A Comb of Wishes by Lisa Stringfellow

February 10, 2022 by Amanda MacGregor   Leave a Comment

Publisher’s description

Set against the backdrop of Caribbean folklore, Lisa Stringfellow’s spellbinding middle grade debut tells of a grieving girl and a vengeful mermaid and will enchant readers who loved Kacen Callender’s Hurricane Child or Christian McKay Heidicker’s Scary Stories for Young Foxes.

Ever since her mother’s death, Kela feels every bit as broken as the shards of glass, known as “mermaid’s tears,” that sparkle on the Caribbean beaches of St. Rita. So when Kela and her friend Lissy stumble across an ancient-looking comb in a coral cave, with all she’s already lost, Kela can’t help but bring home her very own found treasure. 

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Far away, deep in the cold ocean, the mermaid Ophidia can feel that her comb has been taken. And despite her hatred of all humans, her magic requires that she make a bargain: the comb in exchange for a wish.

But what Kela wants most is for her mother to be alive. And a wish that big will exact an even bigger price…

Don’t miss the novel that Newbery-winning author Kelly Barnhill calls “one of the most promising works of fiction in a long time”!

Amanda’s thoughts

Well, this book was fantastic. I fully admit to sometimes just sort of skimming books, especially if I’m reading at work. If I want to read something but am drowning in books to try to get to, I will cruise down the middle of a page, probably catching 60% of the words but enough to get the plot and impressions. But this one? I started it at work and read every word, anxious for lunch and my breaks so I could finish it up. This is so well plotted, with constant tension, and so imminently readable—the storytelling tradition really came through because it just flows. Despite me reading it, it very much felt like I was sitting down to have someone tell me a story. And I came to love the voice of the hundreds of years old mermaid, Ophida, as much as I loved Kela’s voice.

Ophida makes it clear to Kela that magic has a price, but that doesn’t stop Kela from making a wish that even the most casual reader will understand is probably a bad idea that will have a price that is terrible. But that path between a wish and its consequences isn’t straightforward, nor is it even fully terrible. Like everything and everyone in this wonderful book, it’s complicated.

This emotional and suspenseful look at grief, love, choices, and consequences is not to be missed. Please give me a whole BUNCH more books by Stringfellow!

Crick.

Crack.

The story is put on you!

Review copy (ARC) courtesy of the publisher

ISBN-13: 9780063043435
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date: 02/08/2022
Age Range: 8 – 12 Years

Filed under: Uncategorized

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments
Book reviewsMiddle GradeWishes

About Amanda MacGregor

Amanda MacGregor works in an elementary library, loves dogs, and can be found on Twitter @CiteSomething.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

May 2022

Have Some Mysteries and Thrillers for June Through December

by Amanda MacGregor

April 2022

Tackling Your Children's Collection Diversity Audit, a TLA presentation recap

by Amanda MacGregor

April 2022

Mindfulness in the Library, a guest post by Erica B. Marcus

by Amanda MacGregor

April 2022

Cindy Crushes Programming: DIY Paper Flowers

by Amanda MacGregor

April 2022

In SLJ: Verse Novelists Forge a Unique Connection with Young Readers

by Amanda MacGregor

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

Right Now, on The Yarn Podcast . . .

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Blaze, the Masked Chicklet and a Dearest Enemy: Two Pieces by Unconventional Artist Claude Ponti

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Fence: Rise | Exclusive Preview

by Brigid Alverson

Heavy Medal

Many May Suggestions: First Quarter Mock Newbery Possibilities

by Emily Mroczek-Bayci

Teen Librarian Toolbox

Have Some Mysteries and Thrillers for June Through December

by Riley Jensen

The Classroom Bookshelf

Farewell From The Classroom Bookshelf

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

Rebekah Lowell visits The Yarn

by Colby Sharp

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

Love Has No Place at the Table | Pondering Printz

Underdog Titles That Could Take the Prize | Pondering Printz

Best Young Adult Books 2020 | SLJ Best Books

18 Novels for Teens That Blow the Dust Off History | Summer Reading 2021

More Than Voting: 6 Election-Themed YA Novels Tackle Relationships and Political Engagement

Commenting for all posts is disabled after 30 days.

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

Follow This Blog

Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

Primary Sidebar

  • News & Features
  • Reviews+
  • Technology
  • School Libraries
  • Public Libraries
  • Age Level
  • Ideas
  • Blogs
  • Classroom
  • Diversity
  • People
  • Job Zone

Reviews+

  • Book Lists
  • Best Books
  • Media
  • Reference
  • Series Made Simple
  • Tech
  • Review for SLJ
  • Review Submissions

SLJ Blog Network

  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal
  • Neverending Search
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn

Resources

  • 2022 Youth Media Awards
  • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
  • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
  • Summer Reading 2021
  • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
  • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
  • Summer Programming Survey
  • Research
  • White Papers / Case Studies
  • School Librarian of the Year
  • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
  • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

Events & PD

  • In-Person Events
  • Online Courses
  • Virtual Events
  • Webcasts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Media Inquiries
  • Newsletter Sign Up
  • Content Submissions
  • Data Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Terms of Sale
  • FAQs
  • Diversity Policy
  • Careers at MSI


COPYRIGHT © 2022


COPYRIGHT © 2022