BOOK REVIEW: MY FISHY STEPMOM BY SHAKIRAH BOURNE

About 

Josephine Cadogan loooves cricket! The game, her dad and her best friend Ahkai are the only things that make living in the very, very, veeery boring village of Fairy Vale, Barbados manageable. She really wants to play for the school team, but Coach Broomes says only boys are allowed. Josephine knows she can play better than any of the boys in the team, if she could just get a chance. To make matters worse, her father has a new girlfriend. And no one is good enough for Josephine’s dad. Not since her mom died. But Josephine is very good at keeping women away by setting booby traps to scare them off.

No one ever survived her tricks - until Mariss came along.

No matter what anyone else says, Josephine knows there is something ‘fishy’ about Mariss. She is just too perfect. And maybe it’s all the stories about baccoos and douens, and other mythical creatures from Miss Mo, champion fish de-boner of Fairy Vale, or maybe it’s all the missing pets, but Josephine begins to suspect there is something downright spooky about Mariss. But will she be able to get to the bottom of the mystery?

My Thoughts 

My fishy stepmom was a wonderful book and a great start to Read Caribbean Month. Set on the island of Barbados, the story follows cricket lover 11 year old Josephine Cadogan, who along with her best friend Akhai and what I call their many "Operations" (You have to read the book to understand what this means.

What I liked about this novel is that while it was hilarious and quite a light read it dealt with a serious topic in a very clever way and that is the loss of a parent.

Josephine had lost her mother, and she was intent on not allowing another woman to take her place. I think this was a nice theme for a children or a book for younger readers because it is a topic not often considered. As a teacher myself, I have had many students who would have lost parents and it was indeed difficult so Josephine's character to me was very relatable in that way.

Oh gosh!! The Fishy Stepmom Mariss, what a character. And as a lover of West Indian Foklore myself I loved how that element of mystery and fantasy was woven into her character. The ending as well was very nice.

All in all I liked this book and would recommend it.