The Healing Spell [Paperback]

Kimberley Griffiths Little (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2011 | Age Range: 9 and up

Set in the lush bayou of Louisiana, critically acclaimed Kimberley Griffiths Little's lyrical and heartfelt story, THE HEALING SPELL, is now in paperback!

Twelve-year-old Livie is living with a secret and it's crushing her. She knows she is responsible for her mother's coma, but she can't tell anyone. It's up to her to find a way to wake her mamma up.

Stuck in the middle of three sisters, hiding a forbidden pet alligator, and afraid to disappoint her daddy, whom she loves more than anyone else, Livie struggles to find her place within her own family as she learns about the powers of faith and redemption. Livie's powerful, emotional, and sometimes humorous story will stay with readers long after the last line is read.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 5-8–Guilt-ridden because she believes she caused the accident that resulted in her mother being in a coma, 11-year-old Livie is terrified to tell anyone for fear they will hate her. She and her mother have never been close, but she adores her father and spends a lot of time with him in the Louisiana swamps where they live. Daddy chooses to care for Mamma at home, believing it will hasten her recovery, and Livie can't bear to touch her, which causes friction with her older sister and the aunt who's come to help out. Because she desperately wants her mother to be well, the girl visits a traiteur who lives deep in the bayou to obtain a healing spell guaranteed to work if Livie has faith. The setting is beautifully described and the protagonist is well-defined. However, the book is too long for the plot. Readers will figure out how the accident happened long before the characters do. The ending, with the mother waking from her weeks-long coma one night, talking to her drowsing husband, going to her art studio and finishing a painting, then returning to bed and to unconsciousness, is rather far-fetched. It isn't clear whether the author wanted the event to be mystical or miraculous, but it definitely isn't realistic.–Nancy P. Reeder, Heathwood Hall Episcopal School, Columbia, SCα(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Eleven-year-old Livie is terrified when her father insists that they bring her comatose mother home from the hospital. How can she look at, much less touch and care for, Mamma when she alone knows that she caused her illness? As Mamma continues to languish in bed, Livie grows more and more estranged from her family, a chasm that begins to close only after she gathers her courage to visit the local traiteur, who gives her the formula for a healing spell. As Livie collects the spell's necessary ingredients, she begins to open up to the knowledge that she is loved and cherished by her family. Little explores the extremes of childhood guilt and its consequences in this harsh yet well-crafted story about fully drawn people. The bayou, with its rich culture, is an atmospheric character that overlays the story with mystery and dread. A special offering for readers seeking a challenge of the heart as well as the mind. Grades 5-8. --Frances Bradburn --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 9 and up
  
• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks; Reprint edition (September 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0545165601
• ISBN-13: 978-0545165600
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #477,596 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

When I was a kid I read a book a day, scribbled stories, and dreamed about having my very own book on the library shelf. Let me tell you, it's a fun place to hang out.

I adore Louisiana, Paris, Bulgaria, England, Scotland, Egypt, and anything old and musty with a secret story to tell.

I grew up in San Francisco, but now live in an adobe house on the banks of the Rio Grande with my husband and sons. I think I've drunk so much Land of Enchantment water that some of that ancient magic got into my blood and now spurts out my pencil--I mean ergonomic keyboard.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A very moving and profound book July 16, 2010

By JacquelineFarnsworth

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

The Healing Spell by Kimberly Griffiths Little is a surprisingly wonderful book. Although written for the middle graders, all the adults that I know who have read it have found it moving, engaging, and deeply satisfying. I started it on one day and couldn't put it down until I finished it late into the night. The story grabs you and pulls you along.

Livie lives in the bayous of Louisiana with her family. Her mother has been injured and is in a coma. Her father brings her home to hopefully recover, although the hospital doesn't give her much chance. Eleven year old Livie is a middle child who doesn't feel like she fits in her family and is carrying a terrible secret about her mother's injury and feels she must do something to help her recover from her "sleeping sickness."

It is a story told through Livie's eyes and mind. It is about a family's healing, loving and reaching out to each other.
The characters are fully drawn and realistic and the settings are lush. Every character is one you can understand and sympathize with, no stock bad guys or wicked stepsisters here. The book deals with universal truths and feelings and draws you in beautifully.

The author shows great skill in the storytelling, revealing the plot in natural and intriguing ways. Brief descriptions are woven naturally into the story vividly enough you can visualize everything and the narrative never lags.

You will cry at the end of the book but not out of sadness but because you have been touched so deeply and profoundly. It may even help you heal and understand yourself. It is a book about family, faith, healing, and reconciliation. There is a healing spell in it, but it is really about the magic in love and faith and commitment. Youths will identify with it but even more so do adults. It would also make a good read aloud book for the family. I couldn't recommend it more highly.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Mother Daughter Book Club.com October 5, 2010

By Cynthia Hudson

Format:Hardcover

Livie's mama lies in a coma inside their little home near a Louisiana bayou. While Livie's daddy and her sisters can help care for her mama, she can't bring herself to touch her. And Livie holds a powerful secret inside herself about the day of her mama's accident. When Livie starts a quest to find a way to heal her mama, she finds that she must first heal herself.

The Healing Spell by Kimberley Griffiths Little is a story of love and forgiveness and the complicated relationships mothers can have with their daughters. As one of three girls, Livie feels like her mother has always loved her sisters more that she loves her. That's because Livie is more comfortable hunting and fishing and raising crawfish traps on the bayou with her daddy than she is acting like a young lady. She also doesn't get along with her sisters for the same reason.

Mother-daughter book clubs with girls aged nine to 12 will find lots to talk about: how family members can find a way to appreciate each other's differences, how parental love doesn't have to be tied to compatibility, and what role faith plays in our lives.

It should also be fun for readers to learn about the bayou country of Louisiana. Knowing the book was set there made me both excited and apprehensive to read it. That's because I grew up in southern Louisiana in a family that hunted and fished and spent a considerable amount of time on the banks of a few bayous. Many authors, especially ones who don't live there, have a hard time portraying the place without relying on stereotypes that natives see through immediately. I'm happy to say that Little captures the spirit of the people and the place quite well, and I found myself wanting to be on the banks of Livie's bayou pulling up crawfish traps right along with her.

The Healing Spell also gets the seal of approval from my mom and my daughters. That's quite an accomplishment, as few books are well liked by all three generations of readers in my house. The Healing Spell is a delight, and I highly recommend it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too September 11, 2010

By TeensReadToo

Format:Hardcover

Filled with mystery and old Southern charm, this book has serious heart.

In THE HEALING SPELL, Livie is trying to cope with her mother's current state. She is in a coma. Also, she has a secret so big it threatens to consume her if anyone were to find out.

Livie would do anything to get her mother back, which leads her to seek the help of a voodoo healer. And it is this healer who sends her on a journey she will never forget.

As mystical and breathtaking as the bayou itself, Kimberley Griffiths Little's story about the unspoken love between a mother and her daughter is sure to move you. With characters full of personality and life, you will easily find yourself falling in love with this struggling family. This really is a perfect read.

Reviewed by: Monica Sheffo