Nisi Shawl's first middle-grade title, Speculation, is the spectacular story of a Black girl living in the 1960s who tries to use a pair of magical spectacles to break her family's curse.
Ten-year-old Winna Williams and her younger sister, Tupelo, are living with their grandparents while their mother is hospitalized with bronchitis. When Tupelo breaks Winna's glasses, their Grampa Carl gives Winna an old pair that belonged to her Great-Aunt Estelle, Gramma Dot's sister. The glasses have "silver frames around perfect circles of glass" and make everything so clear, Winna wonders, "What if they're magic?" Turns out, wishes that begin with "what if" can be granted by the spectacles. Her first wish is to see ghosts; she meets her great, great grandmother, Winona, who escaped slavery almost a century ago with her baby, Key. But Key was stolen from Winona. In sadness and desperation, Winona put a curse on her own family--"the Burden of the Coles"--ensuring that, so long as her son was missing, "no one would breathe easy." Winna must find Key and reunite him with Winona, or she fears her mother might be the Burden's next victim.
Nisi Shawl (Everfair) delivers an outstanding historical fantasy in short accessible chapters that keep the plot moving swiftly. Shawl draws in readers with relatable characters and comforting concepts, such as connecting with the past and using our ancestors to help guide our futures. Middle-grade fans of Daniel José Older's Dactyll Hill Squad or Renée Watson and Ilyasah Shabazz's Betty Before X will surely find much to love in Speculation. --Natasha Harris, freelance reviewer