Description

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, Mariss.

No matter what anyone else says, Josephine knows there is something ‘fishy’ about Mariss. She is just too perfect. But Mariss proves much more difficult to get rid of than the others. And maybe it’s all the stories about baccoos and douens, and other mythical creatures from Ms. 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 or will she find it’s just an overactive imagination?

My Fishy Stepmom is a hilarious offering from Barbadian author Shakirah Bourne. The novel seamlessly combines serious issues such as the loss of a parent and dealing with change, with the fantastical. The charming relatable characters jump right off the page, from Ahkai a young boy with Asperger’s to Vincent who has to cope with being a single father. The novel was a finalist in the 2018 Burt Award for Caribbean Young Adult Literature.