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The Jumbee Pamela Keyes Books

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The Jumbee Pamela Keyes Books

I really loved this book :) It was a little slow to get going, but I loved the characters and the language the book was written in. I especially liked the dialogue--it really made the story come alive.
And in this book, the love triangle actually made SENSE!


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The Jumbee Pamela Keyes Books Reviews

There is always a market for a good retelling in young adult fiction. Whether it's a classic in a contemporary situation (JANE or BEASTLY), or something put into a fantastical new world entirely (ENTWINED and the ONCE UPON A TIME IS TIMELESS series), teenagers are prone to have an interest in it. I am one of those teenagers, so THE JUMBEE was already an anticipated read for me. Throw in a beautiful cover and make it a retelling of one of the most well-known musical (and book) plots in modern culture, and color me ready to devour it.

The daughter of a famous, now-dead Shakespearian actor, Esti Legard is ready to take the stage of her new school by storm. Set on Cariba, this new school is supposed to be the place to get scouted for a career on the stage. Esti has all of her father's skill, but her confidence has always been skewed from being in his shadow. Her first day, she goes out onto the stage and acts in the part of Juliet, preparing for the school audition. A student comes up to her and tells her she has no chance of getting the part. That she sucks.

The next day, that student is dead. After a period of mourning, things at the school go back to normal. But not before Esti begins hearing the rumors around Cariba. The superstitions about jumbees - phantoms - and their bad luck magic. How a jumbee could have killed the student that insulted her. Esti scoffs at the superstitious nature, but soon finds herself confronted by a husky, sensual voice in the darkness of the stage. It gives her the confidence to perform better than she has in a long time. Who is this jumbee, and why is he living on the stage of a school in small Cariba?

THE JUMBEE is a take on a classic that manages to be interesting in providing an idea of what the source material is without being overbearing with it. Esti is a character who many people will enjoy reading about. She's uncertain of herself and has to deal with a broken mother and a father who is only there in the form of an unrelenting spirit, a silent judge of her talent in her own mind. Actors, professional or otherwise, will naturally see this in Esti's character. Keyes writes the acting life wonderfully, complete with the drama and politics of theater. She doesn't make any of it impossible for someone outside the theater perspective to understand, either.

Romantically, Keyes takes this story into a good place, as well. The odd type of love triangle exhibited in THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is key to the success of the story, and she handles it very well within this one. The jumbee in this case is quite elusive and tortured. His need for darkness and seclusion attracts the reader yet makes them want to keep a distance from him, much as Esti does. Her budding romance with a childhood friend who is known as a player around the island isn't as alluring as it could have been, though. The tension and emotion exhibited between Esti and her two interests keeps you on your toes, and it's a pretty sensible adaptation of it.

Description also works in Keyes' favor with this work. The reader is easily transported to Cariba and can see the foliage and the native ways in their minds eye. At times dialogue is relied on, and some passages are weaker than others in the setting department because of it. The other main issue with the novel is that, while interesting, it doesn't provide a truly enrapturing and original take on the experience. Written well and interesting it is, but some readers just won't get past a certain spice that isn't there. Most, however, will find the read very enjoyable, especially as an entrance to the classic musical and book.

Keyes does a lot right in this adaptation, and I am very interested in seeing what she decides to write next.

Reviewed by John Jacobson, aka "R.J. Jacobs"
Aspiring actress Esti Legard has lived her entire life in the shadow of her father, a famous Shakespearean actor and author. When he dies of cancer, Esti decides to reinvent herself by attending a theater school in the Caribbean for her senior year. Little does she expect, however, that her attention will be torn between two very different men in a retelling of Gaston Leroux's Phantom of the Opera. Alan is an enigmatic young actor who brings out the best of Esti's talent - but refuses to meet her face-to-face. Their tutoring sessions are carried out in the dark, and Alan will not allow Esti to learn anything of his past or why he remains hidden to the world, though regarded by the island's inhabitants as a jumbee, a ghost. Then Rafe, Esti's childhood friend, arrives back on the island, bringing his bad-boy reputation and becoming a wedge in Esti and Alan's odd relationship.

The Jumbee has a lot of stuff going on retelling a classic story, Shakespeare, Caribbean folklore, young adult interest, and romance. In many cases, this would be too much for one novel, but Keyes successfully pulls off the blend. Keyes' writing itself isn't anything spectacular - just your typical YA author - but she manages to mix together a variety of different elements to make an interesting, unique retelling. No one element is accentuated too much over the others. To readers who have read Leroux's novel or watched the movie, The Jumbee is obviously a retelling. Yet Keyes' book is not self-consciously a retelling; it sticks to the general plotline but adds enough detail and development to allow it to stand outside of the Phantom-inspired canon. Readers who are not familiar with the original story will have no problem reading and enjoying this novel. I particularly enjoyed the story from the perspective of the "Christine" character, who came off rather weak and idiotic in Leroux's book. Not so in Keyes' adaptation, where readers get to see how "Christine" falls for the two guys and is conflicted in her emotions, identity, and desires.

The Shakespeare parts of the story act more as cute-sy elements as Esti and Alan communicate through quotes. Yet readers are able to grasp the characters' reasons for their Shakespearean devotion, and it ends up serving as a cohesive element. Likewise, Caribbean folklore becomes a necessary aspect of The Jumbee as Alan's origins and place in the community are gradually revealed. There's even a hint of post-colonial racial conflict involved. The romance and love triangle come off well, unlike in many books where it seems to fall flat. Despite these varied aspects to the story, however, I was never completely drawn into it. Enjoyable, yes; memorable, no. A good read, but not one that will stand out to me after a few months or years. The action was too slow in developing, the writing didn't stand out enough, and too little creep factor was involved to allow The Jumbee to become one of my favorites.

Disclaimer I received my copy of this book from the publisher in return for an honest review.
After finishing The Jumbee (in record time), my 11-year old daughter declared it the "second best book" she has ever read. Not too shabby, since the competition was stiff. (Her favorite book (play) of all time is Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.) This was definitely a stay-up-late-and-read-under-the-bedclothes-with-a-flashlight kind of book.
I bought this book as a gift for my granddaughter who is 16. She liked the book and read it very quickly but it did not seem to catch her interest as much as other stories have. She is a huge fan of The Phantom of the Opera and said that she never got attached to or felt empathy for the Jumbee like she did for the Phantom. She would still recommend this book to other teens.
I really loved this book ) It was a little slow to get going, but I loved the characters and the language the book was written in. I especially liked the dialogue--it really made the story come alive.
And in this book, the love triangle actually made SENSE!