(S)Kin
(S)Kin by Ibi Zoboi, published by HarperCollins Publishers in 2025, is a contemporary fantasy novel in verse that draws on Caribbean folklore. This 400-page book explores the themes of inherited magic and the sacrifices required to pursue one’s desires. The story follows fifteen-year-old Marisol, who transforms into a fireball witch each new moon, and seventeen-year-old Genevieve, who grapples with her own struggles and a family secret that connects her to Marisol.
Readers will find a rich narrative that delves into social and family issues, as both girls confront their identities and the weight of their pasts. Marisol’s journey is marked by her desire to break free from her mother’s influence, while Genevieve seeks answers about her estranged mother amidst her own challenges. The intertwining lives of these characters reveal how their magical heritage impacts their relationships and personal growth, making for a thought-provoking exploration of self-discovery and connection.
Official synopsis Publisher
2025 Longlist Nominee for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature
SIX STARRED REVIEWS
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
From award-winning, New York Times bestselling author Ibi Zoboi comes her groundbreaking contemporary fantasy debut–a novel in verse based on Caribbean folklore–about the power of inherited magic and the price we must pay to live the life we yearn for.
“Our new home with its
thick walls and locked doors
wants me to stay trapped in my skin–
but I am fury and flame.”
Fifteen-year-old Marisol is the daughter of a soucouyant. Every new moon, she sheds her skin like the many women before her, shifting into a fireball witch who must fly into the night and slowly sip from the lives of others to sustain her own. But Brooklyn is no place for fireball witches with all its bright lights, shut windows, and bolt-locked doors…. While Marisol hoped they would leave their old traditions behind when they emigrated from the islands, she knows this will never happen while she remains ensnared by the one person who keeps her chained to her magical past–her mother.
Seventeen-year-old Genevieve is the daughter of a college professor and a newly minted older half sister of twins. Her worsening skin condition and the babies’ constant wailing keep her up at night, when she stares at the dark sky with a deep longing to inhale it all. She hopes to quench the hunger that gnaws at her, one that seems to reach for some memory of her estranged mother. When a new nanny arrives to help with the twins, a family secret connecting her to Marisol is revealed, and Gen begins to find answers to questions she hasn’t even thought to ask.
But the girls soon discover that the very skin keeping their flames locked beneath the surface may be more explosive to the relationships around them than any ancient magic.
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