Goldeline

by Jimmy Cajoleas

Overview

Perfect for fans of The Girl Who Drank the Moon and The Thickety, this spellbinding story follows a young girl named Goldeline on an adventure through a fairy tale forest filled with dark and wondrous magic.

A Booklist Top 10 First Novel for Youth Pick of 2017 * A 2018 Southern Book Prize Finalist

In the wild, free woods of the Hinterlands, where magic is as real as stories are, Goldeline travels from camp to camp with Gruff and his bandits, getting by on the things they steal from carriages that pass through the woods.

But someone is after Goldeline. The same man who wants to cleanse the Hinterlands of anyone who’s different—and who convinced the overzealous Townies that her mother was a witch—suspects that Goldeline might be a witch, too.

Now Goldeline must summon all the courage and magic she got from her momma to escape her pursuers, save her friends, and maybe even find a place to call home.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062498779
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	02/27/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	253
Sales rank:	916,381
File size:	1 MB
Age Range:	1 - 12 Years

About the Author

Jimmy Cajoleas grew up in Jackson, Mississippi. He earned his MFA from the University of Mississippi and now lives in Brooklyn. Goldeline is his first novel, followed by The Rambling. Visit him online at www.jimmycajoleas.com.

Editorial Reviews

10/16/2017
In Cajoleas’s intriguing and eerie children’s book debut, a white-haired, golden-eyed girl sets off on a quest through an enchanted deep woods. Ever since the death of her magic-wielding mother at the hands of the cruel Preacher, 11-year-old Goldeline has been cared for by a bandit named Gruff and his band of men, and she participates in their highway robberies. Goldeline rescues 10-year-old Tommy after the men rob his carriage, hiding him and pretending to be an angel (albeit a cantankerous one). Following a violent skirmish with the Preacher’s men, Goldeline and Tommy wind up on their own in the woods, where they encounter a variety of threatening characters. As Goldeline struggles with what she remembers of her past and uncovers her own magical abilities, she narrates in a rough-and-tumble voice that reflects her hard-edged upbringing (one hillside abode they flee to in desperation is “like a happy home gone wrong, like what me and Momma had but twisted and sunk with grime”). A suspenseful tale of self-discovery. Ages 10–up. Agent: Jess Regel, Foundry Literary + Media. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

★ “First-time novelist Cajoleas writes with the ease of a seasoned author, conjuring an atmospheric setting that hums with menace and a compelling, unpolished protagonist.Goldeline’s heart-pounding race through the woods reveals a complex, magical world that will give readers much to contemplate.” — Booklist (starred review)

“Intriguing and eerie. A suspenseful tale of self-discovery.” — Publishers Weekly

“Cajoleas’s debut novel combines elements of The Scarlet Letter, Huckleberry Finn, ‘Rumplestilskin,’ ‘Hansel and Gretel,’ and other fairy tales into an engrossing new hero’s journey.” — Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)

Fans of Baptiste’s The Jumbies or Ursu’s Breadcrumbs will find Goldeline’s journey similarly thought provoking. — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

From the Publisher

Cajoleas’s debut novel combines elements of The Scarlet Letter, Huckleberry Finn, ‘Rumplestilskin,’ ‘Hansel and Gretel,’ and other fairy tales into an engrossing new hero’s journey.

Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)

★ “First-time novelist Cajoleas writes with the ease of a seasoned author, conjuring an atmospheric setting that hums with menace and a compelling, unpolished protagonist.Goldeline’s heart-pounding race through the woods reveals a complex, magical world that will give readers much to contemplate.

Booklist (starred review)

Fans of Baptiste’s The Jumbies or Ursu’s Breadcrumbs will find Goldeline’s journey similarly thought provoking.

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

Fans of Baptiste’s The Jumbies or Ursu’s Breadcrumbs will find Goldeline’s journey similarly thought provoking.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

08/01/2017
Gr 4–6—Goldeline has lived a harsh life and is haunted by visions of her past. Her mother was burned at the stake for being a witch by the evil Preacher, and her fellow townspeople think that she must be a witch as well. Life in the Hinterlands is tough. Forced to live on the run from the Preacher, she spends her days colluding with a group of bandits attempting to steal from innocent passersby. While doing her "damsel in distress" act with the thieves, she encounters a young boy named Tommy who has lived a similar life—on the run, fending for himself. When she attempts to help Tommy, she unwittingly grabs the unwanted and dangerous attention of the Preacher. Goldeline and Tommy must work together to elude capture or face certain death. The only place to escape to is the dark, mysterious woods where magical creatures, undiscovered terrors, and her own potential magical powers await. Cajoleas crafts a story that echoes many elements of today's world while still being fully entrenched in the fantastical. Goldeline is a determined young girl who knows what she wants but is sometimes unsure of how to achieve it (a relatable feeling for many young readers). While the story suffers from pacing issues in the beginning, those who stick with it will be rewarded by a complex yet approachable mythology featuring a strong female protagonist. VERDICT A solid purchase for most collections, particularly where middle grade fantasy is in demand.—Christopher Lassen, BookOps: The New York Public Library and Brooklyn Public Library

School Library Journal

2017-07-15
A Bible-loving, magic-using orphan and her reluctant companion plunge into the deep dark woods in this Southern fantasy. After the zealous Preacher burned her mother for witchcraft, 11-year-old, white-haired, golden-eyed, white Goldeline fled Templeton to live with substitute father-figure Gruff and his bandits in the forest. When Goldeline's impulsive rescue of 10-year-old, redheaded, white orphan Tommy destroys the camp, the two youngsters traverse the dangerous woods in search of the much-mythologized rogues' refuge of Moon Haven. With the terrifying (yet underdeveloped) Preacher and his mob of Townies in pursuit, Goldeline rewrites her own story, going from apprentice bandit and Ghost Girl to inappropriate angel to budding witch. The duo's encounters and escapes from wicked people—whose villainy is crudely symbolized by their deformities—echo traditional fairy tales but have an unexpected Christian twist; Goldeline learned magic from her mother but also treasures the (good) Book. Debut author Cajoleas unspools the simple but suspenseful story with a distinctive Southern cadence and rich scenic descriptions but a peculiar absence of characters of color, and geographic and historical vagueness place this tale in the realm of fabulism and big-fish stories. A folksy fairy tale bridging The Robber Bridegroom and Beasts of the Southern Wild. (Fantasy. 9-12)

Kirkus Reviews