“Evoking the themes of Ovid, the language of Toni Morrison, and the genre-blending of Octavia Butler, Haynes scales the heights of his ambition. This soaring work is not to be missed.”— PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, Starred Review
"The writing in this book is simply stunning. Haynes has the ability to seamlessly bring together plots and characters and shift ideas with such precision and subtly. By the time you finish this novel, you will feel as if you’ve lived in New Felicity for decades and truly understand generations of characters."— DEBUTIFUL
"A fishing village plagued by ghosts and omens unites to protect a refugee girl in Justin Haynes’s potent novel."— FOREWORD
“Justin Haynes delivers an evocative coastal world where the tide and the sky have as much power as governments and borders. Ibis moves the reader through Caribbean history and nature, driven by a compelling ensemble, some looking for truth and some hiding it. Striking in its language and imagery, this debut comes alive with a vibrant mixture of beauty, mystery, and quiet ferocity.”— LITERARY HUB
"This brilliant, shape-shifting novel teems with charms and curses, stunning disasters and startling moments of grace. Haynes is a thrillingly original writer who writes about the thin veil between worlds with spectacular range and scope."— JENNY OFFILL, author of Dept. of Speculation and Weather
"Justin Haynes proves himself an absolute alchemist of fiction with his carefully crafted mixture of unexpected sources culled and combined to tell the story of a Venezuelan child refugee and the people of New Felicity in Ibis, a novel that expands our understanding of magical realism. Characters’ journal entries and letters, and even the newspaper articles they read, come together to make a world where people recognize and respect the omen of the ibis and other occult occurrences. This is a stunning debut as witty as is it is rapturous."
— JERICHO BROWN, MacArthur Fellow and Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Tradition"Ibis took me to totally unexpected places. It’s vivid, witty, and heartbreaking as it reckons with myths, migration, and found family. Long after I turned the last page, I’m still thinking of this novel's interrogation of the histories of Venezuela and the Caribbean. What shaped us? Who have we become? Who will we choose to be?"— BREANNE MC IVOR, author of The God of Good Looks
"Justin Haynes delivers an evocative coastal world where the tide and the sky have as much power as governments and borders. Ibis moves the reader through Caribbean history and nature, driven by a compelling ensemble, some looking for truth and some hiding it. Striking in its language and imagery, this debut comes alive with a vibrant mixture of beauty, mystery, and quiet ferocity."— RAVI HOWARD, award-winning author of Like Trees, Walking and Driving the King
