Zo and the Forest of Secrets by Alake Pilgrim

Welcome Back, Booklovers! I can't even remember how I heard about this book. I know it was via Twitter where I follow quite a few Black British authors who write young adult and middle grade. Alake Pilgrim and I ended up connecting and she offered me a copy of her book which made me ecstatic! I had never read a Trinidadian set fantasy before. I have read and adored The Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste which is inspired by Trinidadian folklore so it's nice to see more stories out there.

Zo is a young Trinidadian girl who has recently moved from Port of Spain to Samaan Bay with her mother, stepfather, and baby brother. She misses the big city and more importantly she misses when her parents were together. So she decides to run away as a part of a ploy to have her dad who is away on business return to the island to search for her. Her hope is that her parents reunite. But as Zo gets deeper into the forest she discovers things aren't as they appear. She meets a lost boy named Adri and they find themselves on the run from strange creatures.

This story reminded me a little bit of Hatchet mostly because of the surviving the forest alone aspect and having divorced parents. Though unlike in Hachet, Zo already has the survival skills she needs because of her Da. Using information she learned previously about the landscape, Zo alongside Adri attempts to find her way out of the forest. The forest is a character of itself, with vivid descriptions.

Alake Pilgrim's love language must be food like mine and all of it made my mouth water. While she touches on popular local dishes, she also teaches readers about the vegetation within the forest. And she has an important discussion on human impact on the forest with the looming enemies from "The Zoo" present throughout. 

This story also addresses the issue of blending families with ease. Zo has experience a lot of change that she's struggling to cope with but she starts to understand that her mother's happiness also matters. And she slowly comes to realize her stepfather does want what's best for her.

Zo and the Forest of Secrets uniquely blends science, fantasy, and Caribbean mythology for an action packed adventure tale that will have you anticipating book 2.