In this Southern Gothic novel, Alexandria Lee has spent her entire young life with her free-spirited mother far from Grandma Lee's home in Savannah, Georgia. They grow herbs on a commune in Mendocino, California, which also produces a modest amount of pot. But when her mother dies in a car accident, Grandma Lee, or Miss Lee, as she prefers to be called, sends for her granddaughter to come "home" to her. Alex, with her dreadlocks, vintage teeshirts, and (according to her) pudgy frame, is like a fish out of water among the photo-shoot-ready debutantes, and is not ready to settle in with the astonishingly young-looking grandmother she never knew.
Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on your perspective), two young ladies from the "Magnolia League" are commissioned by Grandma to take Alex under their wing and help transform her into one of them. When your Grandma is the head of the League, underlings tend to ask "How high?" when she says "Jump!"
Alex valiantly resists their efforts for a while, even secretly escapes back to California and the commune to reunite with the boy she thought loved her. But when she discovers that he has quickly replaced her with another, and the commune has torn up her mother's herb garden to make room for a more lucrative crop of marijuana, she reluctantly admits that you can't go home again, and returns to the bosom of the Magnolia League.
Alex gradually becomes aware of the power of the League, and its underpinnings rooted in ancient hoo-doo. As she noses around Grandma's mansion and her mother's locked up bedroom, Alex uncovers more questions than answers. She seems to vacillate between caving in to the League's standards, and sticking to her guns. The author sets up the plot to continue into at least one sequel, so be prepared to be left with unanswered questions of your own. Offer this to teens who yearn for more supernatural stories to add to their collection.
368 pages
ISBN: 0316078492
Reviewed by: Jane Behrens, Teacher Librarian, Iowa, USA
