In the aftermath of her mother's death, fourteen-year-old Mati and her family struggle to cope with their grief. Baba, Mati's father, has trouble connecting with his three children. Seventeen-year-old Chichi rebels and engages in risky behavior. Ten-year-old Tana craves attention and a return to the way life used to be. Mati is quiet and introspective, saying little. To help his family heal, Baba takes them from England on a camping adventure in the family's home country of Zimbabwe. On the trip, Mati begins to share an extended story about her life, including the challenges of navigating two cultures, with Meticais, a flamboyant figure whom only she can see and hear. Meticais, through their engaging repartee and provocative probes, helps Mati begin to process what she has been through, building to a compelling twist. Musariri compassionately and eloquently conveys the complexities of loss and love in an absorbing, intriguing story anchored by charismatic characters. (c) Copyright 2023. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Grieving the untimely death of her mother, 14-year-old Mati keeps company with an enigmatic spirit only she can see. "Chichi swore at Baba and he went mental." That's the short version, Mati tells us, before launching into the longer story of her mother's death and its aftermath. Seeking respite, Baba, Mati's father, who is a doctor in private practice, takes his grieving family from England to Zimbabwe, Mati's parents' homeland, for a long camping vacation. There, Chichi, Mati's 17-year-old sister, continues swearing and rebelling, while Tana, Mati's 10-year-old brother, seeks joy and adventure. Mati, a keen observer and deep thinker, is visited at random times by an opinionated, glamorous, gender-neutral being named Meticais who speaks only to her. Uncertain whether Meticais is a ghost or a figment of her imagination, Mati alternates between frustration and fascination with their conversations about the complexities of her immigrant family's life prior to her mother's death. Traveling by expedition truck and houseboat through the Zimbabwean bush to Victoria Falls, Mati and her family wrangle with the past and struggle to move forward. With emotionally rich, evocative prose from Mati's astute point of view, Musariri deftly avoids melodrama to deliver a cast of wholly original characters facing tragedy with raw vulnerability and humor. A stunning, heartbreaking twist at the end will have readers turning back the pages to immediately reread this remarkable novel. An inventive, exquisitely written story of family, love, and loss. (Fiction. 14-adult) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Fourteen-year-old Matiponesa Mufanani must navigate tense familial relationships following her mother's death in Musariri's moving tale. Mati's family is imploding under the weight of her mother's absence: her father, Baba, has withdrawn emotionally; her older sister Chichi, 17, has grown increasingly rebellious; her younger brother Tana, 10 and constantly caught in the middle of Chichi and Baba's arguments, yearns for stability; and Mati often feels invisible amid the turmoil. When Baba suddenly decides to take Mati and her siblings on an extended camping trip to visit family in their native Zimbabwe, each sibling must confront their grief while stuck in close quarters. Despite the forced bonding time, Mati finds the most comfort in pipe-smoking Meticais, a gender-neutral figure with locs who is visible only to her. Meticais imparts wisdom, helping Mati navigate her mercurial interpersonal relationships and feelings of grief. Though a reserved protagonist, Mati's emotions are palpable and portrayed with complexity. Employing an ethereal atmosphere and intimate-feeling prose, Musariri explores belonging, grief, and love in this powerful homage to family set against an intricately detailed backdrop. Ages 13--up. (Jan.)

Gr 9 Up--In the aftermath of Matiponesa's mother's sudden death, her father tows her and her two siblings from the UK back to his home country of Zimbabwe for a road trip through its national parks. In the rawness of their grief their father has retreated into himself, and all are walking on eggshells to avoid the explosive rages of Chichi, Mati's 17-year-old sister. Mati, 14, a highly observant protagonist with a rich interior life, says of herself, "I don't overthink things, I let them come and settle in my head," which happens to include a pipe-smoking, gender-ambiguous spirit named Meticais whom only Mati can see. Meticais appears and vanishes without warning as the family travels across Zimbabwe, each time adorned in wild new fashions, and prods Mati to narrate the events leading up to their departure from England. "It will change the story I'm telling if I keep talking about me in it," Mati objects, and of course it does, leading to a stunning twist in the book's final quarter. In a vibrant narrative voice that is by turns both meditative and humorous, Mati pulls apart the way stories are told to "see behind things," navigate her grief, and explore new ways of knowing herself and her family. Wise and lyrical, Musariri's novel pairs an insightful and layered portrait of family grief with a clever, tension-filled structure that invites rereading. VERDICT A gorgeous, richly rewarding novel for thoughtful readers; recommended as a first purchase.--Elizabeth Giles