THE IMPOSSIBLE DESTINY OF CUTIE GRACKLE

A hardscrabble child tries to reverse the curse that’s turned her mother into a raven.

It takes Cutie Grackle, 10, a while to figure out why the birds are following her. She’s got enough to worry about, what with her Uncle Horace, with whom she lives in a shack atop a West Virginia mountain, getting ever more disoriented, the kindly cafeteria worker who gives her a ride to the food pantry leaving town, and rumors of a curse that caused her parents and others to disappear. But when a raven drops a fortune from a cookie at her feet, Cutie slides into a vision of her long-lost mama and begins to understand not only what caused the curse, but how it might be reversed—if she can manage to do it in time. Told primarily through Cutie’s unsparing point of view (with occasional asides from the ravens) and fully at home in its Appalachian setting, the novel treats poverty, loss, and the magical with matter-of-fact acceptance and admits to some nuance in its portrayals. Cutie’s voice never falters. There are times when the plot points around the curse are confusing but not enough so that readers will lose interest, and the ending feels like a victory earned. All characters are White. Millgram’s raven spot art and a map of Cutie and Horace’s home of Smite Mountain enhance the text.

An intriguing story from an author who deserves more acclaim.