This is Nalo Hopkinson's debut novel, which came to attention when it won the Warner Aspect First Novel Contest. It tells the story of Ti-Jeanne, a young woman in a near-future Toronto that's been all but abandoned by the Canadian government. Anyone who can has retreated from the chaos of the city to the relative safety of the suburbs, and those left in "the burn" must fend for themselves. Ti-Jeanne is a new mother who's trying to come to grips with her as- yet-unnamed baby and also trying to end her relationship with her drug-addict boyfriend Tony. But a passion still burns between the young lovers, and when Tony runs afoul of Rudy, the local ganglord, Ti-Jeanne convinces her grandmother Gros-Jeanne to help out. Gros-Jeanne is a Voudoun priestess, and it's clear that Ti-Jeanne has inherited some of her gifts. Although Ti-Jeanne wants nothing to do with the spirit world, she soon finds herself caught up in a battle to the death with Rudy and the mother she thought she lost long ago. --Craig E. Engler


From Publishers Weekly
The musical rhythms of Caribbean voices and the earthy spirit-magic of obeah knit together this unusual fantasy, the first winner of Warner Aspect's First Novel Contest. Toronto in the next century is a "doughnut hole city," its core collapsed into ruinous slums after much of the population left to escape rising urban crime and violence. Those who remain in the Burn are survivors like Ti-Jeanne and her grandmother Mami, who trade herbal cures and spells for necessities, or predators like drug-lord Rudy and the "posse" of men, including Ti-Jeanne's ex-lover Tony, who sell "buff" for him. Outside the Burn, Catherine Uttley, the premier of Ontario, needs a heart transplant and a boost in her approval ratings. To accomplish both, she announces support for a return to voluntary human organ donation, allegedly to prevent the spread of Virus Epsilon, sometimes found in the porcine organs grown for transplant. The heart she needs will have to come from someone in the Burn, and Rudy saddles Tony with the job of finding a donor. Tony has no stomach for the job, however, and goes to Ti-Jeanne and Mami for help, bringing the unpredictable and powerful spirits of Caribbean obeah into play. Though the story sometimes turns too easily on coincidence, Hopkinson's writing is smooth and assured, and her characters lively and believable. She has created a vivid world of urban decay and startling, dangerous magic, where the human heart is both a physical and metaphorical key. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From School Library Journal
YA-An outstanding science-fiction novel by a Jamaican-born novelist. The setting is post-modern Toronto. The inner city's economic base has collapsed; the police and most of civilization have deserted and roadblocked the city, leaving the homeless, poor, and criminals behind. The heroine, Ti-Jeanne, and her infant son live with her grandmother on a small herbal "farm" from which they dispense folk-medicine treatments to the other disenfranchised inhabitants of the "Burn." The story combines African and Jamaican folklore, religion, and patois as Ti-Jeanne learns to understand the ancient spirits that are so important in her family's history. The tragedies of her mother and grandmother must be understood and corrected, and only Ti-Jeanne can do it, if she can face her own fears. A page-turner that builds to an exciting conclusion, this quickly read fantasy will have lots of appeal to young adults.Carol DeAngelo, Garcia Consulting Inc., EPA Headquarters, Washington, DCCopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
In the ruined core of downtown 21st-century Toronto, a girl reluctantly embraces her heritage of spirit magic to save the lives of her child and her lover from a gang leader's evil sorcery. Hopkinson, winner of the Warner Aspect First Novel Contest for this work, draws upon Afro-Caribbean myths to provide a rich, evocative background for a classic tale of salvation and sacrifice. Smoothly written, with memorable characters, this top-quality debut belongs in most libraries.Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.


The New York Times Book Review, Gerald Jonas
She treats spirit-calling the way other science fiction writers treat nanotechnology or virtual reality .... I am happy to report that Hopkinson lives up to her advance billing.


The Washington Post Book World, David Streitfeld
Brown Girl has the usual first novel faults in pacing and plotting but more than compensates with its richness of language.


From Booklist
Toronto's economy has collapsed, and those who couldn't flee with big business must farm in parks, hunt pigeons and squirrels for meat, and avoid the Posse, the gang that controls the streets. Ti-Jeanne Baines lives with her grandmother, learning to make herbal medicines and raising her child, conceived in an affair with a former medical intern fired from the local hospital because of drug addiction. Ti-Jeanne fired Tony, too, because of his addiction and his involvement with the Posse. But when he comes, swearing his intent to quit the Posse and leave the city, to ask her help, Ti-Jeanne in turn asks her voodoo-practicing grandmother to help Tony escape before the Posse kills him for defecting. Unwittingly, Tony then involves Ti-Jeanne in his predicament, forcing her to come to terms with her spiritual heritage to defend herself and her child. Winner of the first Warner Aspect First Novel Contest for new sf and fantasy writers, Jamaican-born Hopkinson's exotically imaginative debut is just realistic enough. Bonnie Johnston


From Kirkus Reviews
Winner of the publisher's First Novel Contest (out of nearly 1,000 entries), Hopkinson's debut evokes Afro-Caribbean magic against a near-future Toronto damaged by riots and neglect and abandoned by all but the most desperate inhabitants. The inner city is run by ruthless gangster Rudy Sheldon and his ``posse.'' Ti-Jeanne Hunter lives with her herbalist grandmother, Mami, and her unnamed child (by Tony, one of Rudy's mob). Weak, untrustworthy Tony was fired from his hospital job because of his drug addiction. Now, Canada's premier, Catharine Uttley, has an ailing heart, and, for overwhelming political reasons, any replacement organ must come from a human donor. Word filters down to Rudy to supply the heart, and Tony gets the job: If he can't find a donor quickly, he'll have to murder someone and take the heart. Later, empty-handed and terrified of Rudy's lieutenant, Crack Monkey, Tony pleads for Mami to work magic and help him get out of the city undetected. Since Ti-Jeanne can't resist Tony's blandishments, Mami reluctantly agrees. Unfortunately, Rudy also commands powerful ``obeah'': Trapped in his ``duppy bowl'' is a ravening spirit that will do his bidding when he feeds it blood. Tony, meanwhile, finds that Mami would be a compatible donor for the heart, and, unable to escape Rudy, he bashes in Mami's head and calls the paramedics. Ti-Jeanne learns that Rudy's captive spirit is her mother--and the only way to free her and defeat Rudy is to smash the bowl. A splendid if often gruesome debut, superbly plotted and redolent of the rhythms of Afro-Caribbean speech: ``You just don't let she go, or I go zap the both of allyou one time.'' -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


Locus, May 1998
....To those readers who have delved into the inner reaches of Voudun. Hopkinson's magical background won't be entirely new - though it does bring an exotic spice to a Canadian winter! But what propels this fast-paced work is the author's gift for passionate, vivid, tale-spinning. The "dregs" to whom the 21st-century government has left Toronto aren't all "mad, bas and dangerous to know," the spirits who venture into human realms as occasional guides, sponsors, or outright possessors of souls represents a broad array of emotional and intellectual properties, and (above all) the plot and style get an early grip on you the Reader, and don't let go till story's end. No wonder she took first place in the Warner Aspect First Novel Contest with this work - Hopkinson is a genuine find.


Download Description
Set in Toronto after the turn of the millennium, Brown Girl in the Ring focuses on "The Burn," the inner city left when Toronto's economic base collapsed. Young Ti-Jeanne lives with her grandmother, who runs a trade in herbal medicine that is vital to the disenfranchised of The Burn. A fascinating cast of characters combined with the dark world of Afro-Caribbean magic create an altogether original and compelling story by an intriguing new voice.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

An utterly fresh new voice joins the SF/fantasy field with "Brown Girl in the Ring", chosen the best of almost 1,000 entries to the Warner Aspect First Novel Contest. Jamaica native Nalo Hopkinson weaves a compelling story of Afro-Caribbean magic, ancient spirits who rule human lives, and a young woman forced to fend for herself in a 21st-century Toronto that has fallen into economic collapse.

SYNOPSIS

The award-winning first novel by the author of Midnight Robber and Under Glass, which are also available as eBooks.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

The musical rhythms of Caribbean voices and the earthy spirit-magic of obeah knit together this unusual fantasy, the first winner of Warner Aspect's First Novel Contest. Toronto in the next century is a "doughnut hole city," its core collapsed into ruinous slums after much of the population left to escape rising urban crime and violence. Those who remain in the Burn are survivors like Ti-Jeanne and her grandmother Mami, who trade herbal cures and spells for necessities, or predators like drug-lord Rudy and the "posse" of men, including Ti-Jeanne's ex-lover Tony, who sell "buff" for him. Outside the Burn, Catherine Uttley, the premier of Ontario, needs a heart transplant and a boost in her approval ratings. To accomplish both, she announces support for a return to voluntary human organ donation, allegedly to prevent the spread of Virus Epsilon, sometimes found in the porcine organs grown for transplant. The heart she needs will have to come from someone in the Burn, and Rudy saddles Tony with the job of finding a donor. Tony has no stomach for the job, however, and goes to Ti-Jeanne and Mami for help, bringing the unpredictable and powerful spirits of Caribbean obeah into play. Though the story sometimes turns too easily on coincidence, Hopkinson's writing is smooth and assured, and her characters lively and believable. She has created a vivid world of urban decay and startling, dangerous magic, where the human heart is both a physical and metaphorical key. (July)

VOYA - Alison Kastner

The city of Toronto is a wheel, with the city core as its hub, and a number of suburbs encircling the core. In this imagined Toronto, years of recession have resulted in the core's collapse. The wealthy have fled to the suburbs, leaving the poor and disenfranchised to survive as best they can. Into this vacuum steps Rudy, a Dorian Gray sort of man, who uses voodoo to control a "duppy," a powerful soul stolen from the body of a living person. With this power, Rudy thrives as an over-lord, dealing in drugs and "harvesting" body organs for the wealthy. In contrast, Gros-Jeanne is a wise-woman, who uses voodoo for healing. Gros-Jeanne and others like her are trying to restore the city by creating a community upon the rubble of the old system. Ti-Jeanne tells the story. She is a young mother who is impatient with her new duties and the old superstitions of her grandmother, Gros-Jeanne. Complicating matters is the fact that she has terrifying visions of the future. When Gros-Jeanne and Rudy wage a battle that pits good against evil, Ti-Jeanne is caught in the middle and must become a reluctant heroine. The author's characters are well-drawn: Gros-Jeanne is the charming and outwardly tough grandmother who tries to pass on her spirituality to her stubborn granddaughter. Ti-Jeanne develops from a willful child into a woman capable of assuming great responsibilities. These characters are placed against the believable backdrop of a multicultural community struggling to survive. The result is a highly readable work, reminiscent of Butler's The Parable of the Sower (Four Walls Eight Windows, 1993). There were several extremely gruesome scenes probably added to emphasize Rudy's absolute corruptness; even those with strong stomachs may do the reading equivalent of covering their eyes. This promising debut is the winner of the Warner/Aspect First Novel Contest. I look forward to seeing what this author turns out next. VOYA Codes: 3Q 4P S (Readable without serious defects, Broad general YA appeal, Senior High-defined as grades 10 to 12).

Library Journal

In the ruined core of downtown 21st-century Toronto, a girl reluctantly embraces her heritage of spirit magic to save the lives of her child and her lover from a gang leader's evil sorcery. Hopkinson, winner of the Warner Aspect First Novel Contest for this work, draws upon Afro-Caribbean myths to provide a rich, evocative background for a classic tale of salvation and sacrifice. Smoothly written, with memorable characters, this top-quality debut belongs in most libraries.

School Library Journal

YA-An outstanding science-fiction novel by a Jamaican-born novelist. The setting is post-modern Toronto. The inner city's economic base has collapsed; the police and most of civilization have deserted and roadblocked the city, leaving the homeless, poor, and criminals behind. The heroine, Ti-Jeanne, and her infant son live with her grandmother on a small herbal "farm" from which they dispense folk-medicine treatments to the other disenfranchised inhabitants of the "Burn." The story combines African and Jamaican folklore, religion, and patois as Ti-Jeanne learns to understand the ancient spirits that are so important in her family's history. The tragedies of her mother and grandmother must be understood and corrected, and only Ti-Jeanne can do it, if she can face her own fears. A page-turner that builds to an exciting conclusion, this quickly read fantasy will have lots of appeal to young adults.-Carol DeAngelo, Garcia Consulting Inc., EPA Headquarters, Washington, DC

Kirkus Reviews

Winner of the publisher's First Novel Contest (out of nearly 1,000 entries), Hopkinson's debut evokes Afro-Caribbean magic against a near-future Toronto damaged by riots and neglect and abandoned by all but the most desperate inhabitants. The inner city is run by ruthless gangster Rudy Sheldon and his "posse." Ti-Jeanne Hunter lives with her herbalist grandmother, Mami, and her unnamed child (by Tony, one of Rudy's mob). Weak, untrustworthy Tony was fired from his hospital job because of his drug addiction. Now, Canada's premier, Catharine Uttley, has an ailing heart, and, for overwhelming political reasons, any replacement organ must come from a human donor. Word filters down to Rudy to supply the heart, and Tony gets the job: If he can't find a donor quickly, he'll have to murder someone and take the heart. Later, empty-handed and terrified of Rudy's lieutenant, Crack Monkey, Tony pleads for Mami to work magic and help him get out of the city undetected. Since Ti-Jeanne can't resist Tony's blandishments, Mami reluctantly agrees. Unfortunately, Rudy also commands powerful "obeah": Trapped in his "duppy bowl" is a ravening spirit that will do his bidding when he feeds it blood. Tony, meanwhile, finds that Mami would be a compatible donor for the heart, and, unable to escape Rudy, he bashes in Mami's head and calls the paramedics. Ti-Jeanne learns that Rudy's captive spirit is her mother—and the only way to free her and defeat Rudy is to smash the bowl. A splendid if often gruesome debut, superbly plotted and redolent of the rhythms of Afro-Caribbean speech: "You just don't let she go, or I go zap the both of allyou one time."

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

I've been telling people about Nalo Hopkinson's book....It is great. — Octavia E. Butler

Colorful and enthralling, exotically weird and at the same time totally convincing; you don't read this book, you live in it. — Tim Powers

Unusual and intriguing in concept...with all the payoffs you could hope for in a story. — C. J. Cherryh