(1) 4-6 Way back when, horse thief Walcott Montgomery and murderer Almira LaFayette set a plot in motion in the Okefenokee Swamp. Their descendants are doomed to play out their tale of curses, trickery, and family feuds; middle graders Blue and Tumble join forces to neutralize the curse. In a mix of tall tale, magic realism, comic mayhem, and sweetness, Beasley creates a distinctive, energetic world.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2017

(3) 4-6 When Piper's baby sister is diagnosed with a degenerative disease, the fourteen-year-old sets out to find a cure-all flower located deep within Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp. What Piper doesn't know is how much the plant doesn't want to be discovered, and to what lengths it will go to remain hidden from a pursuer. Exciting horror-lite with vivid, stimulating language and deliberate plotting.

Reviewer: Lana Barnes

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Brian Lies. "Deep in the swamp, in an underwater den, / Lived a mother crayfish and her little crayfish Ten." Beginning with one river otter pup, Bateman introduces ten animals in the Okefenokee Swamp. Each double-page spread includes four lines of text describing an animal, her offspring, and their defining behaviors. More information about plants and animals featured in the lush illustrations is appended.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(3) 4-6 In this engaging novel set in the Okefenokee swamplands during the Civil War, young Hamp sets out to capture a runaway slave because the bounty would ease the financial and emotional pains of his war-torn family. But when Hamp meets the runaway, he realizes that things are not always what they seem, and his contempt for the slave turns to understanding. Bib.

Reviewer: Neill Sharp Myers