The Root Worker

To Ellen, an eleven-year-old African American girl growing up in Detroit in the 1960s, the world is a threatening place. She describes, with a child's distinctive perspective, her fear of her Catholic school teachers and of her mother, who blames Ellen for her family's ills and is convinced that she is possessed by evil spirits. More than anything, Ellen fears the Root Worker, a voodoo priestess who has Ellen's mother under her sway and ruthlessly torments Ellen in an effort to find a "cure" for her wickedness. Rainelle Burton's unforgettable debut novel explores the poignancy and pain of working through a haunted past to arrive at a hopeful future.