Root Magic

“But my life felt like a puzzle I didn’t know how to put together.”

Jez spends the novel trying to figure out what her life will look like now that her grandmother has passed away. Gran played such a large role not only in leading the family but also in the friendship and companionship that she provided to Jez. Without her, Jez feels lost.

“Gullah was a language of English mixed with different West African languages. It’s what the people who were forced to be slaves—my foremothers and forefathers—ended up speaking after they were brought here to the Carolinas hundreds of years ago. It belonged to us.”

This quote introduces the theme of Learning Rootwork and Gullah Traditions. It is important exposition for the author to explain what it means to be Gullah and where Gullah Geechee culture falls in relation to Black American, and specifically African American, history.

“All of that is what makes us Gullah Geechee people who we are. If no one tells the stories anymore, if no one learns the magic anymore, our ways will disappear from the world. Then all we’ll have is what other people think of us.”

When Doc says this, he emphasizes how crucial it is that Jez and Jay take rootwork lessons seriously. These teachings are part of a much larger history, and the twins play an important role in preserving it. Additionally, root is part of who they are, and so without this history, they would also lose a part of themselves.