Brown Girl in the Ring, by Nalo Hopkinson

In a future version of Toronto, where white flight and government neglect have reduced the inner core of the city to lawless violence, a young woman with oracular sight chafes under the eye of her herbalist grandmother. This book, a matrilineal retelling of “Ti-Jean and his Brothers,” mashes together many things: figures from Caribbean folktale, sci-fi dystopia and social commentary, strong female characters, and coming of age/redemption through embracing family culture. I followed the action well enough, but the use of Creole between the characters made me feel like it would have been better as an audiobook; I think I would have gotten the flow of the conversation much more easily.