Party: A Mystery

Jamaica Kincaid

Jun 2019 · Akashic Books

About this ebook

A beautifully illustrated story of three girls caught up in the most curious of mysteries.

“Party has layers. It functions as a subtle message about what it means to witness horror to such a degree that we lose our language for it; it is a quiet story about coming of age, suddenly, as a young black girl because of what the world shows us. It is about the many words our silence can hold, the way our absences can ring as loudly and discordantly as the words we do feel able to say.” —Literary Hub

Three girls—Pam, Bess, and Sue—attend a party to celebrate the publication of the first of the Nancy Drew mystery books. There are many distractions at the fancy affair: flower arrangements, partygoers, refreshments, and lots and lots of marble. Suddenly, the oldest girl, Pam, sees what can only be described as something truly . . . bilious . . . not good! Bess sees it too. The youngest, Sue, does not, and as usual she has a hard time getting anyone to tell her anything. Party: A Mystery is a beautifully drawn adventure story that promises questions that will grab children, but does not guarantee an answer.

Ratings and reviews

I want to know what!!! What are they looking at why won't they tell us? I read this because I had to read an online book for something, my mom chose this book and now this is probably the most I've ever hated a book in my whole entire life....which isn't very long but still! That was a very long sentence! Normally I'm not the kind of person who hates books and write hate reviews about it, I either don't like, like it, or love it. But NO!! This is the first book that actually made me so flustered that I actually stared it as Hated it, hence this review. I'll make this review "helpful". You should NOT read this book because, it ends with a cliff hanger and in books and shows and movies cliff hangers are THE WORST!!!! And yes I didn't just put the exclamation points but FOUR!!! *insert gasp here* So apparently "Most helpful reviews have 100 words or more...SOOO I made it "helpful" as in it sucked so much I almost stabbed my computer :) good day to you and goodbye to this book that I hated so much and good bye forever grr :)

About the author

JAMAICA KINCAID is a writer and professor whose works include the novels Annie John, Lucy, The Autobiography of My Mother, and Mr. Potter; a classic history of Antigua, A Small Place; and a memoir, My Brother. The Josephine Olp Weeks Chair and Professor of African and African American Studies in Residence at Harvard University, Kincaid was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2004. She is the author of Party: A Mystery, illustrated by Ricardo Cortés.

RICARDO CORTÉS is the #1 New York Times best-selling illustrator of Go the F**k to Sleep by Adam Mansbach and Party: A Mystery, by the acclaimed author Jamaica Kincaid. Cortés has written and illustrated books including Sea Creatures from the Sky and A Secret History of Coffee, Coca & Cola. His work has been featured in the New York Times, Vanity Fair, New York Magazine, and on CNN, Fox News, and the Late Show with David Letterman. You can see his work at Rmcortes.com, or on Twitter and Instagram at @Rmcortes. His latest work is the updated edition of It’s Just a Plant.