11-year-old Livie lives on the bayous of Louisiana with her parents and two sisters. Her older sister is about to get married, and her younger sister shares a room with her.
As the book opens, Livie's mother is brought into the house from the hospital in a coma. Her father won't have her in the hospital. He believes she needs to be home with the people who love her. Her mother's sister, Aunt Colleen, comes for a few months to help out, bringing her young son along.
Livie is wracked with guilt, because she is sure the accident that put her mother in the coma was her fault, but she hasn't told anyone that. She never got along with her mother much, and thinks if her mother didn't hate her before, she will if she ever wakes up from the coma. She's afraid to be around her mother, lying on a hospital bed in the living room, she doesn't understand her older or younger sisters, but most of all she doesn't understand herself. Eventually, she sneaks off in her boat to a traiteur's house (a sort of witch doctor I gather) to see if the woman can help. Livie is given a complicated healing spell that involves, among other things, finding things you love about the person you're healing.
What a wonderful book! I pretty much cried through the last three chapters... and it has pretty long chapters for a book aiming at middle grade readers. One of the best I've read in a long time. ( )

To say that The Healing Spell touched me is an understatement, but I can't quite find the words to accurately describe how much I truly adored this book. Filled with lessons, angst-driven at times and completely uplifting at others, it is one of those books that truly made a mark on my life as a reader. From the moment I started the book I fell in love with Livie and her sisters. In fact, this book had the power to transport me back to the days when I too felt like Livie did. Lost, lonely at times, and yet still always loved.

My love for Livie started when, as I mentioned above, she reminded me of that tough time between being a child and becoming a teen. At 11 years old, Livie isn't sure where she fits in the world around her. She doesn't quite get the "girlie" things that her sisters do, but she isn't quite comfortable being described as a tomboy either. Watching her navigate this difficult time in her life was so deeply touching. As I watched her make decisions, some good and others bad, I fell more in love with her character. Livie is one of those flawed, realistic characters that I adore. You see the cracks, but you love her all the more for them.

As for the story itself, it is pure magic. I think I cried more during this book than any other that I've read, as I contemplated how I came to be the person that I am now. We've all been through what Livie is going through, even if it wasn't the exact same. The sheer honesty between these pages is what really drew me in. Unfortunately, there isn't too much I can say without giving the plot away, so instead I'll gush over the setting! It is so apparent that Kimberly Griffiths Little researched the bayou that she set Livie and her family in. The lush setting jumps off the page at the reader, and I am sure I learned more about Louisiana bayous than I ever knew before. Besides being the perfect backdrop for Livie's story of hope and growth, it is also a fascinating entity in its own right.

You can probably tell from my gushing, albeit rambling, review that I really fell in love with this book. I'll be sad to part with my copy when I give it away tomorrow, but I'm looking forward to purchasing one of my own! The Healing Spell will definitely be one of those books that I'll read again. I'm looking forward to it.
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Livie is as self-absorbed as a person with a shameful secret would be. I expected this would make her petulant and annoying and am pleased to say that was not at all the case. The skillful touch of the author made Livie's angst come across in a way that made me feel connected to and sympathetic toward her. I also enjoyed learning about a culture of which I was completely unfamiliar. I am glad I got to know these characters and would like another book about this family that takes up where this one leaves off. ( )

I have wanted to read this since I first saw the cover. Usually that is not what draws me in. However, when I learned it was set in the bayous of Louisiana, that was another reason to read it. I have a wonderful friend from Louisiana that I will be lending this book to.
Livie's mother has been brought home from the hospital in a comotose state. The family is going to care for her. Livie can't seem to go near her mom. She hides a secret about her mom's accident and feels so guilty that it is eating her up. She decides she has to find a way to help her mother and to heal her so she seeks out a voodoo priestess to get a healing spell. This story was wonderful and all about forgiveness. I believe it will touch your heart the way it touched mine. ( )

Reviewed by Monica Sheffo for TeensReadToo.com

Filled with mystery and old Southern charm, this book has serious heart.

In THE HEALING SPELL, Livie is trying to cope with her mother's current state. She is in a coma. Also, she has a secret so big it threatens to consume her if anyone were to find out.

Livie would do anything to get her mother back, which leads her to seek the help of a voodoo healer. And it is this healer who sends her on a journey she will never forget.

As mystical and breathtaking as the bayou itself, Kimberley Griffiths Little's story about the unspoken love between a mother and her daughter is sure to move you. With characters full of personality and life, you will easily find yourself falling in love with this struggling family. This really is a perfect read. ( )