Brown Girl in the Ring
Brown Girl in the Ring is a 1999 novel by Nalo Hopskinson. Ti-Jeanne , a young mother lives in what remains of Central Toronto after it was abandoned by the wealthy and powerful. Speaking of the wealhy and powerful, the premier of Canada needs a human heart to replace her own. She calls on Rudy, who is a powerful gangster who controls the flow of Buff to procure it for her. He deputizes Tony, Ti-Jeanne's baby father, to do the killing for the organ. Frightened, Tony calls on Ti-Jeanne and her grandmother Gros-Jeanne for help. And so Ti-Jeanne's journey begins.
Tropes used in Brown Girl in the Ring include:
- Chekhov's Gunman - Crazy Betty who is revealed to be Ti-Jeanne's mother
- Domestic Abuser - Rudy is depicted to have hit his wife Gros-Jeanne
- Raised by Grandparents - Ti-Jeanne has a Disappeared Dad and Missing Mom and so is raised by her grandmother.
- Family Theme Naming - Gros-Jeanne, Mi-Jeanne and Ti-Jeanne - Big, Medium and Small Jeanne - Grandmother, mother and child.
- Our Zombies Are Different - Type V Voodoo zombies.
- Luke, I Am Your Father Rudy is Ti-Jeanne's grandfather
- No Name Given - Ti-Jeanne's child is named only 'Baby'
- Voudoun - Ti-Jeanne's grandmother is a practitioner. Ti-Jeanne's spiritual father is Papa Legeba, and Ti-Jeanne is 'ridden' by several spirits. Baby as well