Root Magic

Jezebel “Jez” Turner is the novel’s protagonist. She turns 11 years old within the first several chapters, celebrating her birthday just as she begins to learn the practice of rootwork with her twin brother, Jay. Jez excels in school, but she struggles to make friends, especially as many of the other girls in her school make fun of her for seemingly coming from a family of rootworkers.

When Root Magic begins, Jez is at her grandmother’s funeral, feeling lost. Because she didn’t have friends at school, Gran was the one who listened to her the most, and Jez isn’t sure what her life is going to be like now that Gran is gone. At the same time, however, Gran’s protective role in the family needs to be filled, which ultimately leads to Jez and Jay learning rootworking so that they can help with protective spells. By the novel’s end, Jez has taken on the major protective role left by Gran.

Jez diverges from Gran in her approach to using living animals and other creatures as part of her rootwork. Jez knows that “[i]f [Gran] knew a spell to protect the entire house and farm by using a piece of hag skin, she would do it without a second thought” (292).