New fantasy adventure!
I'm getting down to the end of my list of books to read for CYBILS awards. I always really love being able to read for this award, but it's kind of intense-the window for reading books is pretty short (3 months) and the list of titles is pretty long (for middle grade fiction, there are usually at least 100 titles), but oh my gosh, is it worth it. Getting to read all the newest books is amazing, I'm so lucky I get to do it! Like this year, these two new titles are terrific!
The first one is called "Tristan Strong punches a hole in the sky" by Kwame Mbalia. This is part of a new Rick Riordan Presents series. If you by chance have never read any of Riordan's work, he started a series of books about a boy named Percy Jackson who struggled in school because it turned out his dad was a Greek god. Riordan went on to write a series about a group of kids who's parents were Roman gods and then Egyptian gods and then Norse Gods. He's now lending his name to other authors who follow a similar format but with other cultural traditions, which brings us to Tristan Strong. Tristan is a middle schooler who is struggling. His family has a strong tradition of boxing and when the story opens, Tristan has just completed his first match and was soundly beaten. His dad and grandfather are disappointed and decide that Tristan would benefit from spending the summer with his grandparents in Alabama. Tristan disagrees but doesn't have much of a choice. He takes a journal with him that is the one thing he has left from his best friend, who died earlier in the year. On his first night in Alabama, he is awakened in the middle of the night by Gum Baby (I also heard this character from African American literature as Tar Baby), who has come to steal his journal. Tristan gives chase and ends up in a place he never imagined possible, a place where monsters are real (and really dangerous), where the characters from the folk tales he knows and loves are not only alive, but gods, and where he has more power than he ever imagined. The Gum Baby character is a flat out, trash talking, hilarious piece of comic relief in the often terrifying monster filled chase that comprises this book. I found myself laughing out loud while I read it (and that was the slightest bit embarrassing since I read most of it on two plane rides over Thanksgiving, but ok). I can't wait to get this one into my library. I think the kids are going to love it.
Here's a conversation with Kwame Mbalia and Rick Riordan about the book.
The first one is called "Tristan Strong punches a hole in the sky" by Kwame Mbalia. This is part of a new Rick Riordan Presents series. If you by chance have never read any of Riordan's work, he started a series of books about a boy named Percy Jackson who struggled in school because it turned out his dad was a Greek god. Riordan went on to write a series about a group of kids who's parents were Roman gods and then Egyptian gods and then Norse Gods. He's now lending his name to other authors who follow a similar format but with other cultural traditions, which brings us to Tristan Strong. Tristan is a middle schooler who is struggling. His family has a strong tradition of boxing and when the story opens, Tristan has just completed his first match and was soundly beaten. His dad and grandfather are disappointed and decide that Tristan would benefit from spending the summer with his grandparents in Alabama. Tristan disagrees but doesn't have much of a choice. He takes a journal with him that is the one thing he has left from his best friend, who died earlier in the year. On his first night in Alabama, he is awakened in the middle of the night by Gum Baby (I also heard this character from African American literature as Tar Baby), who has come to steal his journal. Tristan gives chase and ends up in a place he never imagined possible, a place where monsters are real (and really dangerous), where the characters from the folk tales he knows and loves are not only alive, but gods, and where he has more power than he ever imagined. The Gum Baby character is a flat out, trash talking, hilarious piece of comic relief in the often terrifying monster filled chase that comprises this book. I found myself laughing out loud while I read it (and that was the slightest bit embarrassing since I read most of it on two plane rides over Thanksgiving, but ok). I can't wait to get this one into my library. I think the kids are going to love it.
Here's a conversation with Kwame Mbalia and Rick Riordan about the book.
The second one that is also part of the Rick Riordan Presents series is called "Sal and Gabi Break the Universe" by Carlos Hernandez. This one is set in my part of the world, South Florida, but more specifically, Miami and in the Cuban community. Sal and his family (his dad and step mom) have relocated there after the death of his mother. Sal loves his dad and step mom but he really misses his mom, he's also a diabetic and can create holes in the space time continuum that allow to him move things around (like chickens or his dead mom). He can do the moving somewhat on command but things don't always happen the way he intends them to. At his new school in Miami (a school for the preforming arts, Sal wants to be a magician), he meets Gabi, who is very smart and inquisitive and when Sal conjures a real chicken into a bully's locker, Gabi wants to know how he did it. This is a really fun story to read with lots of interesting characters (like all of Gabi's dads) and really interesting ideas (like how would things be different now if one or two things changed? Would everything change? Would it even be a good idea to try and change them?). I liked this one a lot and I think the kids are going to like it too.
And here's a conversation with Carlos Hernandez and Rick Riordan.
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