Title: Tristan Strong Destroys the World
Author: Kwame Mbalia
Genre: fantasy
Similar books: Race to the Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
The Lost Wonderland Diaries by J Scott Savage
Rating:
Summary (provided by publisher): Tristan Strong, just back from a victorious but exhausting adventure in Alke, the land of African American folk heroes and African gods, is suffering from PTSD. But there's no rest for the weary when his grandmother is abducted by a mysterious villain out for revenge.
Tristan must return to Alke--and reunite with his loud-mouthed sidekick, Gum Baby--in order to rescue Nana and stop the culprit from creating further devastation. Anansi, now a "web developer" in Tristan's phone, is close at hand to offer advice, and several new folk heroes will aid Tristan in his quest, but he will only succeed if he can figure out a way to sew broken souls back together.
My opinion: The best thing about the Tristan Strong series is that it's more than just mythology in the real world. It's an exploration of culture and cultural memory. It thrills me to see an author take that on for a middle grade audience. Mbalia doesn't underestimate his audience but rather challenges them with ideas and allows them to rise to the occasion. This volume not only continues to address grief and PTSD, as in the first one, but adds in the nature of story and culture and how they inform one another. We see how grief and shame can twist the soul, break people down perhaps beyond repair. There are fun and heroic characters, of course, but even the silliest have depth. There's enough action to keep the plot moving and the reader engaged but doesn't skim on messaging and depth.
More information: Tristan Strong Destroys the World releases October 6.
Find my review of the first book, Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky here.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
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