Mbalia, K. (2019). Tristan strong punches a hole in the sky. Rick Riordan Presents.
Summary
Inspired by Western African gods and African-American folktale, this novel weaves together the story of Tristan, a boy who's trying to heal after his best friend passes in a bus accident. When he encounters a creature that tries to steal his best friend's journal, he punches a literally hole in reality that opens a portal to an entirely new world full of gods and adventure. Can Tristan convince the gods to fix the hole he's created?
A Teacher's Perspective
I found this book while browsing the NYT Bestseller list. This came from January of 2020.
I love this, I love this, I love this! It's so fun. The fact that Rick Riordan published, reviewed, and recommended this book made me grab it immediately from the choices. I love anything Riordan, and now I'm eagerly waiting on book three. I love the age of the main character for my students, 7th grade is prime for a middle school teacher, and I have several students who devour Riordan books. I think they need to be exposed to more than just Greek mythology, and the fact that this is African AND African-American intertwined makes it even better. HIGHLY recommend this to teachers who want to expand their students' diversity in literature.
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Fun enough, other teachers find this book good for the classroom. The image below will take you to a novel study for the book:
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