Book #2 of 2022: Tristan Strong Keeps Punching by Kwame Mbalia (Tristan Strong #3) Certain scenes in this final Tristan Strong novel are terrific, but overall I would say that the middle-grade #ownvoices fantasy trilogy has never managed to recapture the magic of its first volume for me. As engaging as it remains to see …
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Book #261 of 2020: Tristan Strong Destroys The World by Kwame Mbalia (Tristan Strong #2) I still love the concept of a middle-grade fantasy series populated by African gods and black folk heroes, but I’m not quite as charmed by this sequel. I feel like it retreads a lot of the same material from the …
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Book #216 of 2019: Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia (Tristan Strong #1) Middle-grade fiction is very hit-or-miss for me, but I loved this series debut right from the start. #OwnVoices stories rooted in the perspective of their authors’ cultural heritage have become increasingly popular, and this latest novel from …
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