REVIEW Kwame Crashes the Underworld by Craig Kofi Farmer

 

Kwame Crashes the Underworld (Kwame Powell #1) by Craig Kofi Farmer
Rating: 4 Stars
Release Date: September 10, 2024
Format: eBook (Personal Library)
Publisher: Roaring Book Press

Craig Kofi Farmer’s Kwame Crashes the Underworld was an emotional and entertaining fantasy read. A middle grade novel based on Ghanaian mythology, it explores themes of culture, family and identity. Readers who enjoyed books like Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Kwame Mbalia’s Tristan Strange Punches a Hole in the Sky will definitely enjoy this read. 

Kwame Powell is a twelve year old kid out of North Carolina who is grieving the loss of his beloved Grandmother. Unwilling to accept the fact that she’s gone (and uncomfortable with the Ghanaian part of his heritage that she represented), Kwame’s loath to travel with his parents to her celebration of life. However, after a tricksy monkey steals the last gift his grandmother gave him, the chase leads him into an entirely different world and thrusts him straight into a godly conflict. 

There is so much action and adventure in this book, but it's also balanced with weighty emotion. Kwame and Autumn must escape Asamando to stay alive, but it means saying goodbye to his grandmother seemingly forever. This parallels the fact that Kwame is unwilling to make an effort to acknowledge his heritage and culture early in the book, despite his best efforts to separate himself from that identity in his day to day life. The journey that Kwame goes on to embrace that part of him was fun to watch, and I appreciated the life lessons that the author interspersed along the way (such as the fact that “Ignorance isn’t a disease that you catch. It’s a choice you make”.) 

The characters were a definite highlight of the book. Kwame is the son of immigrants, and struggles to deal with his dual heritage (which I think is such an important topic for kids to be exposed to). Autumn is a member of the deaf and hard of hearing community, and I really appreciated how well the author wove sign language into the story. It was a pleasant surprise to see how the author highlighted some of the challenges a member of the deaf community might face in their day to day life. Woo the aboatia was hilarious, and he reminded me a lot of Abu from the Aladdin movies.  I loved Kwame’s grandmother as well - it was an interesting dynamic that “Asamando lets their residents take the age that they felt most alive”. The other more minor characters rounded out the story well, and I appreciated how easy the author made it to follow the various figures from mythology and where they originated. 

Overall, this was an excellent novel and I completely devoured the story while reading. Narrator Joshua Quinn did an excellent job bringing the story to life. I recommend this book to readers who enjoy kid lit fantasy complete with mythological inspiration, wacky adventures, and diverse characters. 

REVIEW Demon in the Wood (Grishaverse #0) by Leigh Bardugo, Illustrated by Dani Pendergast

Demon in the Wood (Grishaverse #0) by Leigh Bardugo, Illustrated by Dani Pendergast
Rating: 4 Stars
Release Date: September 27, 2022
Format: eBook (Borrowed from Library) + Audiobook (Personal Library)
Publisher: Roaring Book Press  

I wasn’t all that familiar with Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse books prior to the release of Shadow and Bone on Netflix. However, since then I’ve gone back and explored them and the characters are just as awesome on page as they are on screen. The Darkling, in particular, is one of the more memorable young adult fantasy villains I’ve read about. In the graphic novel Demon in the Wood (illustrated by Dani Pendergast), Leigh Bardugo gives readers a glimpse into the Darkling’s history from before he became the feared Shadow Summoner and general most are familiar with him as. 

In the world of the Grishaverse, Grisha are typically looked upon as other by those without the ability to practice the small science. The Darkling is the feared Shadow Summoner who leads the Grisha when we first meet him in the Shadow and Bone novel, and readers quickly learn that he has a strong hatred for non-Grisha. Hate is not something people are born with though, and Demon in the Wood shares a small part of his background and how his hatred for otkazat’sya developed. I really enjoyed seeing Baghra as well as the other characters who make an appearance in the graphic novel.

I already knew Leigh Bardugo’s writing was excellent but Dani Pendergast’s illustrations are awesome and really pulled the story together. Graphic novels, by nature, don’t have a ton of verbiage to them so you have to rely heavily on what you see. Each of the panels added to the story and moved the action forward. No transitions felt abrupt or forceful. Normally, I would be fine with just the graphic novel but if you’re a fan of audiobooks. I highly recommend listening to the audiobook version simultaneously to reading the graphic novel. Ben Barnes (the actor who plays the Darkling in the Netflix show) leads an amazing full cast production of the story, and their narration really elevates the reading experience.  

Overall, Demon in the Wood was a short entertaining read. A definite must for any fans of the Grishaverse! 

About the Author

Leigh Bardugo is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Ninth House and the creator of the Grishaverse (now a Netflix original series) which spans the Shadow and Bone trilogy, the Six of Crows duology, the King of Scars duology—and much more. Her short fiction has appeared in multiple anthologies including The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy. She lives in Los Angeles and is an associate fellow of Pauli Murray College at Yale University.

Skyhunter (Skyhunter Duology Book 1) by Marie Lu

Skyhunter (Skyhunter Duology Book 1) by Marie Lu

Rating: 4 Stars

Release Date: September 29, 2020

Format: Hardcover

Publisher: Roaring Book Press

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Skyhunter was one of my more memorable reads of 2020. First of all, without reading a word of the story one immediately notices that the cover is gorgeous (both the jacket and the inside cover). My favorite cover of all of Marie Lu’s works. I thought the sprayed edges on the hardback were cool too. 

The novel is set in a dystopian world, and Lu lives up to my expectations from previous reads. There is more of a science fiction aspect to this series than some of her other books, as the “Ghosts” factor heavily into the events of the novel. 

I really liked Talin and Red. Talin is our main character (and we see the events of the story from her point of view) so we get to know her fairly well. The mind-to-mind conversations were cool, and I feel like they allowed Talin and Red to connect on a level that her main characters from the other series can’t. It was cool to see the use of sign language in the book. I also really liked Adena and Jaran as secondary characters. 

I really enjoyed this read, and I’m looking forward to the second installment in the series so I can (hopefully) get some of my questions answered. 

About the Book

A Quiet Place meets Attack on Titan in this unputdownable, adrenaline-laced novel.

Strikers are loyal. With unparalleled, deadly fighting skills. With a willingness to do anything--including sacrifice their own lives--to defend Mara, the world's last free nation. But to the very people she protects, Talin is seen as an outcast first and a Striker second.

No matter what others think, Talin lets nothing distract her from keeping the evil Federation and its army of haunting, mutant beasts at bay. Until a mysterious prisoner shows up and disrupts Talin's entire world. Is he a spy? A product of the Federation's sinister experiments? The clock is ticking for Talin to unravel the prisoner's secrets and discover whether he's the weapon that will save--or destroy--them all.

Explore the chilling realities of war and the power of hope in Skyhunter, with slow burn romance and nonstop action that will have you racing to the end.

About the Author

I write young adult novels, and have a special love for dystopian books. Ironically, I was born in 1984. Before becoming a full-time writer, I was an Art Director at a video game company. Now I shuffle around at home and talk to myself a lot. :)

I graduated from the University of Southern California in '06 and currently live in LA, where I spend my time stuck on the freeways

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The One's We're Meant to Find by Joan He

The One's We're Meant to Find by Joan He
Rating: 3 Stars
Release Date: May 4, 2021
Format: Hardcover/Audiobook
Publisher: Roaring Book Press

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The One’s We’re Meant to Find by Joan He left me emotional and pensive once I finished it. It’s a beautiful tale of two sisters, one who’s trapped on an island with no memory of who she is (only that she has to find her sister). The other is a prodigy living in an “eco-city”, called upon to help protect the future of the human race from the mega-disasters continuously occurring. They are both searching for each other, but I don’t think either was prepared for what they would discover in the process. 

The story is set in a post-climate apocalypse where humanity has damaged the planet beyond recovery and lucky survivors live in the eco-cities (with anyone who’s unlucky forced to still live on land). The most eco-friendly person you’ve ever met? Doesn’t matter one bit if one of their ancestors just happened to work with chemicals. It will immediately disqualify you from citizenship to the eco-cities. The cities are designed in such a way to minimize further human impact on the environment and protect the inhabitants from earthquakes, tsunamis, and storms. While this is definitely a work of fiction, I think it’s important to note that something like this happening in the future is completely possible if people don’t start addressing climate change now. 

Having a sister myself, I completely understand how easy it is to have a complicated relationship yet still care immensely about the other person. Despite their messy relationship, the love between the two is undeniable. I was rooting for Cee and Kay to reunite, but things did NOT turn out the way I was anticipating. Cee’s point of view was much easier to follow than Kay’s. I think it’s because it’s easier to relate to Cee’s quest to survive on the island than everything sciencey Kay is doing in the eco-city. Things can get confusing when switching back and forth, but with taking a couple of notes here and there I was able to follow along successfully. 

The One’s We’re Meant to Find would appeal to a wide range of audiences. It is primarily marketed towards teenagers (being in the young adult book category) but I think that the commentary on climate change, the dual point of view, the plot twists, and the very imaginative, futuristic technology featured in the book will entice older readers as well. If you’re a fan of thought-provoking science fiction reads with a bit of mystery thrown in, then I highly recommend you give this book a chance. 

CW: Gore, Violence, Death of a Loved One, Terminal Illness (Cancer), Drowning, Choking, Mass Death, Grief, Natural Disasters

About the Author

Joan He was born and raised in Philadelphia but still will, on occasion, lose her way. At a young age, she received classical instruction in oil painting before discovering that storytelling was her favorite form of expression. She studied Psychology and East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Pennsylvania and currently writes in Chicago. She is the New York Times bestselling author of The Ones We're Meant to Find, Descendant of the Crane, and the forthcoming Strike the Zither, the first in a duology, releasing from Macmillan on October 25, 2022.