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4.23 AVERAGE
4.23 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
"My dad's gonna teach me how to use the Gift so I can finally beat the real Manifestor. First I've gotta catch a hellhound."
I'm absolutely stunned this book wasn't mentioned anywhere in the 2024 ALA Youth Media Awards.
This action-packed adventure story weaves contemporary fantasy with African lore and the history of slavery in America. Thomas teaches young readers important life lessons without being didactic, and she includes her signature story element: characters who love bizarre snack combinations. Orange juice mixed with grape juice, anyone?
Lots of fun twists in this book! Would recommend to fans of Amari and the Night Brothers.
I'm absolutely stunned this book wasn't mentioned anywhere in the 2024 ALA Youth Media Awards.
This action-packed adventure story weaves contemporary fantasy with African lore and the history of slavery in America. Thomas teaches young readers important life lessons without being didactic, and she includes her signature story element: characters who love bizarre snack combinations. Orange juice mixed with grape juice, anyone?
Lots of fun twists in this book! Would recommend to fans of Amari and the Night Brothers.
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was really cute and quite a laugh with the characters Nichole, JP and Alex. I feel it’s going to be a strong series that I hope a lot of kids feel seen in. It was adventurous, humorous, exciting, and filled with magic and love.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I realized it wasn’t for me and I was reading other books at that time
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Read January 2024
A little too much ‘tell’ and not enough ‘show’ for me to feel fully emerged in the world and connected to the charachters. Aside from that, an enjoyable read. I like the gift/magic system and of course I love the Hellhound. Curious to see where the sequel (assuming there’s going to be one?) will take the story!
A little too much ‘tell’ and not enough ‘show’ for me to feel fully emerged in the world and connected to the charachters. Aside from that, an enjoyable read. I like the gift/magic system and of course I love the Hellhound. Curious to see where the sequel (assuming there’s going to be one?) will take the story!
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This one did not disappoint. The same snappy dialogue and well-drawn characters as The Hate You Give. Fascinating bits of culture and history woven through the story - not taught as a lesson - like Renee Watson's Some Places More than Others. I loved the relationships in the story, also - between Nic and her dad, Nic and JP, the ever changing one between Nic and Alex and the growing one between Alex and JP. The adults are flawed and interesting - not stock characters (also a point I liked in The Hate You Give). Anxiously awaiting book 2 - Book 1 set up book 2, but still had a satisfying conclusion. There were a few places where I thought the pacing lagged just a bit. Tightening that up would have brought the page count down closer to the sweet spot of middle grade. But yeah - one of the best books of my year so far.
Listened to the audio book for most of it, and the narrator is terrific.
Listened to the audio book for most of it, and the narrator is terrific.
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Angie Thomas is well known for her YA fiction. Crossing age groups doesn't always work well for writers; they can't always tailor their writing to the new age group. I'm happy to say that isn't the case here. Angie has written a fantastic novel for the tween age group.
Nic is a brilliant character, strong, headstrong, willing to learn and take advice when she needs to, ready to stand up for her beliefs. The team she gathers around herself is amazing too. I don't want to give too much away - this is definitely a better read if you don't know exactly what's happening going into it! But I can tell you that the ending is not a complete cliffhanger - there are threads left for the next book, but it's not one of the ones that seems to stop rather than end, which is nice.
I'm really looking forward to reading more in this series and learning more about this cool, spunky hero. (Do people still say spunky? Am I dating myself horribly?) Angie will be conquering a new audience with this great series starter.
Nic is a brilliant character, strong, headstrong, willing to learn and take advice when she needs to, ready to stand up for her beliefs. The team she gathers around herself is amazing too. I don't want to give too much away - this is definitely a better read if you don't know exactly what's happening going into it! But I can tell you that the ending is not a complete cliffhanger - there are threads left for the next book, but it's not one of the ones that seems to stop rather than end, which is nice.
I'm really looking forward to reading more in this series and learning more about this cool, spunky hero. (Do people still say spunky? Am I dating myself horribly?) Angie will be conquering a new audience with this great series starter.