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ekimball's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
mariahistryingtoread's review against another edition
1.0
(Warning: I don't spoil anything too badly I think. There is spoilery-y talk, however, which depending on how good you are at piecing things together may reveal more than I intended. You have been warned.)
This book made me question whether or not it is possible to outgrow a genre. My belief before was that you couldn't because as long as you adjusted your expectations accordingly you could read anything and have some level of satisfaction. After all, I love picture books despite the demographic being fifteen years beneath me.
Maya and the Rising Dark has forced me to reconsider my stance.
If you have read Percy Jackson, Aru Shah, or Tristan Strong I'd say you've already read this to some degree. And that doesn't have to be a bad thing. A lot of people, myself included, can enjoy the same story repackaged as originality is not the end all be all of a story. It’s all in the execution. Obviously, I found the execution in this case lacking.
The pacing is very poor. Like many mediocre middle grade or young adult books, it does not truly start until nearly 50% in. It spends an exorbitant amount of time on needless and/or rehashed exposition, emphasis on the rehashing. It doesn’t help that a majority of the info we find out in the first half is information the reader can ascertain to an extent by the synopsis. The rest could have been trickled out throughout the novel instead of info dumped before the adventure has a chance to start.
Example: They go to an Orisha council meeting to see what the plan is for rescuing her father. At this meeting Maya gives a rundown of all the Orisha on the council despite the fact that she just explained about several of them when they made their first appearance literally the chapter before. To add insult to injury, there are other Orisha present for Maya to expand on. There is no need to go into detail about these same ones.
When Maya does finally depart on her mission it’s boring because the world building is ill defined so as to allow Barton to do whatever she wants to keep the story moving. There is no internal logic or consistency.
22% in the kids are confronted by a group of Dark Bringers. It is revealed Frankie has powers of some kind. She is unable to call them forth again as she was only able to do so before out of necessity. She had no idea she had these powers nor any means of control. Yet, at 52% when attacked again suddenly Frankie is wielding these powers as if she’s been practicing for years despite spending the intervening time mostly in denial. There's no discussion or amazement at her ability to do it again. Frankie herself isn't even shocked, she's just able to do it and the characters all act as if she’s never struggled a day in her life.
They need to open a gateway to the Dark Bringer dimension. Once this is done, Maya doesn’t know how to close it. It’s suggested she can manipulate the code around the gateway to do so. Okay, but she had no idea she could do that when she decided to look for the gateway. So for all intents and purposes, it’s happenstance that it works. It’s written as if it’s an intuitive thing for Maya to achieve which comes off as a cop-out as this isn't a one-off. It’s part of a pattern not an anomaly.
Maya does not have powers. This is a source of great insecurity. Boom, suddenly Maya is just able to use magic now.
It’s indicative of how poorly developed the entire universe is, especially the magical systems. Conflict is practically nonexistent as a result. The kids are never in any real danger of being stumped or forced to figure out puzzles or meet any kind of deadline. They use magic to get out of every scrape. It’s not about wits or patience or effort. It’s all luck, coincidence or author manipulation.
Example: Two Dark Bringers masquerade as Maya’s friends. Maya figures it out immediately, solely because the Dark Bringers are so stupid they can barely maintain the ruse. Why would they even be sent if they couldn't reasonably fake it? One of them can barely keep the hate out of their voice talking about her dad. The other didn't even know that Eli is obsessed with ghosts. They're so incompetent I don't see why this was even attempted. It’s an attempt to make Maya seem clever without creating legitimate obstacles to prove it.
When Maya gets her powers it’s due to her ever present staff being out of commission. I was actually looking forward to the staff being out of play in order to force them to work something out for themselves for once as the staff is a major crutch. Five minutes after it's gone Maya pulls powers out of her butt to get out of the current jam. It undercuts any sense of tension since it’s quickly rectified.
Furthermore, the kids not actively striving to be better undermines one of the messages of the book.
The reason the Lord of Shadows despises the Orisha is because of a mistake Maya’s father made that resulted in the massacre of his people ie the Dark Bringers. From a certain perspective the villain in this story is actually her father. Such nuance is completely lost as Maya is not encouraged to ever think critically.
When she finally does it feels like an afterthought. Like Barron forgot this was supposed to be a theme so she hastily threw it in. As a result when you look closer at it many of the elements to it don’t fit.
First off, 60% in is when Maya first considers she might have made a snap judgment about the Dark Bringers. Except it was made clear from the moment she found out the backstory 30% in that the Dark Bringers weren't exclusively bad. She should have known this from the fact that her father was super guilty for his participation in the killings. If the species was all trash then no one would have cared about their deaths. Instead it’s a great shame.
Second, every Dark Bringer until they get to the Dark Bringer world is a nondescript, generic bad guy practically twirling their evil mustache. Not one is treated like a three dimensional character. They’re minions first and foremost. How am I supposed to feel sympathy for people who are presented as nothing more than an evil, mindless monolith? The only sympathetic moment - when the kids almost kill a couple of Dark Bringer children and light their farm on fire - is manufactured to kick off the plot thread. The almost farm burning is subsequently milked for all its worth because Barron hasn’t done enough world building to provide other examples of how Dark Bringers deserve respect too.
Why didn't Barron have the trio meet ‘normal’ Dark Bringers? Why was so much time wasted on simply getting to the realm? Why wasn’t more time spent exploring the realm? If she wanted us to think of them in a more balanced, complex light we should have observed their society.
Third, Eli straight up murders a Dark Bringer after the almost farm burning. They all feel bad momentarily before moving on never to feel bad about it again. The idea that the Dark Bringers aren’t all bad only just got introduced. If Eli was going to kill anyone it should have happened a lot sooner to have time for fallout. It defeats the whole purpose of establishing that Dark Bringers are people (of a sort) too, to immediately have the kids kill one without remorse. If you’re going to do it, at least give them consequences.
Her two best friends are annoying and inconsequential. Frankie’s perspective on everything is narrow minded because she filters it all through a scientific lens. She initially doesn’t believe Maya about anything because it can’t be scientifically explained. Even after she can’t help but to believe she still uses science to rationalize every little thing. It’s exhausting since I can’t even technically say she’s wrong when the world isn’t developed enough to argue against her. Eli is unnecessary. Eliminate him, nothing changes whatsoever.
Maya, herself, as a character is one note. She’s a slew of different middle grade female protagonists cobbled together. Nothing about her stands out. There was an opportunity to add depth by having her be conflicted regarding her father’s kidnapping since he’d also been lying to her, her whole life only Barron opts out of it in favor of Maya being ridiculously, boringly forgiving. It’s unrealistic she doesn’t have any messy, complicated feelings brewing.
Every middle grade book I’ve read in this specific lane has disappointed me lately. It might be time to put this category out to pasture. Or authors could do better. Annoyingly, me letting it go is surely a lot more likely than these types of books getting better. I have Rena Barron’s young adult book on my WTR list. I still plan on reading it though I will admit I am wary now. I’m a completionist so I’ll be reading the sequel eventually. When, is anyone’s guess.
This book made me question whether or not it is possible to outgrow a genre. My belief before was that you couldn't because as long as you adjusted your expectations accordingly you could read anything and have some level of satisfaction. After all, I love picture books despite the demographic being fifteen years beneath me.
Maya and the Rising Dark has forced me to reconsider my stance.
If you have read Percy Jackson, Aru Shah, or Tristan Strong I'd say you've already read this to some degree. And that doesn't have to be a bad thing. A lot of people, myself included, can enjoy the same story repackaged as originality is not the end all be all of a story. It’s all in the execution. Obviously, I found the execution in this case lacking.
The pacing is very poor. Like many mediocre middle grade or young adult books, it does not truly start until nearly 50% in. It spends an exorbitant amount of time on needless and/or rehashed exposition, emphasis on the rehashing. It doesn’t help that a majority of the info we find out in the first half is information the reader can ascertain to an extent by the synopsis. The rest could have been trickled out throughout the novel instead of info dumped before the adventure has a chance to start.
Example: They go to an Orisha council meeting to see what the plan is for rescuing her father. At this meeting Maya gives a rundown of all the Orisha on the council despite the fact that she just explained about several of them when they made their first appearance literally the chapter before. To add insult to injury, there are other Orisha present for Maya to expand on. There is no need to go into detail about these same ones.
When Maya does finally depart on her mission it’s boring because the world building is ill defined so as to allow Barton to do whatever she wants to keep the story moving. There is no internal logic or consistency.
22% in the kids are confronted by a group of Dark Bringers. It is revealed Frankie has powers of some kind. She is unable to call them forth again as she was only able to do so before out of necessity. She had no idea she had these powers nor any means of control. Yet, at 52% when attacked again suddenly Frankie is wielding these powers as if she’s been practicing for years despite spending the intervening time mostly in denial. There's no discussion or amazement at her ability to do it again. Frankie herself isn't even shocked, she's just able to do it and the characters all act as if she’s never struggled a day in her life.
They need to open a gateway to the Dark Bringer dimension. Once this is done, Maya doesn’t know how to close it. It’s suggested she can manipulate the code around the gateway to do so. Okay, but she had no idea she could do that when she decided to look for the gateway. So for all intents and purposes, it’s happenstance that it works. It’s written as if it’s an intuitive thing for Maya to achieve which comes off as a cop-out as this isn't a one-off. It’s part of a pattern not an anomaly.
Maya does not have powers. This is a source of great insecurity. Boom, suddenly Maya is just able to use magic now.
It’s indicative of how poorly developed the entire universe is, especially the magical systems. Conflict is practically nonexistent as a result. The kids are never in any real danger of being stumped or forced to figure out puzzles or meet any kind of deadline. They use magic to get out of every scrape. It’s not about wits or patience or effort. It’s all luck, coincidence or author manipulation.
Example: Two Dark Bringers masquerade as Maya’s friends. Maya figures it out immediately, solely because the Dark Bringers are so stupid they can barely maintain the ruse. Why would they even be sent if they couldn't reasonably fake it? One of them can barely keep the hate out of their voice talking about her dad. The other didn't even know that Eli is obsessed with ghosts. They're so incompetent I don't see why this was even attempted. It’s an attempt to make Maya seem clever without creating legitimate obstacles to prove it.
When Maya gets her powers it’s due to her ever present staff being out of commission. I was actually looking forward to the staff being out of play in order to force them to work something out for themselves for once as the staff is a major crutch. Five minutes after it's gone Maya pulls powers out of her butt to get out of the current jam. It undercuts any sense of tension since it’s quickly rectified.
Furthermore, the kids not actively striving to be better undermines one of the messages of the book.
The reason the Lord of Shadows despises the Orisha is because of a mistake Maya’s father made that resulted in the massacre of his people ie the Dark Bringers. From a certain perspective the villain in this story is actually her father. Such nuance is completely lost as Maya is not encouraged to ever think critically.
When she finally does it feels like an afterthought. Like Barron forgot this was supposed to be a theme so she hastily threw it in. As a result when you look closer at it many of the elements to it don’t fit.
First off, 60% in is when Maya first considers she might have made a snap judgment about the Dark Bringers. Except it was made clear from the moment she found out the backstory 30% in that the Dark Bringers weren't exclusively bad. She should have known this from the fact that her father was super guilty for his participation in the killings. If the species was all trash then no one would have cared about their deaths. Instead it’s a great shame.
Second, every Dark Bringer until they get to the Dark Bringer world is a nondescript, generic bad guy practically twirling their evil mustache. Not one is treated like a three dimensional character. They’re minions first and foremost. How am I supposed to feel sympathy for people who are presented as nothing more than an evil, mindless monolith? The only sympathetic moment - when the kids almost kill a couple of Dark Bringer children and light their farm on fire - is manufactured to kick off the plot thread. The almost farm burning is subsequently milked for all its worth because Barron hasn’t done enough world building to provide other examples of how Dark Bringers deserve respect too.
Why didn't Barron have the trio meet ‘normal’ Dark Bringers? Why was so much time wasted on simply getting to the realm? Why wasn’t more time spent exploring the realm? If she wanted us to think of them in a more balanced, complex light we should have observed their society.
Third, Eli straight up murders a Dark Bringer after the almost farm burning. They all feel bad momentarily before moving on never to feel bad about it again. The idea that the Dark Bringers aren’t all bad only just got introduced. If Eli was going to kill anyone it should have happened a lot sooner to have time for fallout. It defeats the whole purpose of establishing that Dark Bringers are people (of a sort) too, to immediately have the kids kill one without remorse. If you’re going to do it, at least give them consequences.
Her two best friends are annoying and inconsequential. Frankie’s perspective on everything is narrow minded because she filters it all through a scientific lens. She initially doesn’t believe Maya about anything because it can’t be scientifically explained. Even after she can’t help but to believe she still uses science to rationalize every little thing. It’s exhausting since I can’t even technically say she’s wrong when the world isn’t developed enough to argue against her. Eli is unnecessary. Eliminate him, nothing changes whatsoever.
Maya, herself, as a character is one note. She’s a slew of different middle grade female protagonists cobbled together. Nothing about her stands out. There was an opportunity to add depth by having her be conflicted regarding her father’s kidnapping since he’d also been lying to her, her whole life only Barron opts out of it in favor of Maya being ridiculously, boringly forgiving. It’s unrealistic she doesn’t have any messy, complicated feelings brewing.
Every middle grade book I’ve read in this specific lane has disappointed me lately. It might be time to put this category out to pasture. Or authors could do better. Annoyingly, me letting it go is surely a lot more likely than these types of books getting better. I have Rena Barron’s young adult book on my WTR list. I still plan on reading it though I will admit I am wary now. I’m a completionist so I’ll be reading the sequel eventually. When, is anyone’s guess.
lucidfish's review against another edition
adventurous
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
4.0
literatehedgehog's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Truly Black girl magic, complete with a staff covered in swirling magical symbols! Rollicking adventure, spooky dark creatures, and wise-cracking, science fact spouting besties - all the ingredients of a fun middle grade fantasy. Was the pacing a bit off for this adult reader, sure, but I bet kids won't notice and won't mind - fast track us to the Comic Con and battles with darkbringers!
marieintheraw's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoy Rena Barron's writing style. This story really was one that I could not put down.
hebrideanreader's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
laura_cs's review against another edition
5.0
I received an ARC of this title at YallFest 2019.
12 year old Maya lives in a South Side neighborhood in Chicago, full of interesting characters and raised on her father's stories of African folklore. Her father, frequently traveling for work, is Maya's idol; she loves him dearly and wants to be just like him. However, that may come true in ways she never expected.
When time suddenly pauses all over the world, and dark shadow creatures descend on her neighborhood, Maya learns that her father is an Orisha, a celestial being tasked with guarding the veil between this world and the dark. However, he is now missing somewhere in the dark.
Determined to rescue him, Maya and her two best friends--Eli and Frankie, both godlings themselves--brave the dark to mount on a rescue mission to save Papa and fend off the Lord of Shadows.
A brilliant middle-grade debut for Barron, Maya is a fantastic protagonist and this series is a fantastic take on the tales of demigods. Maya lives with both parents--even though her godly parent is frequently away for 'work'--and she finds that her community is built up of people who are like her or understand her origins. Then, of course, Maya has her fantastic allies--Eli and Frankie--who are with her through thick and thin. The world-building is fantastic, the stakes are high from the get-go, and Maya works hard to get through her quest. I can't wait to see where Maya's journey will take her next!
12 year old Maya lives in a South Side neighborhood in Chicago, full of interesting characters and raised on her father's stories of African folklore. Her father, frequently traveling for work, is Maya's idol; she loves him dearly and wants to be just like him. However, that may come true in ways she never expected.
When time suddenly pauses all over the world, and dark shadow creatures descend on her neighborhood, Maya learns that her father is an Orisha, a celestial being tasked with guarding the veil between this world and the dark. However, he is now missing somewhere in the dark.
Determined to rescue him, Maya and her two best friends--Eli and Frankie, both godlings themselves--brave the dark to mount on a rescue mission to save Papa and fend off the Lord of Shadows.
A brilliant middle-grade debut for Barron, Maya is a fantastic protagonist and this series is a fantastic take on the tales of demigods. Maya lives with both parents--even though her godly parent is frequently away for 'work'--and she finds that her community is built up of people who are like her or understand her origins. Then, of course, Maya has her fantastic allies--Eli and Frankie--who are with her through thick and thin. The world-building is fantastic, the stakes are high from the get-go, and Maya works hard to get through her quest. I can't wait to see where Maya's journey will take her next!
dragonrider18's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
amybraunauthor's review against another edition
5.0
This book was so much fun! I breezed through it, and there was so much adventure to be had. Maya is a fantastic role model for young readers everywhere. She is brave and smart and determined, and refuses to give up no matter how hard things get.
I absolutely loved the addition of African folklore and traditions that were added. I learned so much from Maya and her clever friends. The action started quickly and kept up until the very end. Rena Barron clearly had fun writing this book and I see why.
A great book for any young reader looking for a role model to relate to, who wants to learn new things, and is looking for adventure!
I absolutely loved the addition of African folklore and traditions that were added. I learned so much from Maya and her clever friends. The action started quickly and kept up until the very end. Rena Barron clearly had fun writing this book and I see why.
A great book for any young reader looking for a role model to relate to, who wants to learn new things, and is looking for adventure!
mochomito's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0