Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.24 AVERAGE
4.24 AVERAGE
Another fabulous adventure from Rick Riordan Presents! This one mixes ancient Mesopotamian gods with life in modern day New York. I appreciated the way the author explained how the old gods could co-exist with modern Islam. I'm not sure if the timing of a book about a mysterious plague is brilliant or too much. Fans of Percy Jackson et al will love this no matter what! Highly recommended for grades 4 & up.
eARC provided by publisher via NetGalley
eARC provided by publisher via NetGalley
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Damn! I was wary about reading a plague book right now -- and a lot of it really hit home, for obvious reasons -- but this was absolutely delightful. So full of heart and grief and hope all at once! Can't wait for the next one to continue Sik's story.
* I got this book for review from the publisher for my honest thoughts*
I really loved this read. It was such a fun fast pace read. I am NYC theater teacher and this book is set totally near where i really work and I loved how gods, pandemics invaded NYC. I was so captured by Sarwat writing style and loved the male lead. I also loved how this book again focused on saving the day, saving your family and grief at the death of a love one. I really loved all the new gods we leaned. This book just put a smile on my face and would totally read more books set in this world!!
I really loved this read. It was such a fun fast pace read. I am NYC theater teacher and this book is set totally near where i really work and I loved how gods, pandemics invaded NYC. I was so captured by Sarwat writing style and loved the male lead. I also loved how this book again focused on saving the day, saving your family and grief at the death of a love one. I really loved all the new gods we leaned. This book just put a smile on my face and would totally read more books set in this world!!
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-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:
Yes
This was a BLAST!!! It’s not afraid to shy away from darker themes - Islamophobia, death (accidental and on-page murder), grief, and sickness. There’s a TON of grotesque bug-related imagery that squicked me out, but that was the point, so I can’t be too mad lol.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Islamophobia, Grief
I loved how the legends and myths of ancient Mesopotamia came to life in this book! I knew bits and pieces of the lore, and I've read Gilgamesh of course, but I definitely learned a lot from this book, mythological wise. Also, I like how it also promotes peace and pacifism, which honestly the world could use a lot more of, while also underlining the unfortunate importance of war.
However, I had problems with Sik as the narrator. Mainly, how he spoke and thought. I mean, this kid is supposed to be thirteen, right, and yet he's speaking and thinking like a college student. His main concerns are working and keeping his deli afloat, which isn't unusual for a kid who grew up with a family business, but not once does he actually seem like a thirteen year old. He's wandering around NYC and all the adults he comes across that know him act like it's completely fine that a thirteen-year-old is all by himself. He just acts so much older than what he is supposed to be and that makes it kind of hard to connect to him as a character. Even if he was sixteen and not thirteen it would have worked a little more, but oh well.
However, I had problems with Sik as the narrator. Mainly, how he spoke and thought. I mean, this kid is supposed to be thirteen, right, and yet he's speaking and thinking like a college student. His main concerns are working and keeping his deli afloat, which isn't unusual for a kid who grew up with a family business, but not once does he actually seem like a thirteen year old. He's wandering around NYC and all the adults he comes across that know him act like it's completely fine that a thirteen-year-old is all by himself. He just acts so much older than what he is supposed to be and that makes it kind of hard to connect to him as a character. Even if he was sixteen and not thirteen it would have worked a little more, but oh well.
Every new Rick Riordan Presents book is my new favorite Rick Riordan Presents book. This one is no exception.
Ignore that this book is labeled a middle grade book. I’m a middle-aged mom, and I loved it! A good story is a good story, and this is for sure a good story. Sik’s adventure in a NYC that is also home to Mesopotamian gods, demons and heroes is a story you want to keep reading. I was actually disappointed to finish this because I wanted to story to continue. If you are a fan of mythology, hero’s quests, adventures, or just a well-written and fun narrative, this book is for you.
This novel is centered around Sikander Aziz, a 13 year old boy from a family who migrated to Manhattan from Iraq. They own a little restaurant in town called "Mo's" after his big brother who died in an accident. This book has shocking relevance, as a deathly sickness hits the city after the Mesopotamian god, Nergal, poisons it on his search for the flower of immortality; he believes that Sik possesses it. Along the way, you meet famous characters like Ishtar, the goddess of love and war, and Gilgamesh, the famous epic hero. It is a story of perseverance, friendship, and of an unlikely hero saving the day. It was action packed and so cool to see the Mesopotamian gods come to life.
My daughter's only remark on this book was that it was a kinda gross read. I agreed with her, but we don't say that often, and it wasn't out of character or too terrible -- not really, I guess? As long as you're not reading while eating, it's a great fantasy!
Sik Aziz works in his Iraqi parents' deli in Manhattan. They're eking by, working hard to achieve the American Dream, one falafel sandwich topped with their Baghdad chili sauce at a time. The one paid employee, Daoud, is an aspiring actor who never passes up a chance to not do any actual work, so when Sik's brother, Mo, goes back to Iraq on a botany trip and is killed, it's up to Sik to fill the void.
And he's getting pretty good at it, until one night, he takes out the garbage and there's something both sinister and rhyming, in couplets, lurking in the alley. Intrigued (who wouldn't be?), he sneaks out, still carrying the wok, and takes a peek.
This is the gross part, when Mesopotamian demons Sidana, a large humanoid rat, and Idiptu, a humanoid toad, reveal they both know Sik and are there to get him. He defends himself with the wok, but then another entity arrives, the god Nergal, crawling or made of a billion flies, Sik can't tell which. The flies swarm all over Sik, biting. They drive him back inside the deli, where Daoud finally shows up, but now the fight's inside the deli, with Sik's family's livelihood at stake.
Still, Sik is no match for Nergal, even armed with a wok. Nergal demands Sik has something he wants, something his brother Mo gave Sik. But Sik, of course, has no idea what the god of decay is talking about. Nergal and the demons rip the framed, pressed and dried flowers from Mo's trips off the walls of the deli, frustrated. A girl ninja shows up, with a susper-sassy and deadly sword, Kasusu, and together they fight off Nergal, who she reveals is her Uncle, and his demons.
But not before everything -- and it's a deli, right? -- rots, decays, gets maggots, etc. It's gross. The tables disintegrate, the metal pots and pipes rust, everything is contaminated with rot and decay. It's actually a kinda cool power for a fantasy god to have, one I've not seen used in middle grade stories before, and the ick factor could really appeal to some middle grade readers.
Sik figures out the ninja girl is the new girl in school, Belet -- rejected from NY's elite high schools, fabulously wealthy, and not a common sight at his PS (public school). And then Sik meets her mother -- Ishtar. The goddess.
And the story really picks up, by getting even worse for Sik. Nergal is god of more than just decay. He's the god of disease, too, and he was in the deli, remember? It isn't long -- end of the school day -- before both of Sik's parents are in the hospital, patients zero, sick with a super-infectious plague.
I don't want to spoil the story, but essentially Nergal wants to take over first NYC, then the world. What god in Rick Riordan's imprint doesn't?
Ishtar, Belet, Sik and Daoud, in his own way, are there to prevent that from happening, by figuring out what Nergal wants from Sik (actually Mo, but Mo's dead) and why. The only way to fight Nergal is to recruit the greatest warrior Mesopotamia ever produced -- Gilgamesh. Who may have already beaten his sword into a plowshare, or a convenient hand-shovel. He's packed up the warrior gear and is a pacifist horticulturalist, with his own ziggurat greenhouse in Central Park.
There's so much more to this story! I could've done with fewer mentions / reminders of the flies; they're seriously disgusting. But the author never lingers too long on the maggots and flies, and overall it's a fast-paced thriller, in the best way. I've already provided a key to a plot twist, and I feel like if I write any more, I'll totally spoil your enjoyment of the story.
Read up and enjoy!
Looking for more book suggestions for your 7th/8th grade classroom and students?
Visit my blog for more great middle grade book recommendations, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: https://amb.mystrikingly.com/
Sik Aziz works in his Iraqi parents' deli in Manhattan. They're eking by, working hard to achieve the American Dream, one falafel sandwich topped with their Baghdad chili sauce at a time. The one paid employee, Daoud, is an aspiring actor who never passes up a chance to not do any actual work, so when Sik's brother, Mo, goes back to Iraq on a botany trip and is killed, it's up to Sik to fill the void.
And he's getting pretty good at it, until one night, he takes out the garbage and there's something both sinister and rhyming, in couplets, lurking in the alley. Intrigued (who wouldn't be?), he sneaks out, still carrying the wok, and takes a peek.
This is the gross part, when Mesopotamian demons Sidana, a large humanoid rat, and Idiptu, a humanoid toad, reveal they both know Sik and are there to get him. He defends himself with the wok, but then another entity arrives, the god Nergal, crawling or made of a billion flies, Sik can't tell which. The flies swarm all over Sik, biting. They drive him back inside the deli, where Daoud finally shows up, but now the fight's inside the deli, with Sik's family's livelihood at stake.
Still, Sik is no match for Nergal, even armed with a wok. Nergal demands Sik has something he wants, something his brother Mo gave Sik. But Sik, of course, has no idea what the god of decay is talking about. Nergal and the demons rip the framed, pressed and dried flowers from Mo's trips off the walls of the deli, frustrated. A girl ninja shows up, with a susper-sassy and deadly sword, Kasusu, and together they fight off Nergal, who she reveals is her Uncle, and his demons.
But not before everything -- and it's a deli, right? -- rots, decays, gets maggots, etc. It's gross. The tables disintegrate, the metal pots and pipes rust, everything is contaminated with rot and decay. It's actually a kinda cool power for a fantasy god to have, one I've not seen used in middle grade stories before, and the ick factor could really appeal to some middle grade readers.
Sik figures out the ninja girl is the new girl in school, Belet -- rejected from NY's elite high schools, fabulously wealthy, and not a common sight at his PS (public school). And then Sik meets her mother -- Ishtar. The goddess.
And the story really picks up, by getting even worse for Sik. Nergal is god of more than just decay. He's the god of disease, too, and he was in the deli, remember? It isn't long -- end of the school day -- before both of Sik's parents are in the hospital, patients zero, sick with a super-infectious plague.
I don't want to spoil the story, but essentially Nergal wants to take over first NYC, then the world. What god in Rick Riordan's imprint doesn't?
Ishtar, Belet, Sik and Daoud, in his own way, are there to prevent that from happening, by figuring out what Nergal wants from Sik (actually Mo, but Mo's dead) and why. The only way to fight Nergal is to recruit the greatest warrior Mesopotamia ever produced -- Gilgamesh. Who may have already beaten his sword into a plowshare, or a convenient hand-shovel. He's packed up the warrior gear and is a pacifist horticulturalist, with his own ziggurat greenhouse in Central Park.
There's so much more to this story! I could've done with fewer mentions / reminders of the flies; they're seriously disgusting. But the author never lingers too long on the maggots and flies, and overall it's a fast-paced thriller, in the best way. I've already provided a key to a plot twist, and I feel like if I write any more, I'll totally spoil your enjoyment of the story.
Read up and enjoy!
Looking for more book suggestions for your 7th/8th grade classroom and students?
Visit my blog for more great middle grade book recommendations, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: https://amb.mystrikingly.com/