Reviews with content warning for Death - Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky

Knocking half a star off simply because of how long it took me to finish this book - I finally read the last few chapters, but it was a hard read to complete for me because I think it was just too long! There was a lot happening, and a lot of characters to keep track of (although I'm sure someone more familiar with the mythology Mbalia is drawing from would disagree). I think the book would have been better served if it had narrowed the scope of the story just a little, and moved through the plot a little faster.

That being said, I think this was a really creative interpretation of West African and African American mythology, especially the way the truth of the villains came together at the end. I thought Gum Baby was hilarious and I liked the mentor-esque relationship Tristan had with some of the figures like John Henry. I'm sure this would be well loved by readers in the target age group, but for me personally, it was trying to do just a little too much in one book.

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gabbyc4t's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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nicolewhopickedthisbook's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

Oh I loved this book so much! It was a five star prediction and honestly I would give this book 10 stars if I could!

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kbairbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was so cute! I really enjoyed the way the author spoke, their voice if you will, and I liked the narrator (even though I too own this book, and I liked the characters and the manerisms and the memories and the coming to terms with death, the topic of grief, overcoming fear and learning confidence. Wow this book really had a lot of great concepts in it and I liked the different cultures myths. It was a fun read 😍

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cassroberts89's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Tristan Strong was… good. Not incredible, not amazing, but good. I felt instantly drawn into Tristan’s story. His personal trauma was relatable and so very sad. I loved the transition into the world called Alke and being introduced to the HUGE cast of characters there.

I think where I really started to get lost was when the action picked up and… never stopped. It was just constant GO, GO, GO for a large chunk of the middle of the book. I’m all for an adventurous, action-packed story, but it felt difficult to keep up and not get lost. This was especially hard while listening to the audio version. The voices were excellent, the narrator was fantastic, but it was just a lot at a very fast pace. Perhaps this is one book that might be best served as a read-aloud or read-to-self.

One thing I didn’t notice right away when the book ended, but occurred to me later in the day: We’re kind of left hanging with the brief earlier conflict between Tristan and his folks. Maybe I missed something (like I said, maybe the audio recording wasn’t the best choice for this particular book), but that whole thing between Tristan and his dad and the boxing just didn’t come up again? Seemed like a missed opportunity for closure.

I did, however, love the little twist toward the end. No spoilers, but it made for an interesting and fun ending to the book and a great segue into a sequel. I’m not sure when we’ll get around to reading the next book, but the kids really want to pick it up at some point. So perhaps take my review with a grain of salt. Like I said: Tristan Strong was a good book. Plain and simple.

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karcitis's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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? It's complicated

4.5

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mengzhenreads's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional lighthearted 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

4.0

This was such a fun read! I learned so much about West African mythology and African American folktales and loved the discussions of grief, memory, legacy, and history. This is definitely a must-read for anyone interested in mythology and folktales who's here for a good time :)

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