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A review by the_fabric_of_words
The Storm Runner by J.C. Cervantes
5.0
Thirteen-year-old Zane Obispo was born with one leg significantly shorter than the other. He uses a cane to get around, but he doesn't let that stop him and his dog, Rosie, from exploring the hollowed out interior of a long-dead volcano near his house in New Mexico.
Rosie, a gargantuan half-boxer half-dalmation, is the one thing he truly loves. He has a part-time job working for their blind next-door neighbor, Ms. Caballero, a psychic who gives readings. And he's spent the last year at home, being homeschooled, after bullies pummeled him at the local public school.
His mom decides it's time for him to try middle school again, Catholic school this time, and of course, it's a total disaster. He gets picked on and fights back almost immediately, but while waiting to be reprimanded by the Father, he meets super-hot Brooks, "the most beautiful girl on the planet," dressed totally out of code -- all in black!
Then a plane, with a mysterious monster as the pilot crashes in the volcano. Brooks appears and warns him it's a demon runner from Xib'alb'a come to look for him. She explains how Zane's needed by the Mayan god Au-Puch (pronounced, aww-puke!) to set him free to fulfill a prophecy, that involves the end of the world as we know it, and then she impossibly vanishes, right before his eyes.
Although he knows its dangerous, Zane's drawn to the volcano, and Rosie and Brooks go with him to investigate. Rosie protects him from the demon runner and is killed by it. Zane promises her he'll find a way to bring her back.
It's an impossible promise, but it sets Zane, after he's forced to free Ah-Puch, on a roller coaster of a quest that takes him to Los Angeles. Along the way he discovers a helpful giant and his heritage, as a son of a Mayan god, making him a (drum roll please...) demi-god. (Remember that term from Rick Riordan's books?)
This is a great series starter and sets up the introduction of the pantheon of Mayan gods, with the demi-god rules already established by Riordan's Olympians series.
Visit my blog for more great middle grade book recommendations, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: https://amb.mystrikingly.com/
Rosie, a gargantuan half-boxer half-dalmation, is the one thing he truly loves. He has a part-time job working for their blind next-door neighbor, Ms. Caballero, a psychic who gives readings. And he's spent the last year at home, being homeschooled, after bullies pummeled him at the local public school.
His mom decides it's time for him to try middle school again, Catholic school this time, and of course, it's a total disaster. He gets picked on and fights back almost immediately, but while waiting to be reprimanded by the Father, he meets super-hot Brooks, "the most beautiful girl on the planet," dressed totally out of code -- all in black!
Then a plane, with a mysterious monster as the pilot crashes in the volcano. Brooks appears and warns him it's a demon runner from Xib'alb'a come to look for him. She explains how Zane's needed by the Mayan god Au-Puch (pronounced, aww-puke!) to set him free to fulfill a prophecy, that involves the end of the world as we know it, and then she impossibly vanishes, right before his eyes.
Although he knows its dangerous, Zane's drawn to the volcano, and Rosie and Brooks go with him to investigate. Rosie protects him from the demon runner and is killed by it. Zane promises her he'll find a way to bring her back.
It's an impossible promise, but it sets Zane, after he's forced to free Ah-Puch, on a roller coaster of a quest that takes him to Los Angeles. Along the way he discovers a helpful giant and his heritage, as a son of a Mayan god, making him a (drum roll please...) demi-god. (Remember that term from Rick Riordan's books?)
This is a great series starter and sets up the introduction of the pantheon of Mayan gods, with the demi-god rules already established by Riordan's Olympians series.
Visit my blog for more great middle grade book recommendations, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: https://amb.mystrikingly.com/