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lukekono 's review for:
Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky
by Kwame Mbalia
3.5 stars
This was honestly a refreshing middle grade book to read. Tristan Strong is based on African American lore, not Greek, Norse, Roman, or any of the other ones that we see written about so often. Kwame Mbalia's voice felt fresh, as did the plot of this book.
The beginning of the book was really engaging, I felt very invested from the beginning. However, I felt like we jumped into the plot way too quickly. I wish we had more time to get to know Tristan and his family. Based on the end of the book, it seems like we will get more of that in the second book. Overall, the plot was way to fast-paced for my liking, yet I also felt bored during it. We kept going from one thing to another and I felt like my brain was just getting tossed around with all the info that was being thrown at me. It's like I didn't have enough time to really digest/enjoy it.
Gum Baby is one of the best kind of "sidekick" characters I've seen in a middle-grade book in a while. I absolutely loved her banter with everyone. Tristan is very complex, too. He didn't feel underdeveloped like some protagonists I've seen some other middle-grade books. The rest of the characters I don't really have a strong opinion on since I don't feel like I've gotten to know them enough.
Setting aside my criticism, this book handles a lot of important topics very well, and in a manner that kids can grasp. Toxic masculinity was a huge focal point in this book which I thought was fantastic since so many young boys struggle with being brought up in a society that heavily enforces toxic masculinity. There's also a lot of moments where Black injustices in America were subtly inserted in an educational yet casual way. Grief and loss were heavily covered in this first book as well.
Mbalia gave me a new voice in the world of middle grade, but I can't say I wasn't expecting a bit more in terms of plot. Overall, a great debut, but it didn't meet the high expectations I had set for this book.
This was honestly a refreshing middle grade book to read. Tristan Strong is based on African American lore, not Greek, Norse, Roman, or any of the other ones that we see written about so often. Kwame Mbalia's voice felt fresh, as did the plot of this book.
The beginning of the book was really engaging, I felt very invested from the beginning. However, I felt like we jumped into the plot way too quickly. I wish we had more time to get to know Tristan and his family. Based on the end of the book, it seems like we will get more of that in the second book. Overall, the plot was way to fast-paced for my liking, yet I also felt bored during it. We kept going from one thing to another and I felt like my brain was just getting tossed around with all the info that was being thrown at me. It's like I didn't have enough time to really digest/enjoy it.
Gum Baby is one of the best kind of "sidekick" characters I've seen in a middle-grade book in a while. I absolutely loved her banter with everyone. Tristan is very complex, too. He didn't feel underdeveloped like some protagonists I've seen some other middle-grade books. The rest of the characters I don't really have a strong opinion on since I don't feel like I've gotten to know them enough.
Setting aside my criticism, this book handles a lot of important topics very well, and in a manner that kids can grasp. Toxic masculinity was a huge focal point in this book which I thought was fantastic since so many young boys struggle with being brought up in a society that heavily enforces toxic masculinity. There's also a lot of moments where Black injustices in America were subtly inserted in an educational yet casual way. Grief and loss were heavily covered in this first book as well.
Mbalia gave me a new voice in the world of middle grade, but I can't say I wasn't expecting a bit more in terms of plot. Overall, a great debut, but it didn't meet the high expectations I had set for this book.