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A review by mariahistryingtoread
Tristan Strong Destroys the World by Kwame Mbalia
2.0
This was painful to read. I was more tolerant of the first books' faults because I thought the series might improve once it was on solid footing. That was, regrettably, not the case.
Tristan once again must save Alke. This time it's to rescue his grandmother who has been kidnapped by a new foe; the illusive Shamble Man.
Let's start with a personal pet peeve. I generally dislike it when an author tries to do the clever parody thing that's so prevalent in kids books. Unless in specific cases (for me) it almost always comes across as an out of touch adult trying too hard to connect with their audience. The tail end of Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky sets one such gag up and TSDTW takes it a step further. The Story Box is able to transform based on the Anansesem's need so of course it becomes a smartphone. Anansi the trickster storyteller is trapped inside tasked with aiding Tristan in his accumulation of stories as punishment for his misdeeds in the first book. I didn't like this, but I was handling it until they started doubling down on the idea.
Anansi can actually make apps that aid Tristan on his journey. This undercut the whole quest because when they'd hit the rare ‘serious’ roadblock it wasn't a big deal narratively since Anansi could just easily make a useful app to circumvent the complication. The SBP - short for Story Box Phone - was a major crutch. Tristan didn't ever have to really figure anything out. When he did come up with an idea it felt unearned because Tristan is not written to be a particularly smart character. He’s not dumb by any means, but without genuine pitfalls to learn from his epiphanies felt convenient rather than a facet of his personality that had been built upon.
Like the first book I didn’t buy any of the relationships in this book. It blew my mind that once more I was subjected to an entire 390 pages without learning something as simple as how old Ayanna is. Did she even exist before Tristan met her? It certainly doesn’t feel like it. Gum Baby is even further reduced, lacking even the little bit of nuance she had in the first book. I appreciated that the new character was added a lot earlier this time. I did not appreciate that a major story beat hinged on this new character when we didn’t develop him enough for that to matter.
It also was abundantly clear what the reveal would be in regards to this character and I was frustrated it took so long to be exposed. It would have been better if this was established immediately because it could have created interesting dynamics within the group.
I didn’t mention this in my review of the first book, but the Gods weren’t all that relevant. It wasn’t too big a deal due to the nature of that story though I did make a note of it. This book goes one step further. The Shamble Man is wreaking havoc on Alke. The Gods are keeping it underwraps. That part is okay. They don’t want to cause mass panic especially while relations between the various parts of Alke are so strained. What’s not okay is that the Gods never take steps to do anything to help. The Shamble Man seriously wounds one of the Gods, kidnaps another, yet the rest of the Gods are nowhere to be found. They’re ‘too busy’. Except that doesn’t make any sense? There’s a huge, glaring threat to the country rapidly getting worse. It bothered me a lot because there was a super easy way to fix it that also feeds into Tristan’s arc; the Gods should have already had a special team that was going to be dispatched and Tristan secretly muscles his way onto it. This plays to Tristan’s ‘need to be the hero’ (a trait he is often criticized for that I rarely see evidence for so two birds one stone) as well as his desperation to find his grandmother. Instead, I’m expected to believe that while Alke is about to burn the Gods are just...twiddling their thumbs?
Speaking of Tristan’s arc. Once again there are some strong emotional beats presented at the beginning that disappear only to resurface at the end when it’s time to learn the lesson. Per the very first line of the plot synopsis Tristan is traumatized. I appreciate that this book wants to help kids recognize how trauma can, even unconsciously, begin to consume all aspects of your life. It even touches on intergenerational trauma which, in my experience at least, has only recently become a topic of conversation in the Black community. I think all of that is important to talk about early because it can help kids to better understand their own feelings about things that have happened to them or have empathy for other people who are encountering hardship. That being said, I do not feel like Tristan is traumatized.
The moment he gets to Alke, Tristan is fine. He doesn’t have any breakdowns. He doesn’t see things that aren’t there. He doesn’t have any problems focusing. He doesn’t sleep because of the short timeframe so no nightmares. He never becomes uncommunicative due to his fears. He never recedes into himself. He doesn’t lash out in order to create distance between him and other people out of fear. I, unfortunately, have firsthand knowledge that trauma manifests itself very differently for everyone. So I understand that the way Tristan processes his trauma will not look the same as how I have processed mine or even how another kid who has gone through the exact same tragedy would process theirs. And to be fair Tristan does have a problem accessing his powers as Anansesem after his grandmother is kidnapped. Kudos for that. But, the story is written in a way that Tristan doesn’t need his Anansesem powers at all so that particular issue is rendered moot. And outside of this one aspect that was easily sidestepped Tristan does not have any internal upheaval. I’m taking this line from my review of the first book - “my problem is that his choices do not reflect his emotional turmoil”. If Tristan is supposed to be traumatized I want to see how his trauma impacts his actions and thus, affects the course of the novel.
I actually loved the whole basis for the Shamble Man. I thought that it fit super well into the theme of trauma that this book was going for. He was the only character whose trajectory I felt was executed well in this regard. If Tristan’s issues had been fleshed out more The Shamble Man would have been a wonderful parallel to what Mbalia intended to be Tristan’s psychological journey.
However, the Shamble Man is also really insignificant compared to how big a deal he’s made out to be. I already mentioned that the Gods do not take any steps to stop him. Another problem is that the bulk of this book is taken up trying to fix the SBP to talk to Anansi. For the life of me I couldn’t figure out why. All of the pieces were there to pursue the Shamble Man without the SBP. All it did was further solidify how much of a plot device the SBP was. Tristan could get across Alke without it and figure things out without it. The fact that it’s the Story Box is important in general, but it has no relevance to the events of this story specifically. Tristan could have fixed it later. It’s not like he could put stories in anyways so it wouldn’t have mattered if he waited until the end to do it. Or better yet, if it was fixed on its own by Tristan’s efforts. I also think it was dumb because it doesn’t make sense that the Story Box could be broken as it was even in the form of a phone like it was. The Story Box is the physical embodiment of all of Alke’s stories. I don’t think something literally made of magic that can become what the user needs at will should just stop working. It’s made of magic. And the only parameters we’ve ever seen given are that it needs the stories as a kind of lifeblood to work. There could have been a connection between Tristan’s struggles as an Anansesem to the SBP not working. Instead it’s because the ‘phone’ got wet.
In this book Tristan learns his grandmother had her own history with Alke. I think the book would have been way stronger if it focused on Tristan learning his grandmothers’ story as he traverses Alke to find her. That not only would have highlighted the relationship between the two, it also would have emphasized the importance of stories which is probably the biggest theme of the entire series.
I also think there should have been an index for the stories used in the book. African American folktales aren’t the typical curriculum within the American educational system so it would be nice if there was a quick resource to find out more information or read the tales. I’ve read middle grade books that have done this before when the book was historical fiction or there was a lot of research involved so I was surprised to not see something at the end.
Anyways, I was really hoping that after the foundation was laid the series would flourish. Unfortunately for me, nothing changed. I think this is competently written and that it does have a charm to it or else I would have been way more upset. More than anything I’m frustrated that a series with so much potential isn’t reaching it. I can really see a great novel hidden in this book. Despite my misgivings the ending did leave it in an interesting place so keep an eye out for my review of the next book in a year or two.
Tristan once again must save Alke. This time it's to rescue his grandmother who has been kidnapped by a new foe; the illusive Shamble Man.
Let's start with a personal pet peeve. I generally dislike it when an author tries to do the clever parody thing that's so prevalent in kids books. Unless in specific cases (for me) it almost always comes across as an out of touch adult trying too hard to connect with their audience. The tail end of Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky sets one such gag up and TSDTW takes it a step further. The Story Box is able to transform based on the Anansesem's need so of course it becomes a smartphone. Anansi the trickster storyteller is trapped inside tasked with aiding Tristan in his accumulation of stories as punishment for his misdeeds in the first book. I didn't like this, but I was handling it until they started doubling down on the idea.
Anansi can actually make apps that aid Tristan on his journey. This undercut the whole quest because when they'd hit the rare ‘serious’ roadblock it wasn't a big deal narratively since Anansi could just easily make a useful app to circumvent the complication. The SBP - short for Story Box Phone - was a major crutch. Tristan didn't ever have to really figure anything out. When he did come up with an idea it felt unearned because Tristan is not written to be a particularly smart character. He’s not dumb by any means, but without genuine pitfalls to learn from his epiphanies felt convenient rather than a facet of his personality that had been built upon.
Like the first book I didn’t buy any of the relationships in this book. It blew my mind that once more I was subjected to an entire 390 pages without learning something as simple as how old Ayanna is. Did she even exist before Tristan met her? It certainly doesn’t feel like it. Gum Baby is even further reduced, lacking even the little bit of nuance she had in the first book. I appreciated that the new character was added a lot earlier this time. I did not appreciate that a major story beat hinged on this new character when we didn’t develop him enough for that to matter.
It also was abundantly clear what the reveal would be in regards to this character and I was frustrated it took so long to be exposed. It would have been better if this was established immediately because it could have created interesting dynamics within the group.
I didn’t mention this in my review of the first book, but the Gods weren’t all that relevant. It wasn’t too big a deal due to the nature of that story though I did make a note of it. This book goes one step further. The Shamble Man is wreaking havoc on Alke. The Gods are keeping it underwraps. That part is okay. They don’t want to cause mass panic especially while relations between the various parts of Alke are so strained. What’s not okay is that the Gods never take steps to do anything to help. The Shamble Man seriously wounds one of the Gods, kidnaps another, yet the rest of the Gods are nowhere to be found. They’re ‘too busy’. Except that doesn’t make any sense? There’s a huge, glaring threat to the country rapidly getting worse. It bothered me a lot because there was a super easy way to fix it that also feeds into Tristan’s arc; the Gods should have already had a special team that was going to be dispatched and Tristan secretly muscles his way onto it. This plays to Tristan’s ‘need to be the hero’ (a trait he is often criticized for that I rarely see evidence for so two birds one stone) as well as his desperation to find his grandmother. Instead, I’m expected to believe that while Alke is about to burn the Gods are just...twiddling their thumbs?
Speaking of Tristan’s arc. Once again there are some strong emotional beats presented at the beginning that disappear only to resurface at the end when it’s time to learn the lesson. Per the very first line of the plot synopsis Tristan is traumatized. I appreciate that this book wants to help kids recognize how trauma can, even unconsciously, begin to consume all aspects of your life. It even touches on intergenerational trauma which, in my experience at least, has only recently become a topic of conversation in the Black community. I think all of that is important to talk about early because it can help kids to better understand their own feelings about things that have happened to them or have empathy for other people who are encountering hardship. That being said, I do not feel like Tristan is traumatized.
The moment he gets to Alke, Tristan is fine. He doesn’t have any breakdowns. He doesn’t see things that aren’t there. He doesn’t have any problems focusing. He doesn’t sleep because of the short timeframe so no nightmares. He never becomes uncommunicative due to his fears. He never recedes into himself. He doesn’t lash out in order to create distance between him and other people out of fear. I, unfortunately, have firsthand knowledge that trauma manifests itself very differently for everyone. So I understand that the way Tristan processes his trauma will not look the same as how I have processed mine or even how another kid who has gone through the exact same tragedy would process theirs. And to be fair Tristan does have a problem accessing his powers as Anansesem after his grandmother is kidnapped. Kudos for that. But, the story is written in a way that Tristan doesn’t need his Anansesem powers at all so that particular issue is rendered moot. And outside of this one aspect that was easily sidestepped Tristan does not have any internal upheaval. I’m taking this line from my review of the first book - “my problem is that his choices do not reflect his emotional turmoil”. If Tristan is supposed to be traumatized I want to see how his trauma impacts his actions and thus, affects the course of the novel.
I actually loved the whole basis for the Shamble Man. I thought that it fit super well into the theme of trauma that this book was going for. He was the only character whose trajectory I felt was executed well in this regard. If Tristan’s issues had been fleshed out more The Shamble Man would have been a wonderful parallel to what Mbalia intended to be Tristan’s psychological journey.
However, the Shamble Man is also really insignificant compared to how big a deal he’s made out to be. I already mentioned that the Gods do not take any steps to stop him. Another problem is that the bulk of this book is taken up trying to fix the SBP to talk to Anansi. For the life of me I couldn’t figure out why. All of the pieces were there to pursue the Shamble Man without the SBP. All it did was further solidify how much of a plot device the SBP was. Tristan could get across Alke without it and figure things out without it. The fact that it’s the Story Box is important in general, but it has no relevance to the events of this story specifically. Tristan could have fixed it later. It’s not like he could put stories in anyways so it wouldn’t have mattered if he waited until the end to do it. Or better yet, if it was fixed on its own by Tristan’s efforts. I also think it was dumb because it doesn’t make sense that the Story Box could be broken as it was even in the form of a phone like it was. The Story Box is the physical embodiment of all of Alke’s stories. I don’t think something literally made of magic that can become what the user needs at will should just stop working. It’s made of magic. And the only parameters we’ve ever seen given are that it needs the stories as a kind of lifeblood to work. There could have been a connection between Tristan’s struggles as an Anansesem to the SBP not working. Instead it’s because the ‘phone’ got wet.
In this book Tristan learns his grandmother had her own history with Alke. I think the book would have been way stronger if it focused on Tristan learning his grandmothers’ story as he traverses Alke to find her. That not only would have highlighted the relationship between the two, it also would have emphasized the importance of stories which is probably the biggest theme of the entire series.
I also think there should have been an index for the stories used in the book. African American folktales aren’t the typical curriculum within the American educational system so it would be nice if there was a quick resource to find out more information or read the tales. I’ve read middle grade books that have done this before when the book was historical fiction or there was a lot of research involved so I was surprised to not see something at the end.
Anyways, I was really hoping that after the foundation was laid the series would flourish. Unfortunately for me, nothing changed. I think this is competently written and that it does have a charm to it or else I would have been way more upset. More than anything I’m frustrated that a series with so much potential isn’t reaching it. I can really see a great novel hidden in this book. Despite my misgivings the ending did leave it in an interesting place so keep an eye out for my review of the next book in a year or two.