Rutabaga's Reads 2021: Part 10

As anticipated, here is my second middle-grade compilation post for 2021.

Aru Shah and the City of Gold (Apr. 6, 2021) by Roshani Chokshi.

*This is the fourth novel in a pentalogy.*

It’s no secret that Aru made a wish to Kalpavriksha, the wish-granting tree, right near the third story’s end. Oddly enough, she cannot remember what she wished for, but she’s fairly certain that she didn’t wish for a sister named Kara. Kara claims to be the Sleeper’s daughter, too, and she was found in his lair, so … *shrugs shoulders*. She doesn’t want to trust her at first, but Kara is eager to be helpful, to be part of the Potatoes. Plus, she has a cool trident, and it looks like something wielded by a god, yet it’s Kara that wields it. The Pandavas (a.k.a. the Potatoes) know that they’re speeding closer to war with the Sleeper and his army. Kubera, ruler of Lanka, the city of gold, promises to give them powerful weapons to help prevent Sleeper and Company from taking over the Otherworld. Granted, Kubera also calls them “blips of mortality,” and he’s a god, so he clearly doesn’t care if they pass his trials. Best of luck and all that!

            Chokshi’s Pandava series is one of magic and adventure (and misadventure), but reading it is pure magic. The way the author immerses readers in the slice of Hindu mythology she writes about (because it is vast and stories vary from state to state within India) is complex and rich with witty banter, strong South Asian female leads (though Aiden and Rudy are good company, complementing the rest of the Potatoes nicely and amusingly) and a plot that only rushes forward. However, there are also layers of mistrust, jealousy and even betrayal to break through, lest the group crumble due to the lack of camaraderie and support of one another. Reading the “Aru Shah” books brings me great joy, and they’re so mesmerizingly written that I hope you’ll read them, too, if you haven’t already, yet enjoy mythology.

            P.S. I want to befriend a golden-furred mongoose (Kubera has so many). Because they’re mongooses. Very agile. It’s an added bonus that Kubera’s mongooses hiccup/cough up precious gemstones.

            Book One: Aru Shah and the End of Time

            Book Two: Aru Shah and the Song of Death

            Book Three: Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes

Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow (Oct. 31, 2017) by Jessica Townsend.

*This is the first novel in a series; it’s also a debut novel.*

Fair weather turned foul? The kitchen cat died? There was fire damage because the school lunch lady left the stove burner on overnight, and it was clearly her own fault? Whatever the misfortune, go ahead and blame Morrigan Crow. She was born on Eventide, the unluckiest day for any child to be born; she’s on the Cursed Children’s Register and everything. Why cursed? Well, on top of bringing supposed misfortune to her locale, she will die on the next Eventide. Normally a 12-year Age, this one comes a year early. Morrigan already felt cheated expecting to die right as she turned 12. But 11? Remarkably, Morrigan receives multiple bids on Bid Day. It’d be unheard of for a “cursed child” to receive one. But Captain Jupiter North “of the Wondrous Society, the League of Explorers, and the Federation of Nevermoorian Hoteliers” does arrive at Crow Manor. And he whisks her off in the nick of time, barely avoiding the Hunt of Smoke and Shadow, taking her to the Hotel Deucalion. Nevermoor itself is a wonder, a Free State housing the illustrious Wundrous Society, a secret world of magic and wonderment. It’s wholly unlike where she fled from: the town of Jackalfax in the state of Great Wolfacre in the Wintersea Republic. In Nevermoor, Morrigan has the opportunity to become a member of the Wundrous Society (or Wunsoc), but there are rigorous trials that she must endure to vie for one of nine spots … and there are 500+ candidates competing. But no pressure! Not passing a trial only means that Morrigan will get kicked out of Nevermoor and have to face the Hunt again. Certain death! But again, no pressure! Because what Nevermoor can give Morrigan are things she’s never really had: a family (Jupiter, Dame Chanda, Fenestra) and friends (Hawthorne Swift, kinda-sorta-maybe John Arjuna Korrapati a.k.a. Jack).

            I bought this on a whim and am so very pleased that I did. It’s no Harry Potter (but nothing ever will be except Harry Potter, so), but it is wildly imaginative, cheekily charming and happily spellbinding. It is a splendid adventure and a fast-paced one, at that. Townsend has crafted this world with care and opulent detail. I imagine the scenes that readers construct in their minds to be as impressive as the world-building within the pages. The cast is diverse, and the magic isn’t so wand-wielding magical as it is clever. But that isn’t all that makes this story, for the core relates to Morrigan herself. It isn’t discovering what Gossamer is (“an invisible, intangible network”). It’s far deeper and highlights the complexity of someone realizing her own worth. Morrigan has moxie, but it’s hope and bravery and self-love that’s been sorely missing. And which she needs in her life. We all do.

            P.S. I wish Fenestra (Fen) were in my life. She’s a Magnificat (not to be confused with the Christian canticle, which is spelled the same). Fen is actually a giant, talking cat.

            P.P.S. Remember to befriend Frank. He’s a vampire dwarf (not a dwarf vampire – do be sensitive). He will not bite you. At least, I don’t think so.

Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky (Oct. 15, 2019) by Kwame Mbalia.

*This is the first novel in a trilogy.*

What happens when 7^th-grader Tristan Strong goes on an adventure in which he encounters West African gods (like Nyame, the sky god, and Anansi, the Weaver and trickster, whose normal form is that of a spider) and African-American folk legends (like Brer Fox, John Henry and High John)? Lots of bickering. Yep, working together isn’t their thing, but Tristan wants to return to Alabama. Thanks to a fight with Gum Baby (a sassy, living doll who’s sticky with sap), Tristan knocks a bottle off the Bottle Tree, and it shatters, releasing a haint (evil spirit) who calls himself Uncle C. He winds up in Alke, a place that is “the dream to your world’s reality. The tales, the fables, the things you think are made up, they exist here” (p. 76). The Maafa and its minions (fetterlings a.k.a. iron monsters and poisonous brand flies) are hunting them. Many Midfolk have fled to MidPass (it’s here that Tristan first encounters John Henry), an island in the Burning Sea, but it is attacked when Tristan, Ayanna, Gum Baby and Chestnutt aim to reach Nyame’s Palace to collect the Story Box. They need Anansi’s help to repair the hole in the sky above MidPass and also to enable Tristan to return home. But how does one barter with a trickster? Tristan is an Anansesem, a storyteller, and when he tells stories, they come alive. The world listens to him, and he listens to it. The stories in his late best friend’s (Eddie) journal aren’t simply stories. But will Tristan trust in his Anansesem abilities to use them to save Alke? How? How does storytelling defeat the Maafa, a feeling of “devastation and destruction, hunger and greed.” The Maafa survives on pain, but it came with the other gods: “It came here with the first of us. The sadness to our joy.”

            The first thing I thought when reading this story was, “I will be reading the rest of this trilogy.” Coming into this novel, I’d heard of MidPass gods like John Henry and High John and the Brers (Fox, Rabbit, Bear) but I was not familiar with the West African gods at all. I love mythology and so happily learned more about this one. This novel is wildly busy, like a magical rollercoaster roving on a topsy-turvy, right-side-up-and-upside-down track that only moves at top speed. Concluding the story is like that feeling you get when a wild rollercoaster suddenly comes to a stop -- your hair is riotously unkempt, your face feels both frozen and flushed (maybe that’s just me), and you can’t move right away. Mbalia’s novel is constant action and adventure. The only thing I missed was a Glossary at the book’s end, as this story is a trove of mythology. Like Rick Riordan says of Tristan’s adventure, “…the sky’s the limit. Wait, no. Tristan punched a hole in the sky. There are no limits.” So, go forth and be limitless! (But also responsible. Please don’t do anything illegal or uncouth.)

            My favorite line comes from High John, who purposely aggravates one of Nyame’s guardians, Leopard. Leopard has just growled at High John, so High John says, “Purr at me again, little kitty, I'll be wearing you soon.” (p. 455)

            Another line that made me chuckle: “When grown-ups get on their high horses, those things gallop for days.” (--Tristan, p. 119)