Rutabaga's Reads 2022: Part 23

Wow! My middle-grade reading is going strong this year. Presenting the third compilation of 2022!

City of the Plague God (Jan. 12, 2021) by Sarwat Chadda.

*This is the first novel in a series.*

As if there isn’t already enough on his plate going to school and helping at his parents’ successful Brooklyn deli while continuing to deal with the grief associated with his older brother, Mo, dying unexpectedly, 13-year-old Sikander (Sik) Aziz suddenly finds himself the target of disease-ridden demons. The demons are the servants of Nergal, the Mesopotamian god of plagues. Nergal believes that Sik holds the key to immortality, but Sik thinks that is absurd. He knows nothing about any of that. It doesn’t stop Nergal and his minions from releasing an incurable plague on New York City with his parents as Patients Zero. Fortunately, Sik isn’t alone. There’s Belet, the adopted daughter of Ishtar, Mesopotamian goddess of love and war, her sword, Kasusu, and Daoud, his late brother’s best friend, a vain, would-be actor who’s been typecast as a terrorist. There’s even the famed hero Gilgamesh, who resides in Central Park, tending his impressive greenhouse. He has no plans to come out of retirement, enjoying his pacifist, vegan-baking lifestyle, though Sik will keep trying to convince him. He desperately wants his help. With grief still pouring over him, New York under attack from a terrible pestilence and his parents’ and their family’s deli specifically targeted by Nergal and company, how will Sik manage to retrieve the Flower of Immortality? Because conquering wily demons, dangerous gods and one’s own deep, dark nightmares isn’t exactly a walk in the park.

            Originally thinking this was a standalone, I’m thrilled it’s the first in a series, because it’s A-MA-ZING. Mythology is so fascinating and to be introduced to Mesopotamian mythology, which isn’t widely recognized like, say, Greek or Norse mythology, drew me in right away. With the novel’s exploration of strong familial connections, the weight of grief and the accumulating responsibilities on a young teen since his brother’s death, the story provided another layer of depth and nuance. The plot is fueled with apocalypse-like drama, multiple skirmishes/battles and the icky, oozing word pictures of Nergal and his demons. The action starts off like a plunge on a rollercoaster and doesn’t stop until the story’s end. The story also benefits from lots of humor and a superb cast with distinctive primary and secondary characters. The story includes instances of Islamophobia, and readers can tell that the Muslim identity is a central theme. The Arabic words and phrases were fun to come across, and there’s a convenient glossary near the back to help with pronunciations and meanings. Chadda’s story of a Muslim hero and the inclusivity he showcases is engaging and certainly relevant to our time, even down to a plague god making his literary debut during a pandemic! We may not have originally known that “City of the Plague God” was on the menu, but I’m glad it’s a Rick Riordan Presents book that I ordered. It is outrageously entertaining.

Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow (Oct. 27, 2020) by Jessica Townsend.

*This is the third novel in a series.*

It’s been a strange and wondrous journey through Nevermoor for Morrigan Crow and her fellow scholars in Unit 919 of the Wundrous Society. No longer is it a secret that Morrigan’s a Wundersmith, she and her friends have helped bring down the Ghastly Market and now she embarks on a new, thrilling challenge. She will begin studying the mysterious Wundrous Wretched Arts with Rook Rosenfeld, she being of the same being as Ms. Dearborn and Mrs. Murgatroyd. Morrigan looks forward to learning to control the Wunder that could otherwise consume her. She doesn’t want that, doesn’t want to become like Ezra Squall. For all that she’s gained since coming to Nevermoor, plenty still mistrust her Wundrous ability to use Wunder. She has her concerns, too, but they will take a backseat to a frightening illness with no known origin that is infecting Wunimals (Wunimals are sentient, self-aware, intelligent creatures capable of talking, etc., as humans are) and turning them into vicious Unnimals, primed to attack anyone in their vicinity. There is someone who says he can help Morrigan, but he’s the one who gave Wundersmiths a bad name.

            The junior endeavor in the Nevermoor​ series is a blockbuster middle-grade tale that’s a simmering pot of magic, adventure and magnificent world-building. It’s a tale that champions bravery and confidence, even as Morrigan struggles to find ease in accessing Wunder and grapples with her emotions. There is suspense, but never anything frightening, and Townsend’s story is detailed and enchanting, but also delightfully zany and charmingly eccentric. I so look forward to the next installment!

            Book 1: The Trials of Morrigan Crow

            Book 2: The Calling of Morrigan Crow

Sal & Gabi Break the Universe (Mar. 5, 2019) by Carlos Hernandez.

*This is the first novel in a series.*

It’s only the third day at Culeco Academy of the Arts (a magnet school in the middle of Miami), Salvador Alberto Dorado Vidón’s new school, and he’s in the principal’s office for the third time. He’s most recently caused a stir by making a raw chicken appear in Yasmany Robles’ locker without anyone seeing him do so, and that incident stemmed from Yasmany bullying Sal. Sal is a magician, but the chicken incident remains suspicious. Gabrielle Reál, student council president/editor of the school newspaper, seems to be onto him, and she tries to trick him with her lie detector test, but when he answers “I ripped a hole in the space-time continuum and borrowed a chicken from another universe,” it acknowledges that Sal’s speaking with honesty. How? After a case of low blood sugar (Sal is a Type I diabetic) manifests Mami Muerta​ (she used to be Mami Viva ... when she was alive), Sal winds up in the ER (not his first rodeo there). When he wakes late at night, famished, he tries to sneak by the nurse’s station, but Nurse Dulce Sotolongo catches him. Fortunately, she brings him to Reina Reál, a Cuban mother, and she feeds him. So. Much. (“I had said the magic word: “starving.” Say that to a Cuban mother sometime. I dare you.”) She treats him like he’s her own, and it turns out she’s Gabi’s mom, and they’re there celebrating Gabi’s baby brother’s one-month-old birthday, Ignacio (Iggy) Reál. With Gabi at the hospital as much as she can – and all of her “Gabi dads,” too – Sal finds himself spending even more time there (outside of being a patient and putting on magic shows for young patients). They create a play for theatre class. When Iggy takes a turn for the worse, and he isn’t going to make it, Gabi prompts Sal to break the universe to fix Iggy. The thing is, Sal doesn’t know how! He doesn’t even know how he brings different Mami Muertas from other universes! But that’s the thing for Sal. The multiverse is real, and he can see them, access them. His dad is a calamity physicist and knows to test for calamitrons, but can Sal figure out a way to access the multiverse without causing rips in it and make Iggy healthy?

            I am annoyed with myself for taking so long to read this story! It’s an amalgamation of humor (including fart jokes) and witty dialogue with compassion and some learning and a storyline that flows seamlessly across the multiverse. Hernandez has created an immersive world of imagination that is balanced with a character who is great at employing magic, is practically magical himself, but deals with Type I diabetes, a very real thing. This was my first story by Hernandez, and he makes telling stories look so easy. This is another win for the Rick Riordan Presents imprint, and I can go right into reading the next story, for I already have it!

            P.S. If I were a “Gabi dad” (because women can be Gabi dads, too), what might my name be?