jtryckman's review against another edition
5.0
Short review: this book is fantastic, and you should absolutely read it!
Long review: this book is fantastic, quirky, funny, and has a lot of heart, and you should absolutely read it!
Maya's voice resonates; she is full of heart and good intentions, and is just trying to do her best in a world that keeps changing and keeps trying to take a (literal) darker path. Her friends are lovable and actually useful to the story, and there are real stakes.
Seriously, just read it!
Long review: this book is fantastic, quirky, funny, and has a lot of heart, and you should absolutely read it!
Maya's voice resonates; she is full of heart and good intentions, and is just trying to do her best in a world that keeps changing and keeps trying to take a (literal) darker path. Her friends are lovable and actually useful to the story, and there are real stakes.
Seriously, just read it!
thereadingwren's review against another edition
4.0
4/5
This took a bit to get into but once the fantastical elements really took over this book went from good to great.
The mythology is the best and most well-crafted element of the story. I adored learning about all the orisha and their powers, as well as all the creatures that came from the Dark. The magic was fantastical but also had great limitations that made it more believable and I loved watching the godlings grow into their powers.
One of the things I liked best about Maya and the Rising Dark was how serious things were taken. When reading about a quest there is always the danger of the villains and what you have to do to stay alive but with most middle grade books they never deal with what that really means. In this book when one of the kids hurts or even kills a villain they feel it. The kids go through a lot of grief and guilt when fighting for their lives and this book touches on the reality of battles and war which I thought was really important.
Reading about an anemic character was also really interesting, as someone who has suffered with anemia. It was cool to see how this ailment affected Maya and her powers and that it was something that was brought up a lot and not just some offhanded comment.
The concept was really cool and I honestly think this should be one of the middle grade staples.
This took a bit to get into but once the fantastical elements really took over this book went from good to great.
The mythology is the best and most well-crafted element of the story. I adored learning about all the orisha and their powers, as well as all the creatures that came from the Dark. The magic was fantastical but also had great limitations that made it more believable and I loved watching the godlings grow into their powers.
One of the things I liked best about Maya and the Rising Dark was how serious things were taken. When reading about a quest there is always the danger of the villains and what you have to do to stay alive but with most middle grade books they never deal with what that really means. In this book when one of the kids hurts or even kills a villain they feel it. The kids go through a lot of grief and guilt when fighting for their lives and this book touches on the reality of battles and war which I thought was really important.
Reading about an anemic character was also really interesting, as someone who has suffered with anemia. It was cool to see how this ailment affected Maya and her powers and that it was something that was brought up a lot and not just some offhanded comment.
The concept was really cool and I honestly think this should be one of the middle grade staples.
annieice's review against another edition
3.75
the audiobook expereince was awesome as it had soudn effects which was cool. the story was only average though. but good enough, i'm not interested in the sequel but i bet kids and tweens will like it
xandra_evelyn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
This has such potential, but unfortunately it didn't live up to it. I felt Maya kept making horrible decisions and getting out by sheer luck. I was also annoyed that the author didn't talk about where the myths she was using were from. At first I thought she was making it all up and it was her own world; when I looked it up, I found that most of the tales are from Africa, but also from South America. If you want to introduce new cultures to people - which is so important and so needed - you should talk about where they come from in the book
Content Warnings
Minor: Death
summyrenea's review against another edition
4.0
A thoroughly enjoyable middle grades urban fantasy. I’m excited to read the sequel.
candypop's review against another edition
2.0
Book about a head strong spoilt brat who never listens to her parents, breaks every rule and gets her friends into deadly situations. Failed multiple times to save her father by diving straight into danger (against all advice and no plans), and kept doing it coz she can’t stop to think. How could this be a kids book? There’s no moral of the story. She got grounded for a few weeks, that’s it. One of the worst books without any real plots, or character development.
lit_with_lauren's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
rosalyn's review against another edition
5.0
I HIGHLY recommend the audiobook. It really makes you feel like you're in the story by adding sound effects. Besides that bonus feature, I enjoyed the story and I'm excited to read the next book. Although, I'll probably wait for the audiobook since this one was so much fun!
sapphic_in_the_stacks's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25