Scan barcode
A review by thereadingwren
Maya and the Rising Dark by Rena Barron
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.