A review by leahsbooks
Tristan Strong Destroys the World by Kwame Mbalia
5.0
CONTENT WARNING: violence, trauma, mention of death
I’m not sure if I can adequately find the right words to express how much I loved this book. Tristan is back in a new book, for another adventure with even higher stakes. The narrational style that Tristan uses is a laid-back and conversational tone, with no shortage of snark and sarcasm, although Tristan isn’t afraid to talk about his feelings. I truly appreciate that, and love that there are books showing young people, especially boys, that it’s okay to show your feelings.
This story not only picks up where it left off with the African and African American mythology and legends, it also further expands on them. Even the villains are related to Black history, featuring characters derived and depicting the evils of slavery. There’s even more of a focus on how these stories link Black Diaspora populations together, and I loved how it emphasized the interconnectedness of all of these groups. There’s characteristics associated with Diaspora populations, and this story highlights so many of those: hope, strength, power, resilience, and determination.
“The stories in each quilt square were unique, representing different places and experiences. The Diaspora. But when they were collected like this, they came together to make a beautiful artifact we all could appreciate.”
It wasn’t a stretch to get me to love the characters in this story. So many of them were already favorites of mine from book 1 — Tristan, Ayanna, Gum Baby (even if she does kind of remind me of a sassy little sister), and so many others. But there’s also some new ones, and I also got to see new facets of characters that we didn’t really get to see as much of, like Anansi. Mbalia has a true talent for developing a variety of characters and making them all feel so well-rounded and realistic. This story also has the incredible task of bringing folk heroes to life, and they’re done in such a beautiful way.
This is a story that is published on Rick Riordan’s imprint. While it is most certainly an OwnVoices book that is told in a way that feels incredibly genuine and honors the strong, difficult, and often painful journey of Africans and African-Americans, it is also clearly the kind of book that fits with Rick Riordan’s imprint. The characters are hilarious, and it embodies that underdog spirit that I love to read and root for. This was the line that really stuck out to me the most, and I love that it’s highlighted here:
“No story is perfect for everyone, but everyone can find the perfect story when they need it most.”
I’m not sure if I can adequately find the right words to express how much I loved this book. Tristan is back in a new book, for another adventure with even higher stakes. The narrational style that Tristan uses is a laid-back and conversational tone, with no shortage of snark and sarcasm, although Tristan isn’t afraid to talk about his feelings. I truly appreciate that, and love that there are books showing young people, especially boys, that it’s okay to show your feelings.
This story not only picks up where it left off with the African and African American mythology and legends, it also further expands on them. Even the villains are related to Black history, featuring characters derived and depicting the evils of slavery. There’s even more of a focus on how these stories link Black Diaspora populations together, and I loved how it emphasized the interconnectedness of all of these groups. There’s characteristics associated with Diaspora populations, and this story highlights so many of those: hope, strength, power, resilience, and determination.
“The stories in each quilt square were unique, representing different places and experiences. The Diaspora. But when they were collected like this, they came together to make a beautiful artifact we all could appreciate.”
It wasn’t a stretch to get me to love the characters in this story. So many of them were already favorites of mine from book 1 — Tristan, Ayanna, Gum Baby (even if she does kind of remind me of a sassy little sister), and so many others. But there’s also some new ones, and I also got to see new facets of characters that we didn’t really get to see as much of, like Anansi. Mbalia has a true talent for developing a variety of characters and making them all feel so well-rounded and realistic. This story also has the incredible task of bringing folk heroes to life, and they’re done in such a beautiful way.
This is a story that is published on Rick Riordan’s imprint. While it is most certainly an OwnVoices book that is told in a way that feels incredibly genuine and honors the strong, difficult, and often painful journey of Africans and African-Americans, it is also clearly the kind of book that fits with Rick Riordan’s imprint. The characters are hilarious, and it embodies that underdog spirit that I love to read and root for. This was the line that really stuck out to me the most, and I love that it’s highlighted here:
“No story is perfect for everyone, but everyone can find the perfect story when they need it most.”