Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky: Tristan Strong, Book 1

I had been waiting for this book ever since it was announced in, what, 2018? It’s been a long, harrowing wait. I’m not the person I once was. TL;DR: THE WAIT WAS MORE THAN WORTH IT. Sooo freaking worth it. This book just absolutely blew away any and all expectations I had.Tristan Strong Punches A Hole in the Sky is a masterful mid-grade story about a relatable kid struggling with grief who happens to enjoy punching things. And who doesn’t? It’s got a black pantheon of gods, a vast new world, and action that just won’t quit.I actually have absolutely no negatives about this book? Despite it being kind of long for middle grade, it was over before I even knew it. My only regret is having to wait for the sequel, because October is soooo far away.My Thoughts:- Tristan’s voice is just so natural and funny that it grabbed me right away. Tristan is a cross between relatable character and snarkmaster, which made him funny without being one-dimensional. And boy did I laugh—so freaking hard—throughout this book. The book is written as if Tristan Strong is telling the reader a story—his story—and there are plenty of moments where Tristan speaks directly to the reader. The voice felt very natural, and the story was almost like sitting around a campfire and having someone tell you how they spent their year. Except … more exciting.- This book has Gum Baby, and she is … erm … well … a force that you just have to read to truly appreciate, I think. Gum Baby is all sass in a very small, sticky frame. From the minute she graced the page, I knew I was going to love her. In fact, all the side characters in this are inexplicably lovable, even the rude, sarcastic, and potentially villainous ones. I don’t want to talk about too many of the side characters, because discovering the pantheon for yourself is part of the journey.- There’s the whole world of Midpass to explore in this book, and it’s as wondrous as it is terrifying, and I never wanted to leave. I loved the journey through this world and all the new locations and creatures and people that are discovered. It’s giant and vast, and obviously, there’s more bits of it to be uncovered in the subsequent books, and I’m so ready for it.- There’s a whole pantheon of black gods, legends that have come to life, and this was such a refreshing take on mythology. The pantheon in this book is a mixture of Akan gods (like Anansi the storyteller and Nyame, the sky god) and African American folk legends (like John Henry and Brer Rabbit). It was so exciting and nostalgic to get to read about the heroes from the stories I heard or read as a child. I just grew more and more excited as the book went on and I recognized more and more things I was familiar with. And if you’ve never heard of these things, regardless of your age? It’s a nice introduction into a rich culture of lore.- Once the action gets going, it just doesn’t stop. Take a deep breath, because you’re going to need it. These waters are turbulent. If at any moment you think it’s going to be smooth sailing, ha, just turn the page. By the time Tristan hits Midspass, it’s just non-stop action. It doesn’t feel rushed, though. It’s just enough to grab your attention and pull you along as these kids face danger and mayhem and do their best to save the world. There were so many little twists and turns in this, and some of them I guessed pretty early on, but that didn’t impact my enjoyment of it. I did like that, for the most part, you have no idea what’s coming, so just like Tristan, you sort of just have to be willing to sit back and go with the flow.- Tristan is a really easy character for anyone to relate to, at any age, and his story will likely win over just about any reader. What first got me about Tristan, other than his humor and voice, was the fact that he’s a young kid tackling some pretty big grief. Not only did he lose his best friend, but he’s suffering survivor’s guilt, weighed down by the belief that he could’ve saved him. This whole situation was such a gut-punch of emotion, and it got me every time. The most poignant part of this story, to me, was the way Tristan works through his grief, and it would be a perfect read for any middle grade reader doing the same (especially since the grief isn’t the focus of the story, so you can get a little bonus learning smack dab in the middle of an adventure of mythological proportions). Tristan Strong is also a rather delightful reluctant hero. He’s not a fighter, and he doesn’t consider himself particularly brave or willing to rush into danger. His reactions to each scenario felt so realistic. Reluctant heroes are my favorite, because they feel more realistic to me.

This is the type of story I wish existed when I was a kid. I've always enjoyed fantasy stories and stories about heroes, but I haven't always had Heroes that looked like me. Yes, of course, it's true that I am a fan of Marvel’s Storm and Black Panther, but what's great about Tristan Strong is that he feels more real and he doesn’t have superpowers. I like the fact that he's a young man but this book doesn't get caught up into some of the typical tropes of middle-grade and young adult stories where everything is just kind of whiny for no reason. Don’t get me wrong, it does have some of those moments, but they all serve a purpose at some point.I read this story at a time in my life when I really was seeking and needing something uplifting and empowering. This book came along at just the right time. After the murder of George Floyd in the Resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement, reading this book helped take away some of the pain and gave me hope. This book offered an escaped that didn't pretend like the world was perfect or try to cover up the wrongs of the past with tales of fairies and magic, though I recognize there is a time and place for just such an escape.The imagery and symbolism within this story is powerful. Tristan Strong gets sucked into another world where monsters are out to get the good guys and the monsters are literally the shackles worn by slaves. I won't go into too much more detail there ‘cause I don't want to give away spoilers, but you can see them clearly on the cover of the book. There's so much more to it, even down to the point of what and who the villain at the end ultimately ends up being. I was shocked and moved and almost to the point of tears once it all came together and I don't even know if that was the purpose of it all. As a black person, it was emotional, and still, I believe other people of color will be moved by it, and perhaps even some woke non-POCs will feel the weight of the villain’s revelation. Whether the same emotion is felt or not, I believe all readers will understand the important transformation Tristan goes through and all the lessons he learns along the way.What's also great about this book is that it is funny and adventurous. It was wonderful to see old folktales being depicted as new gods and seeing old African Gods blended with these folk tales to create a world I could not have imagined as a kid. Nothing against the Greek pantheon of gods, but we've all seen them so many times, that this was a truly refreshing mythological world to dive into. I can't wait for the next book to come out so that I can find out more about these characters and see what they get into. I really must have more Gum Baby in my life.I hope this book is one day taught in schools, sooner rather than later.I feel like there's so much more I want to say about how amazing this book is, as far as breaking down the characters and breaking down the plot and symbolism and the humor but it's just all very emotional right now. Maybe a year from now I can revisit this review and add more to it, but for now, just know that this has been the best book that I've read all year (maybe a few years), which I wasn’t expecting since I just read a book last month which had been the best thing I’d read all year.Highly recommended!

Wonderfully written story with an absolutely fantastic narrator on the audible app. My boys are reading this book for a class and have LOVED it, and so have I. While we listen to the audio version of the book on audible, the boys read along with their physical copies of the book. I love that I can slow the audio book down to about 90% to allow the boys to follow along since they're not really strong readers yet.The narrator is seriously fantastic. His voice is perfect for the telling of this book, his inflection, pacing, expression, alternate character voices...all spot on. My boys laugh every time "Gum Baby" speaks, such a great representation of the characters voice.Highly recommend this book, we will continue to read the rest of the series.

My son loved this book he got all 3 of their books that are out .

Foi muito bem a entrega.Meu filho começou a ler o livro essa semana

Buy this book for my girl, dhe is very happy with it

My kids loved the book.