maya and the lord of shadows rena barron

I thought the climax ended up being a little easy, but I have that problem a lot with middle grade books, so it’s probably just me, the silly thing I am.Īm I looking forward to book two already? Obviously. I loved that it plays with the God/Godling tropes that have become popular lately but with a unique spin on it. Ultimately, this book delivered on the promise of adventure and fun, and I whizzed right through it. Complete with a Black female lead, and based on West African mythology, this book packs in friendship bonds, adventure, and some awesome staff + magic fight scenes. Maya and the Rising Dark is a middle grade fantasy adventure perfect for readers who want Rick Riordan-esque books with a Black twist. Patience may be a virtue, but it’s clearly not in my arsenal of tools, okay? So I was super excited to be able to read this eARC. I’ve been looking forward to this book since it was announced waaaaay back last year. Quotes are taken from an unfinished version and may differ from the final product. Many thanks to HMH Books for Young Readers Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased revie w.

Interesting, dynamic fights with a staff.Stories based on West African mythology.Adventure akin to the Rick Riordan Presents books.Rating:Ĭontent Tags: Middle Grade Fantasy Urban Fantasy Adventure She just hopes she can do it in time to attend Comic-Con before summer’s over. But now that the veil is failing, the Lord of Shadows is determined to destroy the human world and it’s up to Maya to stop him. Maya herself is a godling, half orisha and half human, and her neighborhood is a safe haven. Her father is the guardian of the veil between our world and the Dark-where an army led by the Lord of Shadows, the man from Maya’s nightmares, awaits. When Papa goes missing, Maya is thrust into a world both strange and familiar as she uncovers the truth. But to Maya, it sounds like something from one of Papa’s stories or her favorite comics.

Her friends try to find an explanation-perhaps a ghost uprising or a lunchroom experiment gone awry.

Twelve-year-old Maya is the only one in her South Side Chicago neighborhood who witnesses weird occurrences like werehyenas stalking the streets at night and a scary man made of shadows plaguing her dreams. Twelve-year-old Maya’s search for her missing father puts her at the center of a battle between our world, the Orishas, and the mysterious and sinister Dark world. Published by: HMH Books for Young Readers on September 22, 2020

Maya and the lord of shadows rena barron