Maya's father is always traveling for work, and when he returns he has fantastical tales of wild creatures and near disasters. She used to believe these stories were true, but now she takes them as fairy tales. She begins to reconsider when the world freezes and turns gray in the middle of math tutorials. She also sees a strange man down on the street with dark tendrils and taunting words.
When her father goes missing, she discovers the truth. Her father is actually an Orisha, a powerful god who created a veil between the human world and the world of the dark. The veil is beginning to tear, and the Darkbringers are trying to get through to start a war with the human world, and the Lord of Shadows has kidnapped her father. That would be enough to take in, but many of the people in her neighborhood are Orishas, too, and Maya and her friends are godlings, half Orisha and half human. They should have latent powers that will help in this battle.
The council wants to wait for reinforcements, but Maya decides she can't wait for anyone. Her father needs help now. She grabs her father's staff and her two best friends, Francie and Eli, and heads out to find her way to the Dark.
Rena Barron's foray into African mythology is a fun adventure in the vein of Percy Jackson and other titles under the Rick Riordan Presents imprint. I really enjoyed this one, but I wish it had a better climax. Everything builds and then just kind of fizzles. Still, I think this will be popular with mythology fans who will be eager to find out what happens next. Recommended.
No comments:
Post a Comment