{"product_id":"rick-riordan-presents-tristan-strong-punches-a-hole-in-the-sky-kwame-mbalia-hardcover","title":"Rick Riordan Presents: Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky-A Tristan Strong Novel, Book 1 -- Kwame Mbalia, Hardcover","description":"\u003cb\u003eBest-selling author Rick Riordan presents Kwame Mbalia's epic fantasy, a middle grade \u003ci\u003eAmerican Gods\u003c\/i\u003e set in a richly-imagined world populated with African American folk heroes and West African gods.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e*\"Mbalia expertly weaves a meaningful \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eportrayal of family and community with folklore, myth, and history--including the legacy of the slave trade--creating a fast-paced, heroic series starter.\"--\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e (starred review)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSeventh grader Tristan Strong feels anything but strong ever since he failed to save his best friend when they were in a bus accident together. All he has left of Eddie is the journal his friend wrote stories in. Tristan is dreading the month he's going to spend on his grandparents' farm in Alabama, where he's being sent to heal from the tragedy. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBut on his first night there, a sticky creature shows up in his bedroom and steals Eddie's notebook. Tristan chases after it--is that a doll?--and a tug-of-war ensues between them underneath a Bottle Tree. In a last attempt to wrestle the journal out of the creature's hands, Tristan punches the tree, accidentally ripping open a chasm into the MidPass, a volatile place with a burning sea, haunted bone ships, and iron monsters that are hunting the inhabitants of this world. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eTristan finds himself in the middle of a battle that has left Black American folk heroes John Henry and Brer Rabbit exhausted. In order to get back home, Tristan and these new allies will need to entice the god Anansi, the Weaver, to come out of hiding and seal the hole in the sky. But bartering with the trickster Anansi always comes at a price. Can Tristan save this world before he loses more of the things he loves? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWinner of a Coretta Scott King Author Honor \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eEndorsed by Rick Riordan, author of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, soon to be a series on Disney+.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Kwame Mbalia\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Rick Riordan Presents\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/15\/2019\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 496\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.50lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.40h x 5.60w x 1.50d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781368039932\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAudience:\u003c\/b\u003e Ages 9-12\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAccelerated Reader:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReading Level:\u003c\/b\u003e 4.8\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePoint Value:\u003c\/b\u003e 15\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eInterest Level:\u003c\/b\u003e Middle Grade\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eQuiz #\/Name: \u003c\/b\u003e505341 \/ Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAward:\u003c\/b\u003e Coretta Scott King Award - Honor Book\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/01\/2019 pg. 118\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/01\/2019 pg. 82\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/19\/2019\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBulletin of Ctr for Child Bks\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/01\/2019 - Book Of Special Distinction\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eSchool Library Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/01\/2019 pg. 58\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eShelf Awareness\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/15\/2019\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eHornbook Guide to Children\u003c\/i\u003e 01\/01\/2020 - Recommended, Satisfactory\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eKwame Mbalia \u003c\/b\u003eis the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e best-selling author of \u003ci\u003eTristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, \u003c\/i\u003efor which he received a Coretta Scott King Author Honor award.\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003eThe book was also named to best-of-the-year lists\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003ecompiled by\u003ci\u003e Publishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e, the Chicago Public Library, and the\u003ci\u003e New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003eThe second book in the trilogy is \u003ci\u003eTristan Strong Destroys the World\u003c\/i\u003e. Kwame lives with his wife and children in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he is currently working on the third book about Tristan. Follow him on Twitter @KSekouM.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Kwame Mbalia","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45784709038308,"sku":"9781368039932","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0611\/9587\/8628\/files\/9781368039932.jpg?v=1731802478","url":"https:\/\/bookandmortar.com\/products\/rick-riordan-presents-tristan-strong-punches-a-hole-in-the-sky-kwame-mbalia-hardcover","provider":"BookandMortar","version":"1.0","type":"link"}