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Tristan exchanges the Story Box for them. Tristan tricks Cotton and escapes with the Story Box while Cotton in pulled down into the sea. Many of the
Alkeans are saved and freed. However, Tristan reveals that Brer Rabbit is really Anansi in the disguise, which he deduced after freeing the real Brer Rabbit from Cotton. Anansi wanted the Story Box for himself to gain power. Nyame makes Anansi repair the rift in the sky before trapping Anansi in the form a cell phone, and orders him to help Tristan refill the Story Box. Tristan returns to Alabama, promising to return one day soon, and starts by telling the story of his own adventure.
273:, who is trapped in statue form. Nyame reveals that the Story Box was already taken by the Ridgefolk. They travel to the vertical city of Isihlangu, whose people believe the MidFolk have sent the Fetterlings after them. Tristan tells a story and manages to unite the two groups, but they are attacked by the monster Abiyoyo and brand flies. The groups escapes with resident Princess Thandiwe, but Chestnutt is hurt and Ayanna is critically injured. They are met by
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197:. The story follows teenager Tristan Strong, who is struggling with guilt after his best friend's death. Tristan accidentally creates a rift that transports him to Alke, a parallel world where myths are real, and must survive the evil forces that threaten Alke's people and discover his own abilities.
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Forest, a haunted forest
Tristan's Nana forbid him to go in. In an effort get the journal back, Tristan punches the Bottle Tree, which breaks one of the bottles and unexpectedly opens a portal to a parallel world. Tristan and Gum Baby fall into a world called Alke, where the mythology and folktales
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They return to the Golden
Crescent, where the MidFolk and Ridgefolk are both facing fetterlings, hull beasts, and brand flies. Tristan goes to the Bone Ships to bargain with their leader, Uncle Cotton. Cotton has Eddie's journal, Tristan's memories, and all the people the fetterlings captured, so
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who is mourning the death of his best friend Eddie, who died in a tragic bus crash. Eddie has left
Tristan his journal, in which they collected stories about African American folktales and West African mythology. After Tristan loses his first boxing match, he is sent to Alabama to live with his
367:, also in a starred review, said "this debut novel offers a richly realized world, a conversational, breezy style, and a satisfying conclusion that leaves room for sequels." Publishers Weekly, in another starred review, called it a "triumphant middle grade debut." In a review for
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deserves praise for the ways it pays respect to
African cultures, displaying their vitality and continuing relevance," complementing the book's diversity and background. The review also gave the book a four-star rating out of five. A review on
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said about the characterization, "Author Kwame Mbalia has created a highly likable main character in
Tristan, who's at first reluctant to be enmeshed in the magical battles but gradually accepts that his help is crucial to the cause" and that
266:. Tristan, Gum Baby, Ayanna, and Chestnutt set out to find Anansi's famed Story Box to draw him out and ask for help. Tristan also discovers that he is an Anansesem; when he tells stories, reality is affected to reenact his words.
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in Eddie's journal are real. Tristan and Gum Baby team up to escape the Bone Ships in the
Burning Sea and go to the island of MidPass. Tristan meets the MidFolk, including a girl named Ayanna, a rabbit named Chestnutt, and
243:. The people of Alke are being attacked by Fetterlings, or Iron Monsters, living chains that attempt to capture them. Brer Fox dies while fighting for the MidFolk to escape, and Eddie's journal is taken.
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adaptation of the book is set to be released on August 9, 2022. The art will be done by Robert
Venditti and Olivia Stephens, while Mbalia will remain the author. The book will consist of 128 pages.
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574:"Children's Book Review: Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky (Tristan Strong #1) by Kwame Mbalia. Disney-Hyperion/Riordan, $ 17.99 (496p) ISBN 978-1-368-03993-2"
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that made the
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Miss Rose and Miss Sarah. Tristan learns that when he punched the Bottle Tree, he opened a rip in Alke and released a
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On his first night in Alabama, Eddie's journal is stolen by a strange doll-like creature covered in sap named
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as one of The 25 Best Children's Books of 2019. In addition, the novel was a 2020
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strict grandparents for the summer and heal from the tragedy.
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The group goes to the Golden Crescent and frees the sky god
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2019 children's fantasy and mythology novel by Kwame Mbalia
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praised the character of Gum Baby and the humanization of
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TRISTAN STRONG PUNCHES A HOLE IN THE SKY | Kirkus Reviews
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The MidFolk go to the Thicket, a safe haven created by
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