As an African American woman, I am ashamed to say I have not read all of our folktales. I enjoyed reading Kwame's first Tristen book and would recommend that you read it if you haven't already. However, to write a series you have to continue to pull in your audience old and new and I'm happy to say I love the way the author has done this within the story. First, as a mother of boys, my boys were hooked after the first few paragraphs; the action, the emotions, they could envision themselves in Tristen's shoes. This is the key to getting reluctant readers to get invested in reading. I loved seeing Tristen further grow and develop, especially in the area of confidence. Many of my students can relate to his lack of confidence in his abilities and can learn as he learns. I will definitely be creating thought-provoking questions for students to go with this read. Although I'm sure you have many books on your fall reads list, this is a MUST read and a great addition to any classroom library.

Thank you to the publishers for providing this book to me for free on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

While Tristan is making progress dealing with his friend Eddie's death and is enjoying being with his grandparents on their farm in Alabama, he is still reeling from his experiences traveling into the world of Alke and dealing with the forces of evil there. Being an Anansesem, he used the power of stories to get many things done, and now has a cell phone with the trickster god Anansi trapped in it that is a modern version of the Story Box. Being careful, however, he has buried the other artifacts that he brought back. After his grandfather arranges for him to spar with an up and coming boxer, Tristen starts to hear worried voices, and sees spirits in his grandparents' barn. He's even more worried when he finds out that John Henry's powers seem to be fading. He is just starting to get information from his grandmother, who appears to have some powers of her own when she tries to make a quilt to stop a horrible creature known as the Shambleman. The Shambleman is angry that Tristan destroyed Midpass, and kidnaps the grandmother to hurt Tristan. In order to go in search of the grandmother, Anansi has Tristan use an app on the Story Box Phone (SBP) to record a story and harness its power. This story summons not only Keelboat Annie but his friend Ayanna, who is doing a work study program with her. Some of Ayanna's colleagues got paired with a god or goddess in order to help with repairs to Alke. Gum Baby also reappears to help. Keelboat Annie thinks it best to head off to the Golden Crescent to try to find out more about the Shambleman and where he might have hidden Tristan's grandmother. Along the way, they realize that Mami Wata is also missing, and this is causing very big problems. Chestnutt the rabbit is investigating that, but Tristan adds it to his quest. When the Story Box Phone is damaged, Tristan also has to find someone to help him fix that. Their adventures put them in contact with boo hags, Ayanna's brother Junior, and other figures from both African and African American folktales. When they finally locate the Shambleman, they find that he is a figure from their past who is angry about Tristan's previous actions and is trying to further his own agenda. Even if Tristan manages to save Alke and make it back to his world in Alabama, will he be able to stop the Shambleman's plans for the future? (We'll need to read book three, which does not yet have a title, to find out!)

Strengths: Once again, Tristan's time with his grandparents in the real world is a great way to start the story, and finding out that his grandmother has some powers was fantastic. Having a relic of his trip, the SBP with Anansi in it, helps transition into Alke and the world of myths and legends. It's good to run into characters from the first book, but also meet new ones. The identity of the Shambleman was an interesting twist, and I tried not to ruin that. He ends up being a character that has suffered trauma that has informed his actions, which is something with which Tristan is able to sympathize. It's helpful that this has a similar format to a lot of the myth and folk tale based fantasies that have come out in the last ten years-- there is a quest, and a variety of figures are met. Some help, and some hinder the hero's progress. One of my favorite parts was the Diasporapp which Anasi has on the SBP and can offer information about stories that are similar because they originated in the same place. The inclusion of some information about slave history is good to see as well.

Weaknesses: It would be very helpful for my readers if there were notes of the various folk tale and mythological characters at the end of this book. It occurred to me that so many middle grade fantasy books are based on Anglo-Saxon or Greek mythology because they've been part of school curriculum for so long. Fifteen years ago, readers could easily slip into these stories because they were familiar with things like the Arthurian cycle. What we really need in the schools now is a more pancultural approach to folktales, myths and legends, and we need books like the National Geographic Mythology books on underrepresented cultures. We have plenty of Norse, Egyptian, Greek/Roman and Arabian books, but relatively few on various Native American, African, Indian, and other tales. While the 1999 Julius Lester Uncle Remus: The Complete Tales might help understand many of the tales alluded to in Tristan Strong, we could probably use another updated account of those as well.

What I really think: This series is definitely for heavy duty fantasy fans who can read Tolkien or Christopher Paolini without breaking a sweat. There is so much good information about various aspects of Black history and culture in these books that I selfishly wish they were a bit shorter so it would be easier to get more students to check them out.

I am a big fan of the Rick Riordan Presents books. Aru Shah and Tristan Strong are my personal favorite series from this so far.

This is a great follow up to Tristan Dtrong number 1. I appreciate how it shows that even though Tristan did some heroic things in book 1, he also did some harm. I like how his grandmother is tied in and am hoping for more back story on her in book 3. Gun Baby and Tristan’s bickering continues to provide comic relief. Appreciated how the villain of this one is shown as complex. Will be recommending and purchasing for sure.

I would love to see a graphic adaptation of this book. I could visualize as I was reading it that it would also make a great film, but only if they kept Tristan as the young, preteen hero that he is in the story, unsure, vulnerable and not always sure of what he is doing.
Tristan’s Nana has been kidnapped by the Shamble Man who has traveled from Alke into his world. Tristan must travel to Alke and with the help of his friends and a few American Folktale heroes rescue Nana before the Shamble Man destroys Alke and his world.
#TristanStrongDestroystheWorldATristanStrongNovelBook2 #NetGalley #ARC

Great follow-up to book 1. I honestly thought this book was stronger than book one because the reader was familiar with the characters, which was my struggle with the first book. Since I had not been familiar with the myths and folklore, it took me a while to begin to relate and empathize with the characters, by book two, I was invested and I jumped right in. The pacing was good and it ended with my wanting more.

Strong keeps punching! Page turning, awesome continuation to the Tristian Strong storyline. After Nana goes missing, Tristian returns to Alke to rescue her and discovers more trouble than he was originally expecting.

The storyline of each god and legend was powerful—each character plays a critical, purposeful role in the plot. This book “sews” the characters’ storylines together seamlessly as (most) everyone works together to save the world cause, well, Tristian.

Mbalia’s voice, sense of humor, and references to the world today kept me laughing throughout. Ready for Book #3, cause CLIFFHANGER! #GetBackUp #SaveTheWorld