Welcome Back, Booklovers! I read one of my most anticipated reads on 2021and I can see why this has all the hype. Amari and the Night Brothers is the Middle Grade fantasy to watch. And with the movie rights already snatched up by Universal Pictures back in 2019 and is being produced by Marsai Martin and Don Cheadle; you can expect and epic feature film in the future. This book was exactly what I needed to kick off 2021.
Amari and the Night Brothers kicks off with Amari Peters being in danger of losing her scholarship to an elite private school after a fight with the benefactor's kids at school. She already has it hard enough since her brother Quinton's disappearance. The police don't care and automatically assume he got into something illegal while the kids at her school assumer he's dead. But Amari knows her brother and she's determined to find out what happened to him. When she discovers a mysterious briefcase in his closet, she discovers he nominated her for a summer tryout at the secret Bureau of Supernatural Affairs. Not only does she discover an entire supernatural world within her own world but she encounters some of the world's most gifted children who have known about the existence of magic their entire lives. But doing so is key to discovering what happened to her brother.
One of the things I loved about this book was that the lead Amari is a young girl who from the projects which is not the norm in fantasy. She doesn't stray away from her neighborhood having it's problems but the book also doesn't condemn her neighborhood either as a place she needs to escape. And whether it's in her regular school life or at this special camp something she has to deal with is being judged based off where she comes from and how much money she has. And these kids at the bureau are a different breed than the rich kids from her middle school. And it doesn't shy away from truly portraying how it is to be the poor Black child amongst the sea of white kids from families with money. Even in this environment where she has powers greater than her peers she still deals with not being from a legacy family and being ostracized because of her magician status.
The world building in this story was very strong. It always felt like I as a reader was experiencing this summer program alongside Amari. And the writing didn't just tell me about the world it showed it as Amari explores the different departments, learns to wield her powers, and trains to become a junior agent within the Bureau.
I always look forward to friendships in MG fantasy and the friendships here were well written and fully realized. Amari and her roommate Elise bond over being outcasts and and work together to uncover the secrets behind Quinton's disappearance.
While I felt like this was a story that can be enjoyed across age groups it definitely catered to kids and the twists and turns will keep them engaged. Black kids in need of a story where they can see themselves in the protagonist will enjoy this. Especially the kids who come from tough backgrounds like Amari because of the message that you can be special no matter what obstacles you face. I really hope this story gets into the schools and libraries where those children reside and could use a bit of magic.
This was a strong start to what is sure to be an epic series. I thank Harpercollins for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Enjoyed the review. I've seen you hypeing this book on twitter, so I'm excited for my library to get a copy so I can give it a read. I'm seeing a "trend" (only a few books, but I could see it snowballing into a bigger thing) in YA of using magic systems as an allegory for Black youth feeling alienated in predominantly white organizations. It'll be interesting to see how that story is handled for a younger audience.
ReplyDelete