Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not saying Maya will be your new middle grade heroine, but, actually, I'm saying it. This was a delightful and empowering read for all pre-teens!

I enjoyed this story and the approach. I really liked that Maya was told that saving the world wasn't her responsibility, I think that needs to be reminded every now and again for some kids. Great characters and descriptions.

This book is ADORABLE. The writing drew me in right away—light and easy to read. I could feel the love Maya had for her family and them for her, and her friends as well. All of the characters felt real and complicated. I loved Maya's voice, and I loved her coming into her strength. I loved the Comic-Con references and I love the idea of parallel universes and secrets in our world right under our noses. In this case, the Dark, which is like a flip turned upside-down version of our world.

I love when kids have powers, and I was thrilled when Maya got the staff. Look at her on the cover holding that thing! And I have a weakness for mysterious old ladies and there are two of them in this book.

I felt like the author got a lot of joy out of writing this book, and it shows in the words and the story. I'm very much looking forward to the next in the series!

Quests and adventures abound in Maya and the Rising Dark! From the very beginning, you can feel that the book is setting up something extremely fantastical and it does not disappoint. 12-year-old Maya is a great protagonist that readers are sure to enjoy and with the addition of magic, you definitely can't go wrong. I cannot wait to see where Maya's adventures will bring her next!

Twelve-year-old Maya is certain she is seeing things. It started with the dreams of a man with creamy pale skin and pale violet eyes, then one day she was in math class when all of the color drained out of the classroom for a moment, and then one day Maya's best friends Frankie and Eli are attacked by werehyenas and Maya knows for certain that something is up. What Maya discovers is crazier than even her favorite comic books -- it turns out that the West African folktales and stories that her papa has always told her are more than just stories. Maya's dad is really an orisha named Eleggua -- the most powerful deity and the guardian of the veil between our world and the dark. When he goes missing, the elders in Maya's South Side Chicago neighborhood finally come clean and reveal a big secret -- Maya, Frankie, and Eli are all godlings descended from orisha and it is up to them to restore order to the veil.

This is a rich fantasy novel steeped in West African folklore and grounded in present-day America by a likable and comic-book obsessed protagonist. As Maya, Frankie and Eli endeavor to travel into the dark, avoid the evil darkbringers, and save Eleggua their earnestness brings along a slew of adventures and mistakes made with the best adventures. Fans of Percy Jackson or Rick Riordan Presents books will love this fast-pace novel that centers Black characters in a welcome and refreshing way.

Feedback from a 13 year old daughter who is a frequent fantasy book reader. Ended up bailing on book halfway through, was too slow moving. Good message of finding courage from inside yourself.

As a result of my various committee appointments and commitments I am unable to disclose my personal thoughts on this title at this time. Please see my star rating for a general overview of how I felt about this title. Additionally, you may check my GoodReads for additional information on what thoughts I’m able to share publicly. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this and any other titles you are in charge of.

This cover is so fantastic! I love the great girl power image it evokes!! And then the pages inside provide an exciting story for late elementary students. South Side of Chicago, West African traditions, adventure, mythology - what's not to like? Strong appeal for fans of Percy Jackson books who want a female central character.

Maya and the Rising Dark, first in a new middle-grade series by Rena Barron (Kingdom of Souls, gives us Maya, a middle-grade student living on the South Side of Chicago, who starts noticing some odd things in her classroom and gym at her school. She and her friends Eli and Frankie also encounter the neighborhood's bullies, who just aren't acting like themselves. Soon enough they are caught in the dark with some pretty scary werehyenas and have to be rescued by... the twin old ladies who live down the block. Wait a minute, what?! Her papa has long been telling her stories about all kinds of strange creatures from the world of the Orishas. She thought they were just stories but now they are showing up in Chicago? How does her father know about these creatures and why is he away for work all the time?

Maya and the Rising Dark is a great fit for a child who's loved the Aru Shah series. Similar in vein, mixing action and humor, with a hidden world filled with Yoruban spirits, this is a story with a rich underpinning of African and Latin American magic, sure to delight middle-grade readers. I enjoyed the roles of friendship and community in this book. It takes a village to keep children safe, to rescue a father, and to defend the world.

The audiobook, narrated by Soneela Nankani, who narrates the Aru Shah books, is highly enjoyable and complete with amusing sound effects.


I received a digital review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

MAYA AND THE RISING DARK was a delight. I thoroughly enjoyed Maya and her friends, their fabulous adventure, and the wonderful world building.

Maya appears like any other young girl until she is the only one who sees weird things happening at school and around the neighbourhood. Things that remind her of the Orisha legends her dad had told her as well as her favourite comics. Obviously those could not be true. Or could they?

When her dad disappears she learns how true they are. With the help of her friends Frankie and Eli she embarks on a dangerous quest (I LOVE QUEST STORIES;)) to save him.

I loved Maya, Eli, and Frankie. Maya has kick-ass moves with a staff, Eli knows everything there is to know about weird occurrences, and Frankie is a science genius. Their care and love for each other shines across the pages as does their need to help and support each other. Maya is the lead character, but Eli and Frankie’s powers and observations are also essential for them to continue their quest.

The quest was filled with adventure, action, mysteries, and the kids learning more about their powers. The villain, the Lord of Shadows, was a great antagonist with powers not easy to overcome. The final battle had me on the edge of my seat and I wasn’t quite sure how things would end.

Rena Barron wrote a lovely Author’s note how Maya’s story was an opportunity for her to explore her West African ancestry. It really resonated and I look forward for many other stories by this wonderful author that allow me to learn more about her world through her eyes.

MAYA AND THE RISING DARK reminded me of how much I enjoy reading middle grade novels. If you are looking for a fast-paced adventure mixed with magical creatures and a young girl coming into her powers this is the book for you.

I am so glad this book did not disappoint me. I loved that the magic and folklore could be explained in some ways with science and that it was explained in a way that was easy to understand. Loved the anime/comic-con references. I will say that the ending felt too easy and a little flat, but after everything that lead up that point, it makes sense. It also seems to be setting up for more books which explains why it feels like there should be more. I don't mind or think that that's a dealbreaker since the book was such an engaging and interesting reading experience.

Maya and the Rising Dark is a perfect pick for fans of the Percy Jackson. What I particularly enjoyed about Maya's story was that it was really an adventure for the whole family - Maya's parents were open, loving, and involved in their child's new, magical world.

This book was fantastic. It was a perfect read for any one, especially younger kids, who love mythology and adventures. I love that it wasn't the same Greek Mythology rehashed, but rather a rich and interesting and new to me world of African mythology.

The characters were great. Maya was funny and fierce and totally relatable, and her friends were equally well written.

She is the type of hero all middle school kids want to be. I've already ordered multiple copies to share with my family and friends!

Maya and the Rising Dark is a fantastical adventure based in African Mythology. Maya has always loved her dad’s stories of the Orishas and other magical creatures, but she never thought for a minute that they might all be real. So, she’s in for a big surprise when the Lord of Shadows starts appearing in her dreams and hinting at her father’s true identity—he is the guardian of the veil, the only thing keeping the Darkbringers from overwhelming the world of light. Turns out, her whole neighborhood is a haven for magical mythological (or so she thought) beings. When Maya’s dad is kidnapped, she and her two best friends take it upon themselves to do something about it. They find themselves in an alternate dark world full of danger, and discover their own abilities just when they need them most! One of my favorite aspects of this book is the tight-knit community that Maya lives in—it’s a positive portrayal of Chicago neighborhoods that you don’t get often. This book will definitely appeal to fans of Riordan’s books, many of whom would probably be introduced to a mythology they didn’t know much about. Plus, the trio of heroes are easy to relate to. This is a super fun read for the middle grade crowd!

***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley for review purposes. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***

Maya finds that the world is not quite as she thought she knew, and the stories she’s been told are more than just stories. When her father disappears into the Dark, she and her friends are determined to save him.

This is an exciting fantasy with strong, caring characters. Looking forward to the next book!

a copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.


I’ve been looking forward to this book since it was announced waaaaay back last year. Patience may be a virtue, but it’s clearly not in my arsenal of tools, okay? So I was super excited to be able to read this eARC.

Maya and the Rising Dark is a middle grade fantasy adventure perfect for readers who want Rick Riordan-esque books with a Black twist. Complete with a Black female lead, and based on West African mythology, this book packs in friendship bonds, adventure, and some awesome staff + magic fight scenes.

Ultimately, this book delivered on the promise of adventure and fun, and I whizzed right through it. I loved that it plays with the God/Godling tropes that have become popular lately but with a unique spin on it. I thought the climax ended up being a little easy, but I have that problem a lot with middle grade books, so it’s probably just me, the silly thing I am.

My Thoughts:

- This world is based on West African mythology and the Orisha pantheon, and I love it! As diverse books sink their claws into the publishing world, I’ve been sitting here twiddling my thumbs just waiting for more books about Orisha and West African lore, and I am so here for these books! When I say this book brings West African mythology to life … I mean it. Literally. The Orisha exist as characters, and they are fabulous. Not all creatures in West African mythology are nice, though, and our intrepid little heroes run into plenty of those, too!

- This book is chock full of adventure and quests, which naturally test the mettle (and friendship) of Maya and her friends. Hint: being friends with someone on a big quest to save the world is hard. Also hard: trying not to root for this trio. They’re all at an age where friendships are hard in general, but it was refreshing to see them tackling the challenge together, even if they sometimes had disagreements and bumps in the road. The adventure itself takes us to new places, like the Dark world on the other side of the veil. The plot moved at a pretty good pace, slowing down sometimes but always keeping me engaged and wanting to find out what happens next.

- Maya’s weapon of choice is a staff, and the fight scenes include staff-wielding, magic-wielding, and just all-around awesomeness. First, can I just say how refreshing it is to see a character not using, like, a sword or a knife or something? I like shiny stabby things as much as the next person, but there’s something unique and satisfying about fighting with a staff. Then, when you add magic into the fight scenes? They’re just *chef’s kiss* Because the Orisha are characters in this book (and they all, of course, have powers), there’s a lot of dynamic, fun fight scenes that include some really impressive shows of power. I loved seeing the characters fighting together, especially since they all have different styles of fighting and different powers. I don’t want to say too much, but I’ll leave you with this: these were some of my favorite fight scenes I’ve read in a mid-grade book recently!

- The villain was defeated a tad easily, but I did so enjoy his villainy, and I’m not entirely convinced we’ve seen the last of him. At least, I sure hope we haven’t. You know when you stumble across a villain so bad that you can’t help but love him? Yup, this is it. More importantly, the villain totally has a justified grievance. My all-time favorite villains are ones that I can feel their anger and understand their justification, because they feel much more real and rounded, and that is definitely the case here. Also, the scenes about him just really gave me chills, in a good “I don’t wanna meet this guy in a dark alley” sort of a way. Everything you’d want in a villain, and I’m not entirely ready to give him up yet.

The next of my middle-grade Halloween reads was another book that has been getting a lot of attention in the middle-grade reading community. Maya and the Rising Dark by Rena Barron is based on West African mythology and the native religion of the Yoruba people.

Twelve-year-old Maya is an ordinary girl who attends middle school in Chicago and is obsessed with a comic book series starring Oya, a Wonder Woman style character rooted in the legends of the Orishas, spiritual beings who take on human form to guide and protect humanity. Maya’s Papa travels regularly for work and always returns bearing stories of the wondrous creatures he has seen and fought off in his travels; werehyenas, impundulu, and kishi among them. Maya has grown out of believing these tales until the day when time freezes and all the color briefly drains from the world. From that point on, she begins to see these magical and dangerous creatures herself as they break into her world through strange, otherworldly cracks that lead to a realm known as The Dark.

As the danger increases, Maya learns that almost no one in her South Side community is who she first thought, including her two best friends Frankie and Eli, and even her own parents. When her Papa is kidnapped and taken into The Dark by The Lord of Shadows who is hellbent on revenge for an ancient wrong, Maya and her friends realize they are the only ones who can rescue him and set off on an adventure of their own.

Maya and the Rising Dark is a stunning book that introduced me to a whole new mythological world I had never heard of before. The story reminded me in many ways of Rick Riordan’s tales, marrying a young, modern-day Chosen One plotline with traditional myths and religious beliefs, and there was also a touch of Neil Gaiman’s American Gods – although naturally written in a far more young-reader friendly tone! Maya is a wonderful character who I instantly rooted for and her personal journey didn’t feel cliched the way many Chosen One narratives can.

I wished I had known going into this story that it was the first in a series as that would have slightly altered my perception of the plotting, however, on discovering this near the end, I was delighted to know there will be more from this series; the sequel – Maya and the Return of the Godlings – will be released in June 2021. I hope we will learn more about the various orisha characters and their communities across the globe and I’m curious to see how the story continues and whether Maya and her friends can prevent an all-out war between our world and The Dark.

So if you were living in a family of guardians of the veil, how would you want to find out? Would it be sitting in math class when your teacher seems to be paused in time? Is it if a demonic shadow lord shows up in your dreams and seems to suck all the color from the world? Would a pack of were-hyenas attack you and your bestie as you walk your neighborhood on the south side of Chicago? NO? Neither did Maya, but that's exactly the way she found out she was daughter to guardian of the veil. And the color sucking guy? He's Papa's arch nemesis and he's out to destroy all that Papa protects. Quite a lot to take, especially when you're 12.

Barron's adventure is action from the jump as Maya and friends, Frankie and Eli, find themselves in scrape after scrape with all these beings Maya grew up hearing about in her Papa's "fairy tales". Maya and her friends have to discover their own gifts in order to help the ancient powers that have long looked after human kind, after Papa is taken into the Dark.

As a mother, I love the strong female characters presented in the story. As a teacher, I love that my students will be able to see themselves in these characters. As a human, I love that Barron has shared her gift with the world.

Loved, loved, loved, Maya and the Rising Dark!
It's an incredible start to a fantasy adventure that fans of A Wrinkle in Time, Percy Jackson, and the original Oz adventures will adore.
The action, the lore, Maya herself, her friends & family- all the elements are perfection!