Real world got you down? B. B. Alston has the medicine you need — the Black girl magic in his new middle grade series starter, Amari and the Night Brothers. Right from the start, you’ll root for heroine Amari. Raised by a single mom of modest means, Amari attends a fancy prep school on scholarship. Along with trying to cope with the fact that her older brother Quinton is missing, Amari has to deal with constant bullying from the students of privilege. When Amari discovers a message from Quinton, she finds out the world is a whole lot more complicated than she thought. Magic, supernatural creatures, and aliens are all real — and they’ve been living among us all along!

Quinton had arranged a tryout for Amari at a top-secret summer camp at a place called the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs. Like Camp Half Blood of the Percy Jackson world, the Bureau is hidden in plain sight. It turns out that kids at this school have superpowers! And while they aren’t demigods, not all of them are completely human. For instance, Amari’s roommate Elsie is a weredragon. Elsie hasn’t yet figured out how to transfer and breathe fire, but because she’s different, the other kids didn’t want to room with her. But Amari knows what it’s like to be treated differently for things you can’t change, and the two outsiders become fast friends. It’s good she’ll have a friend, too, because even though she finds out she has powerful magic, Amari faces a new bias as insidious as the discrimination she already faced at school.

Happily, I can report that Amari and the Night Brothers is part of a planned trilogy, so more will be coming! Also happily, this book is a complete story in and of itself. There is no cliffhanger ending, only hints that more characters will join in on the action in the next installment.

Alston has written a superb fantasy that has deservedly earned four starred reviews and heaps of praise from fellow authors, including Angie Thomas, Nic Stone, and Soman Chainani. The novel has perfect pacing. You won’t be able to turn the pages fast enough as you follow Amari on her adventure. Amari’s newfound world and abilities will fill you with wonder — it’s really that fantastic. But Altson’s fantasy world never loses its grounding in reality. And that’s part of what makes this novel special. Amari faces prejudice and comes face to face with the disparities between her and those with privilege. Alston addresses these themes with sensitivity and finesse, weaving in the serious with the humorous, all while keeping the story’s rhythm flowing seamlessly.

As Amari battles bias and searches for her brother, she finds confidence in herself and learns to celebrate her uniqueness. And that self-love, added to her honesty, kindness, and bravery, will make Amari unstoppable!

Verdict: 5 of 5 Hearts: A Fast and Fun Fantasy Filled with Adventure, Intrigue, and Black Girl Magic!

All thirteen-year-old Amari Peters wants is to find her older brother who mysteriously vanished six months ago. Instead, she discovers a ticking briefcase in his closet that contains a nomination to try out for a summer camp at the secretive Bureau of Supernatural Affairs, where her brother apparently worked. Certain the Bureau has answers about her brother’s disappearance, Amari accepts…and is plunged headfirst into the realization that dwarves, yetis, mermaids, and magicians all exist. Competing against kids with much more money and knowledge about the supernatural world than she has and armed only with an illegal supernatural ability, Amari must tell truth from lies and friend from foe if she wants to pass the tryouts, find her brother, and save the supernatural world from an evil magician with a nefarious plan.

Adventurous and magical with a social justice bent, B.B. Alston’s phenomenal new addition to the middle grade genre is set to become the next big series. Amari is a fantastic heroine who has real struggles and doubts, and Alston does not shy away from presenting the prejudices Amari faces. Every choice she makes feels genuine, and I enjoyed exploring the Bureau and solving the mystery of her brother’s disappearance alongside her. The other characters are also very real and seemed to jump off the page and into my living room, specifically Amari’s roommate Elsie. The magic is inserted seamlessly into the story, and with all the surprising twists and turns, I was kept guessing until the very last page. I can’t wait to follow along with Amari’s future escapades in the forthcoming books in the series. Fans of magical middle-grade adventures will love this sensational story.

(Pine Reads Review would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing us with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change.)

Middle grade fantasy has many beloved characters and series. Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, and Artemis Fowl come to mind. But now there’s a new strong-willed protagonist and her name is Amari Peters. She’s a character that can proudly take her place next to the others. A heroine readers will adore.
The execs at Universal Pictures agree and have optioned the book for a future big screen adaptation.

Amari’s first person narration is heartfelt and honest. She knows that others look down on her for being a black girl from the poor neighborhood. Things don’t get any better when Amari arrives at the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs where she’s not accepted by the snooty legacy members. They’re angry that a person of her type and skills got a free ride to the summer experience. Luckily she finds friends in the endearing Elsie, and Dylan the son of a high level administrator.

The 33 chapters move the adventure along at a quick pace and the full-of-twists climatic ending will have you gasping at every turn. I love being surprised by a plot twist and this has some of the best in the closing chapters.

FIVE MORE THINGS TO LIKE ABOUT AMARI AND THE NIGHT BROTHERS
1. If Amari is chosen as a Junor Agent for the Bureau she will have inroads to finding her brother. The competitive levels were a fun and always surprising effort to succeed.
2. Elsie’s ability would have some interesting outcomes in today’s world. She sees color that gives away the hidden emotions of people.
3. This is a bit long for middle grade, but I really don’t see a scene that could be cut from this well plotted story.
4. Amari is a good kid with a few magical skills. You would want her as a friend in middle school instead of the way most treat her.
5. Anti-profiling messages are a bold theme throughout the book.

Amari and the Night Brothers by B. B. Alston is the first of a middle grade trilogy that introduces the magically talented Amari.
The story starts introducing Amari, a strong young girl that believes that her brother is still alive, even if other people are suggesting otherwise. When she receives a briefcase that nominates her for a tryout at the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs, a nomination that comes from her missing brother, Amari jumps in head first. She will do whatever it takes to find out about what happened to her brother.
Along the way she discovers the magical world that is hidden in plain sight around us and makes friends and enemies as she is revealed to be a magician, an illegal skill to possess. Amari is going to need all her strength, courage, and friends/allies she can get to come out on the other side of this.
****
I loved Amari. She’s tough and resilient. She has her doubts and fears but keeps pushing forward because finding out what happened to her brother is more important than anything to her. I loved all the little magical and supernatural elements dropped into the story. The names of the Night Brothers had me giggling and making connections to certain elements of the story and enjoying them even more.
The story is clever and fun and full of magic. I look forward to the rest of the books in this series.
***
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I was able to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

A great introduction to a fun and fascinating new series. Loved all the whimsical touches (although I sometimes wished they had been leaned into more) alongside the real world discussions of racism and stereotypes. Amari was a great, consistently written protagonist, sometimes uncertain or overwhelmed but still brave. I'm certainly interested in where the next books take her, and in reading about further developments with the characters and more about the magic system and the universe being built here.

Amari and The Night Brothers is exactly what I needed to start off the new year.

The story follows 13-year-old Amari and the mysterious disappearance of her older brother, Quinton. Although everyone has lost hope on whether he'll return, Amari hasn't. She believes that he's still alive and out there. One day, while trying to uncover the truth of her brother's whereabouts, she comes upon a ticking briefcase that reveals the truth about Quinton-- he's a well-renowned famous agent. Along with that, she comes across a nomination from Quentin to join a "unique" summer camp.

Enter the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs-- the place where Quinton works and the "unique" summer camp he nominated Amari for. The Bureau of Supernatural Affairs is to be considered as the link between the known world and what is hidden-- there are hybrids, weredragons, magicians, and so many more unique creatures. In order to find her brother, Amari soon then starts training to become a junior agent. But there's a twist! When we find out what her supernatural ability is, things take a sour turn. Her supernatural ability is frowned upon in the supernatural world. How can she ever find her brother when everyone is against her and what she can do? Luckily, she comes across some really great friends along the way who have her back and see her for who she really is.

Representation in middle grade fantasy is practically nonexistent so to see a young Black girl as our main heroine, I just loved it. This book will resonate with a lot of young and old readers, but most importantly, it's going to mean a lot to young Black kids. Despite the continuous racism, classism, profiling and bullying that Amari experiences throughout the story, that never deters her from striving for more and proving people wrong. She's so courageous. Definitely one of my favorite heroines that I've read about. Amari's proof that you are in no way, shape or form what others paint you out to be. You can be and do wonderful things out there, as long as you remain true to yourself. It's that hope and that joy that makes this story so successful. It's empowering and really pulls at your way to empathize.

It's also just the perfect book to allow yourself to get lost in. So fun, imaginative and a wild adventure to go on. I just wanted to be at the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs experiencing what Amari was experiencing. That last 20% of the book though.. had me on the edge of my seat. So many great twists and turns and a great setup to the sequel. I'm really sad that we'll have to wait quite some time for the next book but I also can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy of this one.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am still reeling from this book and CANNOT WAIT for book 2 to come out. Amari is one of my favorite characters in a long time! I love her voice, her courage, and how she is able to do the right thing even when it is hard. I recorded a flipgrid that you can view here: https://flipgrid.com/s/FZQBywHqJxzyPGUt.

Wow, wow, wow. I was immediately pulled in by the intriguing premise for Amari and the Night Brothers: about a girl who discovers a briefcase left by her missing big brother, and its contents leads her on a journey of discovery, a world of magic that has always co-existed with the mundane one. My curiosity was sufficiently piqued; sign me up any day for a contemporary fantasy.

And then, I read it. And good grief, this book is just so incredibly good. I was hopelessly glued to this book. If I had a pocket of free time, you would have found me reading Amari and the Night Brothers. I was blown away by how imaginative and fun this book was – and I genuinely believe that Amari and the Night Brothers should well and truly be the Next Big Thing.

Amari and the Night Brothers follows Amari, a young Black girl who discovers a ticking briefcase left by her missing brother – and learns that her brother was a famous agent working for the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs and that there is a magical world hiding before her very eyes. To find her brother, she enters the agent tryouts for the Bureau, and discovers that she possesses magic that is powerful and feared in the supernatural world.

Urban fantasy is one of my favourite genres. I love the idea that the world isn’t as mundane as it appears to be, that there’s magic and mystery and wonder beyond what we can see and understand. In this sense, Amari and the Night Brothers does urban fantasy brilliantly. One of the most compelling elements of this book was how fun and creative the hidden magical world was, a world that felt so much more exciting and wondrous than the one we live. I loved that Amari and the Night Brothers presented a world where the unexplained and mysterious can be explained by magic and supernatural forces. (A hurricane? It was actually a war between merpeople and ocean nymphs.)

I loved the idea of the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs - that there were different departments that worked together to keep the supernatural world hidden from non-magical humans. Each department had its quirks and its own personality too and, subtly, I liked that it reinforced the idea that there is a place and sense of belonging for everyone in this world, a place that would bring out your inner strengths and talents.

A fascinating plot point that I really enjoyed was the story’s take on ‘magicians’. Rather than the magic-casters that we know, magicians are people that align themselves with evil, greed, and power. I won’t delve to deeply into them, because I think this part of the story – and how their existence intertwines with Amari’s own story – is best discovered and learned as Amari does across the story, but I enjoyed the take on magicians and I enjoyed the message that, it doesn’t matter who or what you are, but doing what you feel is right and good is important.

Amari and the Night Brothers isn’t just an adventure into the story’s supernatural world. It’s also a character-driven story that follows Amari’s path of being a Junior Agent. The story is a blend of magical school and magical competition and it has the greatest elements of both: a place where young people can have a range of talents and powers (and isn’t it so much fun to see all the different magical abilities and their potential?) that they can hone and compete with each other. But that’s not all this story is about; it’s also about a young Black girl who saw the light and joy in her big brother and will do anything to find him again. Amari isn’t perfect either; she may have a short temper, but she’s also a genuinely likeable protagonist that readers will be cheering on from start to finish. Along this journey, Amari’s life and future will intertwine with new friends and enemies and discover that she possesses potential beyond what she ever imagined.

At the heart of this book, Amari and the Night Brothers is how Amari, and in extension, Black kids everywhere, are powerful and wonderful and hold so much potential. The story acknowledges the racism and oppression experienced by Black kids, but it’s also about how Amari is cognizant of the obstacles that she faces for being Black (and for something else I can’t say – you’ll have to read to find out!) but uses these experiences to challenge perceptions and prejudices. Moreover, I felt that this was done in a way that is empowering yet empathetic to Black kids, the kind of story that is understanding but encouraging and validating.

Amari and the Night Brothers has the power and magic to take the world by storm. I loved this immensely – I thought it was exciting, imaginative, fun, and so memorable. Filled with so many twists, turns, and so much magic, Amari and the Night Brothers will inspire and ignite the imaginations of young children everywhere – and I can absolutely see this book being ‘The Book’ that welcomes new readers to a world of stories and books.

B.B. Alston's Amari and the Night Brothers is a fascinating, wonder-filled, middle grade fiction novel. Quinton Peters is missing and no one has more hope to find him than his younger 13 year-old sister, Amari. Quinton leaves Amari a mysterious suitcase that introduces her to the supernatural world and to another side of her brother's life that she never knew existed. Amari struggles to fit in with kids at her private school and now must deal with adapting to training at a magical summer camp with kids that feel she doesn't belong there. Amari discovers she has a unique ability that makes others question her character and doubt her loyalty. Amari's determination to find her brother overshadows all the negativity thrown at her and provides the fuel she needs not to lose hope. But will it be enough to find her brother and the save the world too?

Such a fun, magical read!

It reminded me of Men in Black, but for kids, with the magical feeling of Harry Potter! It was so fun and I think it's set up perfectly for an amazing series.

Alston does a great job of seamlessly intertwining societal and cultural problems with the magical world of Amari. I think she is a character that so many kids will be able to relate to, and that's so important.

This is quite the fast paced journey that MG readers won't be able to put down from start to finish. By the end, they'll be wanting to join the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs! I can't wait to see what happens next.

This was an awesome little middle-grade supernatural fantasy--and the fact that our heroine is a black girl is even better. (As a librarian I can tell you representation in fantasy still has a long way to go).

Amari's brother has disappeared--and since she's from a neighborhood in which many young men find themselves joining gangs and breaking the law to survive, the police don't seem too interested in locating Quinton.

When Amari gets a strange message from her brother, her world is turned upside-down. Not only is there a world out there full of supernatural beings (both good and bad), but her brother was one of it's heroes. Amari decides to follow in his footsteps in the hopes she can find clues to his disappearance.

But fitting into a world she knows nothing about is just as difficult as fitting in at her private school. And things get more and more dangerous the deeper into the world she gets.

Middle grade fantasy is usually not detailed or in-depth enough for me, but this one was filled with so much originality and humor that I couldn't put it down. I'm not sure how many more books are on the way in the series, but I will definitely read them.

This was a fun and adventurous book with so much to love about it. My only comment would be that it was a bit slow to start; however, once the action sped up, I was hooked.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC of this book. Opinions are my own.
I am so grateful I got to read Amari and the Night Brothers before its release and will be one of many to welcome it warmly into the world of fantastic children's literature. Kids are in for such a treat! B.B. Alston has created a world that is reminiscent of Hogwarts, Camp Half-Blood, and Men in Black, but is also wholly unique and wonderful on its own merits. Amari is one of my favorite new fantasy characters - she immediately had her own voice in my head as she told her story, and I understood her struggles, her fears, her worries. The action begins right away and this book just dares its reader to put it down. While it is long, I read it in two sittings and it never felt long - I was too invested in learning more about this incredible supernatural world and Amari's precarious place in it.
Amari Peters lives on the wrong side of the tracks and has grown up in the shadow of her beloved brother's impressive accomplishments. She has never fit in as a scholarship student at her elite private school, and she misses her brother Quinton, who vanished six months ago. As her school year ends on a bad note, she receives a mysterious message from Quinton that rocks her world and lights a fire in her to take a chance, follow in his footsteps, and find her brother. Amari is introduced into a supernatural world that has many of the same problems as the outside world, and right away has to fight new prejudices. As she discovers her own inner strength and gifts, and seeks to solve the mystery of her brother's disappearance, the supernatural world is faced with a threat that could destroy everything. Ultimately, Amari must decide who she wants to be and who she can trust.
Readers will love Amari's story and will be begging for more!

The minute I saw this cover, I knew I was going to have to read this book! Amari and the Night Brothers is the book young me desperately needed, with a little Black girl not only wrestling with the reality of being Black but also getting to be the heroine and go on grand adventures. Choosing favorites is always hard for me, but I can definitely say this is one of my top reads for 2020, and I can’t recommend it enough!

Amari and the Night Brothers feels like a Men in Black-esque story for kids combined with a Harry Potter style magic school. The world is wondrous, the friends Amari meets are fun, and the adventure/mystery had me hooked!

I honestly don’t even think I can do this book justice in a review. It’s one of those that is so good and I enjoyed so much that there’s not much I can say other than read it! Trust me, the book speaks for itself.

My Thoughts:

- Welcome to the secret world of the Bureau, where nothing is quite as you might expect and the are surprises around every turn. I have to say that this is easily one of my favorite fantasy worlds now. It’s low fantasy, with a Men in Black style Bureau working behind the scenes in secret to keep everyone safe. Not from aliens, though, but from mythological fantasy creatures and magic. The Bureau is so freaking much fun! I won’t even tell you too much about it, because getting to discover all the different things is half the fun of it, and I loved every little delve deeper into the world the author gives us as the book unfolds. It both kept me guessing and also had me eager to learn more as I wondered what else was coming. The Bureau itself, as far as our main character Amari is concerned, is basically like a school, where new agents receive training. In fact, the lie she tells her mother to go is actually a learning summer camp, which is a pretty good metaphor for the Bureau. Except a summer camp filled with awesome that also might potentially get you killed at every turn, because … you know, magic. Always a down side with that type of stuff.

- Amari Peters is such a good protagonist. She’s relatable, determined, and also discovering this new world for the first time. I know I mentioned it in the opening, but can I just say how nice it is to have little Black girl protagonists?! These were ridiculously hard to find when I was middle grade age, to the point where I only remember having a couple, and my mother was excited about finding those. But seeing a little Black girl get to be the hero and have her own adventure just warms my heart, and I want to see more of this! Black girls can go on adventures and be heroes, too! Amari isn’t just Black for the fun of it, either. It’s not a throwaway decision that doesn’t come into play in the book. She faces racism and classism in her school, and the police refuse to take her brother’s disappearance seriously, assuming that he was obviously just a thug. This struggle is mirrored nicely in the fact that when she gets to the Bureau, Amari has a magical talent that’s illegal, and she’s constantly judged because of it, even though it’s not something she had a choice in, just the way she was born.

- The family and friendship bonds in this are just *chef’s kiss*. It’s a little complicated because the story takes place in two distinct worlds, and Amari has connections with each. Yet, neither gets left out. Amari and her mother are very close, especially after her brother’s disappearance, which left a bit of a hole in both of their lives. Amari has friends in her neighborhood, too, and I love the way her brother being gone has left a bit of a hole in her community that needs filling. At the Bureau, though, the new friends Amari makes are also super interesting, like Elsie the Weredragon (and can I just say that if I were in this book, I’d also like to be a Weredragon, please?!). Amari even manages to make friends in unlikely places, which is all the more interesting and complicates things just a teensy bit, but hey, we live for complications, don’t we?

- The mystery in this book is ridiculously high stakes and super fun and will keep you guessing until the very end! There were several times I thought I’d solved it, but nope, I was very wrong! See, Amari’s older brother disappeared, and no one seems to know what happened to him. But I think we can all agree that older brothers are important creatures, so Amari is determined to find her older brother and bring him safely home. Obviously, it’s not that simple. Of course not. Right from the start, I loved seeing Amari’s determination in this regard. I have a ton of siblings, and even though we’re not extremely close, I would move Earth itself to find them if something happened, and seeing strong sibling bonds is one of my favorite things in books. Their relationship is just beautiful, and it made it all the easier to root for Amari to succeed in her quest.

This was just as delightful as all the reviews I have read lead me to believe. Lots of action and a delightful new world filled with magic and wonderful characters.

Amari is a great character, full of spunk and determination. She has a wonderful relationship with her mom and brother which is always so nice to see in a middle grade book. Amari does have a bit of a temper, but many kids this age do, and she does seem capable of controlling it. She does take learning that she is a magician a little too easily, but she does have a sense of wonder about it as she learns to control it. She does manage to make a good friend in Elsie as well, and it was nice to watch their friendship develop over the course of the book.

The overall plot of the story was well done and nicely paced with action scenes through out the book. The world building was good, but could have been a bit stronger. We do run into some interesting creatures and there is some nice gadgetry thrown about. It is a bit of fantasy and science mixed nicely together. The adults that she interacts with the most in the story are also for the most part supportive of Amari.

My only disappointments with the story was that the Night Brothers just were not that scary or evil, which may have been the point. Magicians are feared/hated in this world, but Amari wants to change that opinion. I also figured out pretty quickly who the mysterious apprentice was that was terrorizing everyone. My last issue was that the whole confrontation between Amari, the Night Brothers and their apprentice was really rushed and not at all what I was expecting. I always have hope with ARCs that the minor rough patches get worked out in the final editing.

Overall, this is a nice start to a promising series, that I think most kids will enjoy. I think a lot of kids will be able to get behind Amari and will enjoy the world that is being created here.

If you're looking for your next magical fantasy with a strong female protagonist, check out Amari and the Night Brothers. Amari is a Black girl who lives in the projects, so when her older brother goes missing, most people assume he was involved in drugs or crime of some sort. But Amari knows better, and when she is whisked off to a super-secret "summer program," she discovers the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs and a magical world that coexists within our own. Amari meets magical creatures, discovers who she really is, and goes on an epic adventure to solve the mystery of her brother's disappearance. I fell in love with Amari and her strength and stubbornness and can't wait to continue with this series.

This book is a fun, creative, and lighthearted story about a girl named Amari whose brother Quinton goes missing. She receives clues and messages from him that take her on an exciting journey to an unfamiliar, magical world. Determined to find her brother, she soon discovers she has magical powers. When she learns that her brother is a famous secret agent, she joins the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs as a Junior Agent trainee, hoping to follow in her brother’s footsteps. My elementary aged kids liked this book a lot because of the interesting magical setting and characters. It was an easy read with exciting plot twists. We would recommend this book to anyone who likes books involving magic. We look forward to reading the next book in the trilogy!

This terrific magical fiction book features Amari, a girl who lives in an impoverished neighborhood but attends an elite private school because her older brother went there. Amari does well academically but the kids are mean to her and when she ends up in a fight on the last day of school, her scholarship seems in peril. But a strange present arrives and there's an invitation to an interview that turns out to be at a school for Supernatural Affairs. There's mystery and intrigue and lots of great magic. Kids are going to love this one!

I loved this book! Amari's courage and the way she realized that she was more than just a shadow of her brother was so well done. I loved everything about this book, and I felt extremely vindicated as a reader, having been suspicious of Dylan throughout. I'm excited to recommend this book to so many kids.

Amari's brother is missing, and everyone has given up hope that he's going to come back alive--everyone except Amari. And when a mysterious suitcase is delivered to her via supernatural courier and she is invited (by the dream-recording of her brother) to try out for a position in the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs, her hope soars. Amari is determined to claim her place in the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs as a junior agent and use her wits (and her newfound affinity for magic--questionable though those powers might be) to find and rescue her brother.

AMARI AND THE NIGHT BROTHERS was a fun, fast-paced read with loveable characters, and I already can't wait for the next installment in the series. The fantasy here is a sort of cross between superheroes, demigods, and wizards a la Harry Potter, and boy does it work. The world-building is so successful that I wish we had more of it! Amari's first (and best) friend Elsie (a fangirl, genius inventor, and were-dragon) is a more than competent guide to Amari's new world, and the scenes where Elsie walks Amari through the ins and outs of the supernatural world are a joy. The plot is fast-paced and thrilling, and even though the ending tied up all the loose ends from the first book, I'm still dying to know what happens next. Amari was a shining star in this book, and I'm crossing my fingers that readers will have the chance to see Amari grow and mature into a full agent at the BSA.