Member Reviews

4 stars

I really liked this!
The story was enthralling and magical and mysterious and ugh so good.
This felt very young adult but somehow I think this will appeal everyone because the story was was interesting and the world building and atmosphere was amazing.
I do have to say I didn't like the narrator for this audiobook. Sometimes the way some words were said was confusing and that pulled me off the story but overall it was great.
I truly recommend this book because it was a delightful reading/listening experience.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this audiobook in exchange for an honest review

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This book was an extremely fun middle grade read. TJ Young is a very likeable main character whose struggles feel authentic and realistic. The story took a while to build up, but it did keep me hooked the entire time. The side characters each also had interesting character development, though they could have been more fleshed out. There were a lot of twists and turns, some were a little predictable but there were some that I didn't expect. My favourite aspects of this book are the mythology, world building and magic system. I had read one book inspired by the West African mythology before, but this one made the mythology and magic system really accessible and easy to understand. This audiobook was the best audiobook I have ever listened to. The narrator was amazing and the background noises really immersed you in the story. I'm looking forward to the next installment in this series.

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The production of this audiobook was top tier! The narration, pacing and sound effects all made the emotion and action of the plot shine through. For anyone looking for their next favourite mythological read: this audio is definitely the way to go!

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I enjoyed the narrator's telling of the story, however, did take some time to get into.
Thank you NetGalley, Bandele Books, Independent Books Publishers Association (IBPA), and Members’ Audiobooks for providing me the audiobook in exchange for an honest review and I am leave my review voluntarily.

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2/5 DNF this at 11%.

I just couldn't get into this audiobook but may try it again later because there were a lot of aspects I liked about it.

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This book is an enjoyable read filled with fantastical elements inspired from West African mythology. It was refreshing to read a fantasy book that was not based in an European setting. The book also features the African-American family and community bond. The protagonist's relationship with his parents and sister is wonderfully portrayed (though we are only "told" about him and his sister, I would have liked to see some flashbacks of his sister so her character and sibling bond with TJ seemed more believable). The book is set in a summer camp, which is very atmospheric and nostalgic, not to mention an apt read for the current time.

My biggest problem with this book is that it is very trope-y and predictable. I don't know if this was done consciously or not, but the book heavily draws from the Harry Potter and Percy Jackson series, both in character caricatures and plot development. TJ sees a female camper who is very skilled in their magic and is immediately smitten by her (Annabeth Chase from PJ?). TJ befriends a male camper who is unpopular and eats all the time (Ron Weasley from HP?). This "foodie" character is obviously fat and does nothing except eat, think about eating, and talk about eating (I don't think I have to explain why this is problematic). TJ is mocked/bullied by a rich popular guy who is mean to him for no reason except that TJ has some magical fame to his family name (Draco Malfoy from PJ?). I could have ignored these character similarities cause they have become a staple in most MG/YA fantasy books. But the "plot twist" or "villain reveal" is so obviously taken from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone! TJ hates a camp teacher (let's call him Mr. X) just because he is strict and we are made to believe that Mr. X is the one causing menace. I won't tell who the culprit ultimately is (cause spoilers), but if you have read Philosopher's Stone, you know. I'm giving this 3 stars cause I believe the series has a lot of potential, and I'd love to read about African mythology and Nigerian culture, if the author does not repeat these particularly popular tropes.

Audiobook: 5/5 for the narrator and production! There were amazing sound effects (crickets chirping, children chattering, airport announcements etc) that make you feel that you're living in the story. The narrator's voice and accents were engaging and definitely piqued by interest in the story (I am not Nigerian so I will not comment whether the accents were accurate or not).

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I received a free audiobook version of this work in exchange for an honest review, thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity.

First, the audiobook production was top notch. The narrator Nekia Renee did an excellent and engaging job, and the additional sound and musical effects did a great job enhancing the story experience. I probably would not have gotten through this book if it was not an audiobook; IMO there were too many things in the story that were too similar to other stories in the genre (honestly at times it felt like almost a fanfic adaptation), but the world building and the excellent audio presentation kept me going through to the end.

The world building and level of detail in the story is vivid and deep, with plenty of opportunity to have other stories in the expanded universe, so to speak.

The West African mythology and elements of culture were woven into the story expertly in an inviting way, with a very approachable narrative.

The premise and set up of the story was interesting, and will feel familiar and relevant to others in the genre (chosen one, magical school, adults being clueless); there were many story beats and tropes included that we’ve seen in other works like the Harry Potter and Percy Jackson series. I actually think I would’ve liked this story more if I had never read Harry Potter when I was younger.

I felt that the way the characters related and demonstrated emotion, particularly in processing grief, were authentic and realistic, as well as relevant to the plot. I liked the portrayal of friendship among the main characters; I like the inclusion of his family in the story, there’s a lot of positive things there.

I didn’t actually like the main character TJ very much. He was a nice guy, but the first 70% of the book there’s absolutely no character development and he’s very passive as someone who is supposed to be a hero. Time after time I got frustrated with his decisions or his lack of engagement in things that became important to his own journey. There was also quite a bit of fat phobic language that I found very distasteful in reference to TJ‘s friend Joshua. Hopefully in future works his character can grow up a bit and take more of an active role in solving his problems and not giving up easily or relying on others to do the work to save the day.

The pacing of the book was challenging, there was a lot of time spent building up to a massive powered fantasy climax and the ending was a bit predictable.

If you enjoyed the world, I think it would be worth checking out other stories that take place there. I believe the author does have at least one short story available on his own website. I might check out a sequel of this book just to see if there’s more character development for TJ. And to see this world hopefully grow into the uniqueness it seems capable of.

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Thank you, #netgalley for providing me with the audiobook

I had a blast!! super fun world building, great characters and the voice actor also did really great accents (which was so unexpected). really wish there was a series like this when i was in middle school!
the yoruba pantheon >

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thank you netgalley for providing me with the ARC for this book

after the mysterious death of TJ’s older sister, TJ comes into his powers unexpectedly and gets sent to a summer camp in louisiana for young people who also have powers.
this book explored a very fun journey through african-american culture, religions, folklore & mythology. it was a little bit of a slow start for me but after a few chapters i got hooked. i’m very excited to see where the author takes TJ next.

regarding the audio: it kind of echoed a bit but im not sure if that was a problem with my headphones or the actual book

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