Tristan Strong Destroys the World (A Tristan Strong Novel, Book 2)

Bestselling author Rick Riordan presents the second book in the New York Times best-selling Tristan Strong trilogy by Kwame Mbalia. Tristan Strong, just back from a victorious but exhausting adventure in Alke, the land of African American folk heroes and African gods, is suffering from PTSD. But there's no rest for the weary when his grandmother is abducted by a mysterious villain out for revenge. Tristan must return to Alke--and reunite with his loud-mouthed sidekick, Gum Baby--in order to rescue Nana and stop the culprit from creating further devastation. Anansi, now a "web developer" in Tristan's phone, is close at hand to offer advice, and several new folk heroes will aid Tristan in his quest, but he will only succeed if he can figure out a way to sew broken souls back together.

Content Tags:

Perfect for readers who want:

• Rick Riordan-esque action and adventure.
• Worlds filled with Black folklore come to life.
• Middle grade books dealing with overcoming grief and trauma in a realistic, healthy way.
• Kids teaming up to save the world through perseverance.
• Black male protagonist fighting to save his friends.
• A book that somehow manages to destroy your feels while making you laugh and come back for more.

Many thanks to Rick Riordan Presents and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. Quotes are taken from an unfinished version and may differ from the final product.

In case you’ve missed it, I’ve only spent the past year going on about how much I was looking forward to this book and couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. I’ve only mentioned it once or twice … a week … so you may have heard? Oh, good. Let’s move on, then.

Tristan Strong Destroys the World is a masterful sequel that picks up the comedy and adventure from the first book, yet packs a harder punch to the feels with its focus on trauma and healing. Also, there’s Gum Baby, who deserves her own shout-out, obviously.

I loved the first book so freaking much, so did the second book live up to the first? In a way, yes. In a way, no. This book is definitely darker than the first, but in a way that felt important and genuine. After all, Alke has suffered major trauma as a world and is still grieving. It’s only been a few months since the world was almost destroyed. This book felt deeper somehow, while still being funny and full of adventure and shenanigans.

This review will likely contain spoilers for book one, Tristan Punches A Hole in the Sky.

The whole gang is back for another adventure … but WAIT. THERE’S MORE.

More gang. More adventure. More danger. More shattered feels. Just MORE, okay?

The adventure in the first book felt fast-paced and very actiony to me, probably because it’s the first time I’m seeing this world and it’s wondrous. I mean, sure, there’s bad guys tormenting the citizens and trying to take over and everything, but it’s slightly overshadowed by the fact that John Henry actually exists, along with the other gods you meet along the way.

This book, though? The adventure felt darker, less focused on the wonder of the world and more on the cumulative trauma of the world. In a positive way, though, as people are trying to heal and move forward. It’s just easier said than done, obviously.

If you thought you knew Alke, though, prepare to broaden your horizons with some new locations and a few new faces.

I won’t say anything about either, except that if you thought the gods in book one felt just a teensy bit overwhelmingly male, you may be pleasantly surprised with some of the new gods. I absolutely loved the new additions, and as with the first book, it kept me guessing as to who (or what) would pop up next.

Whereas Tristan Strong Punches A Hole in the Sky was about overcoming grief, Tristan Destroys the World is about trauma (collective and otherwise) and how to heal and move forward.

Which is … hard. Especially considering it’s really only been a couple of months since Alke suffered the disaster in the first book. Lives were uprooted and thrown into chaos and uncertainty. Heck, lives were lost. That leaves a mark on a world and it’s citizens that doesn’t just get better overnight.

This is easily my favorite aspect of this book. There’s so much to love about this particular story, but I love the way Mbalia handles trauma—with a raw, delicate honesty that exposes all the cracks and flaws of a world that’s attempting to rebuild.

It’s not always pretty, but Mbalia doesn’t shy away from that. It’s hard work. It’s exhausting. Sometimes there’ll be steps forward, and sometimes there’ll be steps backward.

Perhaps the best thing about this scenario is the way it smacks Tristan in the face unexpectedly and forces him to realize that his actions have consequences.

Like I tell my offspring all the time … actions have consequences. Even accidental actions. Maybe especially them.

Did Tristan intend to hurt Alke? Of course not. Accidental mistakes still have consequences, though, and Tristan left Alke before seeing the real aftermath from the last book. As it turns out, a global war sort of wreaks havoc on a population. Surprise?! This feels like a real eye-opening moment for Tristan, and it’s a lot of emotions for a kid to deal with, but I loved the awareness it forced him to have about the greater world in general and think beyond himself.

The Big Bad in this is just *chef’s kiss*. Everything you could possibly want in a villain and then some.

They’re super dark, more so than the first book in my opinion, but in a way that … kind of makes sense? Mbalia makes it really easy to both root against them but also empathize with them. It’s such a weird feeling. No, I don’t agree with their actions, buuuut … is their grievance legitimate? Heck yes! Again, this goes back to the trauma all of Alke is dealing with. People deal with trauma in different ways, and sometimes not so healthy ways, so this really fit the overall narrative beautifully.

I liked Nana Strong in the first book, but whooo, I loved Nana Strong here.

Good news: even Papa Strong gets a bit of a revamp in book two. Oh my gosh, not gonna lie, I hated him in the first book and maaay have slightly rooted for him to fall into Alke and just be swallowed by a bone ship. Not a huge loss, right? Thankfully, both Tristan and Papa Strong seem to have grown (and grown together), and it was so nice to see. They’re not quite there yet, but there’s movement in the right direction.

Nana Strong, though … man, she steals the show.

Nana Strong is the epitome of all the things many of us think of when we think of our grandmothers: wisdom, elegance, a quiet sort of fierce strength, and somewhere buried under the surface, a whole host of secrets.

As the blurb says, Nana Strong ends up kidnapped, but at no point is she a victim, per se. The character is absolutely amazing and reminded me so much of my own grandmother (who passed two and a half years ago now) that it made my heart hurt. But, you know, in a good way.

This book, like the first, had the possibility of becoming really heavy and overwhelming, yet it manages to be funny and heartfelt and hopeful, despite the slightly darker content.

I mean, I think we can all agree by now that Mbalia is really good at humor. Gum Baby is a testament to that (and also a treasure, okay?!). He blends humor and heart so naturally that even as your feels hurt, you’re still laughing over some of the crazy antics the characters get up to. That’s not to say that it diminishes from the seriousness of the circumstances, because that’s not at all the case. There’s a time for trauma discussion and a time for laughter, and Mbalia strikes the perfect balance between the two.

Other Reviews:

• Megs Book Rack
• Lucy’s Kids Blog

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