Thursday, July 14, 2022

Race to the Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

 Nizhoni is Navajo and goes to a charter school for indigeonous kids. Recently she has begun sensing when there are monsters nearby, but doesn't understand why or know how to make anyone believe her.  One day, one of the monsters, disguised as a handsome man in a suit, comes to her basketball game, and then to her home.  Her father thinks he is there to offer him a job in his fracking company, but Nizhoni soon discovers that his intentions are much more sinister. As she flees for her life, taking her brother and best friend with her, ancient Navajo spirits help her and lead her to the sprit realm where she must complete a quest in order to save the mortal world from being overrun by monsters.

Here is yet another in the Rick Riordan Presents imprint.  I liked this one.  It was a good mix of action and culture. All three of the main kid characters have interesting and likeable personalities. I enjoyed the references to the geography of the Colorado and New Mexico reseration lands. I especially enjoyed hearing the reader on the recorded book pronouce the difficult Navajo words. Once again I wonder how much Riordan edits or moderates the texts.  This book reads a lot like a Rick Riordan book.  I wonder if he does a heavy edit when needed to make books from new authors fit into his imprint.  I also wonder if there will be a sequel.  This book is written to stand alone with a satisfying ending, but I could imagine sequels.  (2020, 320 p.)

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