Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky facts for kids

Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky is the debut novel of Kwame Mbalia. Published in 2019 by "Rick Riordan Presents", the middle grade novel is focused on African American folktales and West African mythology. The story follows teenager Tristan Strong, who is often urged to be a boxer by his family. After his friend Eddie's death, Tristan goes to live with his grandparents on their farm to deal with his anxiety, bringing only a small amount of luggage and Eddie's old journal.

Like many of the other works in the "Rick Riordan Presents" imprint, the book, which is the first in Mbalia's Tristan Strong series, has been praised for its diverse representation of characters and mythological deities, as well as its plot and character development. A short story by Hernandez about the Sal and Gabi characters will be featured in the upcoming anthology book, The Cursed Carnival and Other Calamities.

Synopsis

Tristan Strong is a seventh grade boy, forced into boxing by his parents, mourning the death of his best friend Eddie, who died in a terrible bus crash. Eddie has left Tristan his journal, but survivor's guilt stops Tristan from reading it. Tristan is sent south, to Alabama, to heal from the tragedy and live with his grandparents, one of which is very strict and makes him work on the farm. On his first night there, Eddie's journal is stolen by a strange doll-like creature, revealed to be a magic creature covered in sap named Gum Baby. A chase ensues, and in an effort get the journal back, Tristan opens a portal to a parallel world, Alke, in the Midpass, where his grandmother's stories about mythology and folktales suddenly become very real. Tristan finds himself in the Bottle Tree Forest, a haunted forest Tristan's nana forbid him to go in, and soon falls into the sea below, where he escapes, meeting Ayanna and Gum Baby and Chestnutt, as well as the deity Br'er Rabbit, who dies in the fight and learning that he caused a rip to open up in MidPass, and that he must save it with the help of Anansi, an African deity, but loses Eddie's journal once more and demands that he find it with the help of his new friends. After learning that the only way to repair the hole is with the help of the character Anansi, so they set out to steal his famed Story Box to draw him out and ask for help.

They travel the whole of Alke, seeing the divide between the Alkeans and Midfolk, and how the Fetterlings, or Iron Monsters, as the deities call them so as not to risk saying their name, are attacking both worlds. When the arrive as Anansi's Palace for the Story Box, they realizes the trickster god and the sky god Nyame, another deity, have been trying to come up with ways to defeat the Fetterlings. They travel to the vertical city of Isihlangu, where Tristan tells a power story for the council of the city and summons the Hull Beast, leader of the Fetterlings, who brings his Brand Flies to attack. They escape with resident Thandiwe, but Chestnutt is hurt and Ayanna is critically injured. To heal her, they are met by High John the Conqueror, whose magic is not powerful enough, and then suggests they travel to the Golden Crescent, where Anansi resides, to help her. They find the Golden Crescent having been taking by the Fetterlings, Hullbeasts, and Brand Flies, but after defeating the creatures, Tristan must face the man who sent them, who calls himself Uncle Cotton. Cotton has Eddie's journal, so Tristan makes a deal with him: the Story Box for the journal. Tristan tricks Cotton, though, dispelling him for a long time. However, the box is broken in the process, and he must use his power as an Anansesem, a storyteller, to rebuild it with the help of Nyame. Tristan heals Ayanna, and finds that MidPass has been saved, and many of those—including Br'er Rabbit—who had gone missing reappear and are saved; however Tristan deduces that Br'er Rabbit is really Anansi in the disguise. Nyame, High Jonn, and John Henry help him trap Anansi in a cell phone, after he repairs the rift in the sky. Tristan returns to his farm in Alabama, promising to return one day soon.

Sequels

The sequel to Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, Tristan Strong Destroys the World, was published in October 2020, and continues Tristan's adventure. A third installation in the series has been announced. It remained untitled, until February 2021, when it was named Tristan Strong Keeps Punching. It will be released on October 5, 2021.

Adaptation

A graphic novel adaptation of the book is set to be released on May 3, 2022. The art will be done by Robert Venditti and Olivia Stephens, while Mbalia will remain the author. The book will consist of 128 pages.