Fury of the Dragon Goddess. Chadda, Sarwat. Los Angeles : Disney Hyperion, 2023.
The Spirit Glass. Chokshi, Roshani. Los Angeles : Disney/Hyperion, 2023.
Most likely, your kids know all about Rick Riordan’s books (Percy Jackson series, The 39 Clues, Kane Chronicles, Magnus Chase and many more). He champions writers who use stories to share their cultural heritage. This fall, two books came out in his Rick Riordan Presents imprint, and both are fabulous fantasies that also teach readers about a cultural history different than their own.
This is the second in the Sik Aziz series by Sarwat Chadda. Chadda draws on Mesopotamian mythology, and her protagonist Sik is a Muslim who is immortal and is friends with the children of gods.
Sik and his friends find the tablet of destinies, and he uses it to bring his brother Mo back to life. But unintended consequences occur, and he’s changed the destinies of all people. It leads to the resurrection of Tiamat, the chaos dragon, by the god of insanity, Lugal.
Sik, Belet and Rabisu must find a way to send Tiamat back to where she came from, and fix everything before the world ends.
If you enjoy great adventure stories, Fury of the Dragon Goddess will more than fit the bill.
This standalone novel from Roshani Chokshi is a wonderful middle grade fantasy with Filipino mythology.
Corazon lives with her aunt Tina because her parents died several years ago. However, they visit her every Saturday for dinner because her mother fashioned a soul key years ago. Tina is a powerful babaylan, and tells Corazon she will train her when her magic awakes. Corazon plans on bringing her parents back as soon as she is as powerful as Tina.
One night, at the Midnight Bridge market, a vengeful spirit tricks Corazon, and she loses her spirit key. She must go on a quest to form a new key, with one of the ghost’s possessions, and she only has three days to do it before she loses the key forever. She doesn’t go alone, however. Her gecko/alligator (if only in his own mind) companion Saso is with her, and they meet a ghost along the way who wants to be a reporter in the afterlife and wants to come along to see the action. They have to visit several locations, using mirrors to access different worlds (and the mirrors? They talk behind your back).
This is a wonderful way to learn a little more about Filipino folklore. Saso steals the show time and again, leading me to laugh a lot at his antics and dialogue. Chokshi shares the story of the vengeful ghost as Corazon visits different gods to receive their blessings, creating some sympathy for her plight.
These two books are perfect for any kid (or adult). They have a good measure of adventure, emphasize the importance of friends and family, and are just scary enough to make for good reading this October!
Mary Beth Adams is the Community Engagement Librarian for Alamance County Public Libraries. She can be reached at madams@alamancelibraries.org or 336-570-6981.