I am so excited to review Amari and the Night Brothers from a parent’s perspective. This review includes a brief synopsis, a parents’ guide, what I liked about the book, and what I didn’t like about the book.
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Synopsis
Amari is a 12 year old girl from a modern-day, low-income neighborhood in Atlanta, GA. She lives with her single mom and older brother Quinton. That is, until Quinton vanishes without a trace after landing a mysterious job out of town.
Fueled by grief, loneliness, and depression, Amari begins to act out at her elite private school at which she is not accepted as an equal by her classmates because of her status as “scholarship kid.” Her acting out causes friction between Amari and her hardworking mother who just wants her kids to have more opportunities for a more successful life than she did.
After one such face-off, Amari receives an unexplained package from a strange visitor. Inside, she finds a message from her beloved brother inviting her to try out for a special “supernatural” summer training camp. Amari is shocked by the existence of magic but determined to discover the truth about why her brother went missing. Thus, Amari begins an adventure unlike anything she could have imagined.
Finding the supernatural world in most ways incredibly different than her real world, Amari is still not surprised when she is not accepted by fellow trainees. It’s like her school experience all over again. What’s worse, her magical gift – the talent enhanced to supernatural gift everyone receives at camp – is considered illegal in the supernatural world and sparks immediate distrust of Amari among both leaders and trainees. Despite constant discouragement, mean tricks, classified files, and terrible dangers, Amari believes only she can discover the truth behind her brother’s disappearance and bring him home.
What follows is an amazing story of courage, magic, loyalty, and true friendship.
Parents’ Guide
- Age Recommendation: read alone – 10-14, read aloud with parent – elementary and up
- Sexual References – None
- Depictions of Violence – Quite a bit of fantasy violence. Monsters are described. Supernatural battles ensue. Climax is intense. Clique-ish arguing, pranking, and bullying of the cliché school variety.
- Alcohol/Drug References – None
- Profanity/Crude Language – No profanity. Some name calling. Multiple uses of words like “stupid” and “dumb.” Amari mostly uses these words about herself in situations in which she feels insecure.
- Scary/Intense Scenes – Some characters use illusions to trick those coming against them. The illusions can be intense on occasion. The battle scenes are intense. Descriptions of the villainous characters could be scary for some kids.
What I liked about Amari and the Night Brothers
Amari’s love for her family and newfound friends is selfless. She is constantly willing to put herself at risk for the safety and well-being of her friends and family.
Themes such as standing up for what you believe in, being willing to do hard things, having loyalty to family and friends, and pushing through the doubts of others recur throughout the story. Many times, Amari faces discouragement from fellow students and teachers alike over doing what she believes is right. She shows courage and strength to fight for truth and conviction regardless of the opinions of others.
I loved the creativity of the writing. This book could easily have been just another middle-grade fantasy or Harry Potter spin-off. Instead, the author incorporated original humor, plays on words, real-life references, and unique characterizations. I alternated between laughing, crying, and sitting on the edge of my seat throughout the story.
What I didn’t like about Amari and the Night Brothers
A parent review of Amari and the Night Brothers would not be complete without including my dislikes. But there’s not much, honestly. I genuinely enjoyed this book, as did my crew of 1st-7th graders, with a 3 year old thrown in for good measure.
One thing, though, was Amari’s consistent self-degrading. She was constantly calling herself and her decisions “stupid” and “dumb.” In reality, we humans often think of ourselves, our decisions, and our actions in those terms. I believe the author’s goal is to make the character of Amari relatable to his young readers. But I feel that children’s literature should present and encourage positive thinking.
My kids have a tendency to mimic what they read and watch. I am often hearing words and seeing actions that I know have come from what they have taken in through literature and tv/movies. The real world is full of things that will cause them to self-doubt and think poorly of themselves. I want what they take in to be positive and uplifting.
However, by the end of the book, Amari does realize that she has been comparing herself to her own inflated view of her brother rather than reality. She discovers her own giftings and becomes more comfortable recognizing and acknowledging her own strengths.
Conclusion
I found out about this book through our literature and writing curriculum we are using in our homeschooling. (More to come on that in another post. For reviews of some of my favorite homeschool curriculum see the posts on The Good and the Beautiful, Real Science 4 Kids and Logic of English.)
As a life long collector of children’s literature, a literature teacher, and a writer myself, I have high standards for children’s books and books in general. Words have to flow, content has to be relatable, and the writing has to be original and creative. Amari and the Night Brothers by BB Alston ticks all of the boxes for me. I genuinely enjoyed the writing style as well as the story and content.
And we can’t forget to mention the hero of the story being both a female and person of color. My kids loved that and so did I. It’s a story that appeals to all genders and ethnicities while at the same time giving a voice to and a hero for children in underrepresented demographics.
My husband was home when I began reading, and he got so caught up in the story that he wanted me to wait to read more each day until he could listen too. As we got close to the end, we had a binge reading session. We stayed up a little past bedtime just so we could hear the end of the story! Needless to say, everyone in my family loved it, parents included. Book two is out now. It is just as good. Review of that one coming soon. We can’t wait for book three to come out in 2024!
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I hope this parent review of Amari and the Night Brothers has helped you in deciding whether the book is a good fit for your family. Feel free to check out some of my other reviews as well, such as The Silver Arrow. What other books would you like to see reviewed here? I’d love to hear your suggestions in the comments!
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