Status
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Description
Fantasy. African American Fiction. Juvenile Fiction. Juvenile Literature. HTML: New York Times bestseller! Artemis Fowl meets Men in Black in this exhilarating debut middle grade fantasy, the first in a trilogy filled with #blackgirlmagic. Perfect for fans of Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, the Percy Jackson series, and Nevermoor. Amari Peters has never stopped believing her missing brother, Quinton, is alive. Not even when the police told her otherwise, or when she got in trouble for standing up to bullies who said he was gone for good. So when she finds a ticking briefcase in his closet, containing a nomination for a summer tryout at the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs, she's certain the secretive organization holds the key to locating Quinton�??if only she can wrap her head around the idea of magicians, fairies, aliens, and other supernatural creatures all being real. Now she must compete for a spot against kids who've known about magic their whole lives. No matter how hard she tries, Amari can't seem to escape their intense doubt and scrutiny�??especially once her supernaturally enhanced talent is deemed "illegal." With an evil magician threatening the supernatural world, and her own classmates thinking she's an enemy, Amari has never felt more alone. But if she doesn't stick it out and pass the tryouts, she may never find out what happened to Quinton. Plus don't miss the thrilling sequel, Amari and the Great Game!… (more)
User reviews
---
WHAT'S AMARI AND THE NIGHT BROTHERS ABOUT?
Amari is a thirteen-year-old girl from Atlanta's inner-city, attending a private school on scholarship, and is in trouble when we meet her. She's been antagonized (probably bullied, honestly) by some
While reeling from this, Amari receives a delivery from her brother—cutting the details, it's an invitation to the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs. The invitation opens her eyes (literally) to the hidden magickal world around her. She can join the Bureau via a summer program (as her brother, Quinton, did) and if she passes some tests, she can become a junior member. She sees this as her best/only chance to find out what happened to Quinton—and hopefully, find him alive.
But also, it's magick. How could she not want to be part of it?
One of the first steps involves finding her secret talent—where she learns that she has rare and illegal abilities. Determined to stay in the Bureau to find Quinton—and to show that just because she's born with abilities that remind everyone of the worst people in the supernatural world's history, it doesn't mean she'll be as evil.
It's hard to make friends—hard not to be ostracized by everyone—because of her abilities, and she faces outright prejudice. But she does make an ally or two among the other supernatural youths, and a few among the adults overseeing the program*. Not only does Amari work to pass her tests to remain in the Bureau, she and her allies look into Quinton's disappearance.
* I really don't have the time to get into it, but I really liked the adults in this book (with the exception of two that you're clearly not supposed to like)
THE CLINCHER
There are many reasons to read this, many reasons you'll enjoy it. More than I have time to enumerate, more than you want to spend time reading. So I'll just give you one word that should convince you: weredragon.
Were...@#$%&!...dragon.
I love this idea. I don't know why we don't have a half-dozen series about them in UF. Elsie, the weredragon in question, would be a character I love no matter her special ability/species/whatever. She's a fun, vibrant, supportive, smart character, and combining those qualities with the idea of a human shifting into a dragon? You've got a fan in me.
THE INEVITABLE COMPARISONS
It's impossible to read this book and not think of a certain other MG series that rhymes with Larry Cotter. I think Amari and the Night Brothers comes off pretty well in such a comparison—I'm not saying it's superior (or inferior), but it holds its own.
But honestly? I think this is closer to a Percy Jackson kind of thing (just without the mythological basis), and Alston's style and voice are closer to Riordan's.
I'd also throw in a comparison to Will Hill's Department 19 books, but few of my readers will recognize it—and it's for an older audience and is more bloody. But it's one of those things that keeps coming to mind as I read Amari's adventure.
I'm not suggesting that Alston's just giving us an "inner city" version of Percy Jackson, etc. There are just things about Amari and the Night Brothers that remind me of the others, (the way that the Iron Druid Chronicles reminds readers of The Dresden Files, for example). The novel's themes and particulars of the fantasy worlds will vary, but the overall feel and style of the novel will invite comparison to Barry Totter, Percy, and similar works.
THE REAL WORLD
In the background of all the fantastic things going on in Amari's life—all the unbelievable things she's being introduced to, the incredible people and creatures she's encountering—there's the real world, and not an easy part of it. She lives in the inner city of Georgia with her mother working horrible shifts at a local hospital struggling to make ends meet. Her father has abandoned the family.
The police assume her brother's disappearance has something to do with him being a criminal—he's not missing, he's off doing something he doesn't want his mother to know about. Because that's what young men in this neighborhood do. As infuriating as that prejudice expressed is, there's someone in the neighborhood who is falling into that lifestyle. Quinton had been tutoring him, but now he has no one helping him—but Amari tries once she realizes what's going on with Jayden. This is a storyline that we follow throughout the book, and it might be the most important and rewarding one.
Both in Amari's school and even at the Bureau, she has to deal with privilege—people who were born into the right families, people who aren't like her. Because of things she has no control over, no input into, simply accident of birth, there are those who don't want her in the Bureau, don't want her pursuing her goals—but she doesn't back down. Never fear, the book doesn't preach, it doesn't moralize. It simply shows the challenges Amari has to deal with—and the challenges so many others don't—and lets the reader draw their own conclusions.
GRIT AND SMARTS
Amari is practically the embodiment of Angela Duckworth's concept of grit. I made a few notes like that while reading, making Amari the kind of protagonist you can really get behind.
Duckworth's website defines grit as:
Grit is passion and perseverance for long-term goals...
Grit isn’t talent. Grit isn’t luck. Grit isn’t how intensely, for the moment, you want something.
Instead, grit is about having what some researchers call an”ultimate concern”–a goal you care about so much that it organizes and gives meaning to almost everything you do. And grit is holding steadfast to that goal. Even when you fall down. Even when you screw up. Even when progress toward that goal is halting or slow.
Talent and luck matter to success. But talent and luck are no guarantee of grit. And in the very long run, I think grit may matter as least as much, if not more.
Replace the word "talent" above with "magick" and you've got Amari.
The book is also a celebration of thinking. Quinton, Elsie (the weredragon), and Amari are smart. They're bookish. They're problem solvers. Sure Amari has magical abilities, but before she uses magic, she thinks through a situation and addresses it with her mind. Amari and Elsie study, they plan. There's one point where Amari remembers the book and page number where she learned a fact that proved vital to one challenge. Her remembering that page number just made me happy.
Elsie's a tinkerer, even before she gets her magical enhancement, she's inventing things, making things. Amari talks about how many things are in the library that she wants to read about, learn about that have nothing to do with her goals. Give me characters like this any day.
SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT AMARI AND THE NIGHT BROTHERS?
This was just so much fun. Even when things are looking dire for poor Amari (or anyone else), there is an ineffable sense of awe and hope to the book. That just magnified all the good from above (and helped me brush off the couple of minor reservations I had).
Is this one to give to the MG reader in your life? Yes. Is this one to read yourself if you like the occasional (or not-so-occasional) MG novel? Absolutely. I'm already planning on getting the sequels, and expect just about everyone who reads this novel will too.
Book source ~ Tour
13-year-old Amari Peters has an older genius brother, Quinton, who goes missing. Police aren’t trying too hard to find him, and six months later Amari discovers a ticking briefcase in his closet. When Amari opens it, everything she thought about the world changes and now she
I’m not usually a fan of saying, “If you like X book then you will like this one.” But I’m going to say it now. If you like Harry Potter then you will like Amari and the Night Brothers. They are very similar and yet very different, but they both involve magic and a whole other world than the mundane. There’s also a scary villain and his followers (not quite as scary, but definitely thorns in the sides of the good guys), but I’ll let you read about him and them.
I love Amari. She’s smart, independent, and plucky as hell. She’s been living in her brother’s shadow, but really it’s all in her head because she’s pretty clever on her own right. However, when you have talented older siblings it’s hard to see your own strengths. And she has plenty of those. She’s also in for a surprise when she joins the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs. Ok, she’s in for MANY surprises when she goes there, but one in particular is an albatross around her neck. She needs to study hard and pass the three tryouts because she will never have a better opportunity to find her brother. Making friends and enemies, Amari navigates the treacherous waters of the BSA with will, skill, and sometimes just by the seat of her pants. But will any of this help her find her beloved brother? You’ll have to read to find out and I highly recommend that you do! Amari and the Night Brothers will sweep you into a magical world that’s not always as fun or cool as you might think. Fast-moving with characters you’ll love or love to hate this is one Middle-Grade Fantasy intertwined with a Mystery you won’t want to miss!
Sounds familiar?
Amari and the Night Brothers reminds me of the first book in the Magisterium series, The Iron Trial, the first book of the Nevermoor series, The Trials of Morrigan Crow and, of
I guessed the outcome waaay before the conclusion, but enjoyed the journey. First in a series: looking forward to the expansion of this world in the next volume.
But the "Irish" accent assigned to Agent Fiona, which consisted of substituting "ye" for "you" while ignoring
Also, in multiple conversations characters become talking heads as there is no body language or action to ground the speaker; it was most noticeable during a scene where one character was literally a disembodied head.
Overall though, fairly awesome and highly recommended.
The world building was amazing. There was so much detail interwoven with myths and legends which swept me away and the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs felt like a real place. As for the twist at the end - I did not see that coming at all! It was quite a shock but I am looking forward to the next instalment.
"Amari and the Night Brothers" has been likened to the "Harry Potter" series by some readers, however, I have only read the first half of book one as Harry never grabbed my attention. This novel, in comparison, had me from the start so, for me personally, I thought it was a better read than "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone". Congratulations Ms Alston on a wonderful debut.
Amari's brother disappeared. Amari is determined to find him and prove he's still alive. Because they are poor and live in a bad part of town, the police assume Quinton was into selling drugs or something illegal like that and had to leave town or was killed.
Amari's life changes. Her mother believes that Amari (and Quinton--back when he did this) is going to a summer camp. It's really a place to learn about the supernatural world and discover where you want to work within it. There are jobs filing papers, keeping track of the unknown, being an agent who fights evil, etc. There are many departments. In this "summer camp," Amari must choose where she want to work and then pass exams/challenges in hopes of being what she wants. Amari chooses Agent, the hardest, most difficult job. She wants to fight the bad guys. Someone/something has Quinton and she wants to investigate and free him. She finds a good friend with her roommate, who is a dragon. How cool is that?! She also finds a friend in one of the most well-established families who chooses to help has as well.
As the novel progresses, you'll meet all sorts of creatures and supernatural departments. Amari will compete against kids who have known about the supernatural world their whole lives. She also has to investigate the disappearance of her brother, so she has a full and challenging plate. There's one surprise for Amari and the entire supernatural world that changes everything. Amari must prove herself to everyone even more now.
I found the novel to be similar in some ways to the plot devices in Harry Potter. I actually read it all in about two days and really enjoyed reading it. There will be more books coming in the series, but this novel does end. There is no cliff hanger, which is nice. Give it a try!
(btw, the ending genuinely caught me off guard, so, well done ^_^)