Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky

Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky is the first book in the Tristan Strong series by Kwame Mbaliia under the Rick Riordan Presents imprint, it focuses on West African and African American mythology and folklore.

Synopsis
''Pitched as an MG American Gods, the book stars a seventh-grade boy who accidentally creates a hole into the Midpass, a world where ancient African gods clash with gods of African-American legend. He must race to find Anansi, the Weaver, and repair the rip before the iron monsters wreaking havoc in the Midpass consume their world and ours.''

''Seventh grader Tristan Strong feels anything but strong ever since he failed to save his best friend when they were in a bus accident together. All he has left of Eddie is the journal his friend wrote stories in. Tristan is dreading the month he’s going to spend on his grandparents’ farm in Alabama, where he’s being sent to heal from the tragedy. But on his first night there, a sticky creature shows up in his bedroom and steals Eddie’s journal. Tristan chases after it–is that a doll?–and a tug-of-war ensues between them underneath a Bottle Tree. In a last attempt to wrestle the journal out of the creature’s hands, Tristan punches the tree, accidentally ripping open a chasm into the MidPass, a volatile place with a burning sea, haunted bone ships, and iron monsters that are hunting the inhabitants of this world. Tristan finds himself in the middle of a battle that has left black American gods John Henry and Brer Rabbit exhausted. In order to get back home, Tristan and these new allies will need to entice the god Anansi, the Weaver, to come out of hiding and seal the hole in the sky. But bartering with the trickster Anansi always comes at a price. Can Tristan save this world before he loses more of the things he loves?''

Development
According to Kwame Mbaliia, Tristan Strong deals with grief and loss in this book, both personal and cultural. On April 15th, Mbaliia revealed three items relevant to Tristan, a journal, a boxing glove, and sweet peaches.

Leaving Home and Heading South
Tristan Strong was punching a punching bag in his room in Chicago. Two weeks ago he lost his best friend, Eddie, in a bus accident and his mother gave him his journal. It was supposed to be for an oral presentation they were going to do but school ended early due to Eddie's death. The night before, he lost his first boxing match, his parents and paternal grandparents tried to cheer him up but were also disappointed, his father and grandfather were professional boxers. His mother came in and told him they're ready for him to go to their grandparents' farm in Alabama for a month. Tristan's grief counselor said it would good for him to get a change of scenery. He grabbed his duffel bag and Eddie's journal, it somehow glowed green but only he noticed it, and he never read it despite knowing that it contained fables he heard in his youth.

Tristan noticed some dark clouds in the distance of the summer sky, he did not like the car ride at all. Grandad was always thinking about work and getting his grandson to do it, he was constantly talking the whole ride while Nana was knitting. They were always arguing and laughing, Nana was singing when not talking. Tristan noticed a weird symbol on Eddie's journal after his death, Nana revealed that it is a web, an old African symbol for creativity and wisdom, after saying that Mr. Richardson, his counselor says he needs to find out what he'd going to do in life. Tristan finally decided to open the journal.

Visions and Trance
He saw a vision of two figures crouched near the base of a giant oak tree. They were John Henry and Brer Rabbit, and they were talking about doing something. Brer Rabbit said something to John Henry’s hammer, John pressed it against the roots of tree. A black hole appeared, John put a small unintelligible object into it after telling it to go and find something.

Tristan Strong woke up back in his grandparents' Cadillac, he wasn’t sure if that was if that was a dream. They were almost at the farm, Tristan spotted a stand of old and twisted trees. Nana explained they were bottle trees, slaves from Africa used them to capture and dispose evil spirits. When the reach the farm, Granddad had Tristan help him fix a fence while Nana made dinner. While running up the extra wire to the barn after Granddad left, Tristan arrived at the bottle tree. But upon hearing Nana's voice, he ran back to the farmhouse.

Tristan Punches the Hole and Falling to Alke
At bedtime, Tristan heard something falling by the window then looking for something. Upon turning on the flashlight, Tristan saw a doll baby made of molasses and wood, she was Gum Baby from the tales of Anansi! She got mad that Tristan won't talk back after getting offended by him, she made a obnoxious introduction and hated being shushed. Gum Baby tries to punch Tristan but it only tickled, yet she got stains on his bed. She explained she's here for a sign, she threw goop on Tristan, stole the backpack with Eddie’s journal, and left out the window! Tristan just sank to the floor, but he saw a trail that Gum Baby left and followed it, ignoring fictional warnings. When he got to the Bottle Tree forest, Tristan found Gum Baby and the backpack near a tree. She got furious and attacked after he called her a doll, they fought until Tristan used the backpack to punch one of the bottles on the tree. A hole appeared at the bottle of the tree and created a column of fire, Tristan Strong and Gum Baby plummeted in to save Eddie's journal.

When Tristan came to, a shadow from the bottle tree lit a lantern, they saved him after he saved them. Unfortunately, they wanted the book that Tristan didn't have, he said his name was Uncle C and left. Tristan fell into some sea with fire, Gum Baby was attached to the journal but couldn't swim. Tristan grabbed both but she told him "they" might hear them. Suddenly, a ship made out of bones appeared forcing Tristan to quickly swim toward a cloud of steam. Soon two more bone ships appeared, but then a whistle blew and a flying raft lowered a rope to them where they are greeted by a girl and a dozen cloaked figures.

Fighting the Fetterlings
The owner of a staff asked what Tristan Strong was doing in the Burning Sea, they were with a girl named Ayanna and several hooded figures. Ayanna claimed that Gum Baby was gone for a year instead of a few hours. As more bone ships arrive Ayanna cuts some weight lose and they escape. When they land and make their way to the Thicket, Ayanna asks Tristan to help carry some of the smaller ones and he freaks out when one of them is revealed to be a bipedal talking fox. When he calms down he helps Brer Fox pull the raft to shore and help the Midfolk get off. When Brer Fox asks where he came from, Tristan points at the hole in the sky and the fox tells him he must survive to get home, he said that he'd meet Brer Rabbit soon but Brer Bear was gone. Ayanna explains that they are on the island of MidPass just off the coast of Alke, a land where stories are real. Just then Brer Fox senses something.

They make their way to the Thicket when they are ambushed by fetterlings, sentient chain monsters with shackles for heads. They unleash a painful noise and Gum Baby is captured. Brer Fox sacrifices himself so the others can escape. Tristan sees Eddie’s journal glowing and he saves Gum Baby and picks up Tarrypin and carries them to the nearby bridge. As Tristan goes back to help he has a flashback of Eddie’s death and a fetterling grabs his wrist. He panics when the journal erupts in white light and a paper giant appears, after fixing its glasses, he realizes it's Eddie! The fetterling attack him and overpower Eddie before dragging him away. Tristan goes after it and fights off more of the chains to no avail and is found by the Midfolk soon after.

The Thicket and the Meeting
Tristan has a dream of Uncle C thanking him for the journal and wakes up a day later in a room mad out of intertwining roots. Gum Baby comes to him with Chestnutt, a young rabbit, and tells him to head to the meeting. He follows and Chestnutt explains how Brer Fox saved her from fetterlings and raised her. She takes him to a room filled with people and animals comforting one another and Chestnutt explains they are survivors of fetterling attacks. They move to a room and Chestnutt says that the folk characters he knows of in his world are gods in Alke before they are called in.

John Henry and two others come out and escort Tristan into the meeting room where he meet Brer Rabbit and Rose and Sarah. Tristan explains him skirmish with Gum Baby and the book. Brer Rabbit explains the missing year as differing time between worlds and goes off to ask about Eddie’s Journal and after Tristan describes it. He explains that they are the first stories given to Anansi by Nyame and demands the book. Tristan explains he lost it trying to save Brer Fox, Rose and Sarah criticize him and Gum Baby. When Tristan asks them to help him return home, Brer Rabbit accuses him of being a coward and a fake hero leaving others to clean up his mess. At that remark, Tristan snaps and screams at them that the journal they tried to steal from him is the only thing he has left to remind him of his best friend and that they could not imagine how he feels. Just then, Gum Baby calms him down and Tristan sees a group of butterflies reenacting his story, the doll calls him an Anansesem, a story teller gifted with the power of Anansi. They tell him to be careful and John Henry thanks Gum Baby before dismissing them. As they leave John Henry tells tristan something in his story does not add up and he will find it.

As they leave Gum Baby leads Tristan to the mess hall, but gets turned around as the tunnels changed in the past year. When they arrive he gets a bowl of vegetable stew and a roll and sits with a girl named Netta and her family. She points out that almost all the refugees are adults or young children with very few being adolescents and teenagers. He leaves not wanting them to find out he has responsible for the events of the past year. He curls up in the hall and dreams he is walking down a hall, seeing various prisoners including Brer Fox. He then meets up with Uncle C, who threatens to burn the journal and all his loved ones if Tristan does not bring him Anansi’s power. He is then blown away and hears Eddie telling him “You’re talking to the wrong one.”

Chapter list

 * 1) The Car Ride
 * 2) The Bottle Trees
 * 3) Gum Baby
 * 4) Fight in the Forest
 * 5) Haints and Bone Ships
 * 6) The Raft
 * 7) Iron Monsters 101
 * 8) Fetterlings
 * 9) The Paper Giant
 * 10) The Thicket
 * 11) The Gods of MidPass
 * 12) The Butterfly Whisperer
 * 13) Anansesem
 * 14) Growing Desperate
 * 15) Fuel for the Gods
 * 16) The Warren
 * 17) The Worst Plan Ever
 * 18) The Adinkra
 * 19) Attack!
 * 20) The Bossling
 * 21) Brand Flies
 * 22) Legend of the Bottle Rocket
 * 23) The Golden Crescent
 * 24) Nyame's Palace
 * 25) That Was No Statue
 * 26) Bronzey to the Rescue
 * 27) Nyame's Charm
 * 28) Anansi's Lair
 * 29) Rock Lasers
 * 30) Into Isihlangu
 * 31) The Elders
 * 32) Spirit of the Imbongi
 * 33) Abiyoyo
 * 34) High John
 * 35) A Different Perspective
 * 36) The Man of Fire and Smoke
 * 37) Missing Memories
 * 38) The Story Box
 * 39) Unwelcome Visitors
 * 40) Hullbeasts and Brand Files
 * 41) The Magic Ax
 * 42) Hoodoo and Confessions
 * 43) The Mmoatia Forest
 * 44) We're all Broke-Story Box, Too
 * 45) Flight of the Midfolk
 * 46) A Dangerous Bargain
 * 47) King Cotton
 * 48) Last Stop
 * 49) Tricking the Trickster
 * 50) Reveal
 * 51) Good-byes and New Lives

Characters

 * Tristan Strong
 * John Henry
 * Brer Rabbit
 * Anansi
 * Uncle C
 * Nyame
 * Gum Baby
 * Brer Fox
 * Tarrypin
 * Sis Crow
 * Mmoatia
 * Abiyoyo
 * High John
 * Walter Strong
 * Nana Strong
 * Alvin Strong
 * Mrs. Strong
 * Eddie
 * Mr. Richardson
 * Thandiwe
 * Shadow
 * Fetterlings