Race to the Sun

December 1, 2019

Gr 3-7-An ambitious attempt to introduce readers to Diné (Navajo) Holy People, including Changing/Spider Woman, Rock Crystal Boy, Hero Twins, and the Glittering World. . Adventurous seventh grader and New Mexico resident Nizhoni Begay, aka "monster slayer," has a younger brother, Mac, who also is supernaturally gifted, and a best friend named Davey who is Diné and African American. When Nizhoni's dad goes missing and leaves a cryptic note to "Run!," the trio embark on a dangerous rescue mission. This fantasy tale unfolds in a rapid series of short chapters, and the characters are believable. Their adventure is guided by a poem that directs them to collect various objects from Holy People. Each object is needed by Spider Woman to help the recue Nizhoni's father. The villain, Mr. Charles, is an Oklahoma fracking businessman (and secretly a shape-shifting monster) whose goal is to kill Nizhoni and Mac because of their powers. Woven into the story are Navajo words, cultural practices, and some general Indigenous themes. But there are missteps. The characters attend an Indian school and participate in an "ancestors club" to learn about other Indigenous cultures; Native American school curricula generally integrate cultural information into all of their courses. It is also stated that the Navajo elders are not passing down the stories as they once did, and that people are not interested in tradition. While the methods of transferring information from elders to younger generations have changed, the Navajo continue to have interest in passing on and preserving their culture and traditional stories. Sacred deities and practices are portrayed in a manner that runs counter to traditional Navajo tenets. VERDICT Adapting cultural ideas and information is never an easy task, even for someone who lives among the people she is writing about. However, the mistreatment of traditional Navajo practices and shaping of sacred entities into a fantasy narrative cheapens the cultural information presented; children's librarians could pass on this book and they would be doing their readers a service.-Naomi Caldwell, Alabama State University, Montgomery

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from November 15, 2019
A Diné teen teams up with her younger brother and her best friend to battle monsters threatening their world. After seventh grader Nizhoni Begay senses a monster lurking in the stands during her basketball game, she tells her younger brother, Mac. When the monster kidnaps her father as part of a multilayered plot to lure her brother--the only one who knows her monster-spotting abilities--into servitude, kill her, and destroy the world, Nizhoni seeks help from her biracial best friend, Davery, whose mother is African American, his father, Diné. Aided by Mr. Yazzie, a stuffed horned-toad toy that can talk, and a cast of characters from Diné culture, the three kids embark on an adventurous trek to free Dad and stop the monsters. But even with powers inherited from monster-slaying ancestors, assistance from Holy People, and weapons fashioned from the Sun, Nizhoni will need to believe in herself while sacrificing what's most important if she hopes to succeed. Fans of Hugo and Nebula winner Roanhorse (Ohkay Owingeh) will appreciate her fast-paced prose, page-turning chapter endings, and, most of all, strong female protagonist. By reimagining a traditional story in a contemporary context, populating it with faceted Native characters, and centering it on and around the Navajo Nation, Roanhorse shows that Native stories are active and alive. Native readers will see themselves as necessary heroes while readers of all walks will want to be their accomplices. (glossary of Navajo terms, author's note) (Fantasy. 8-12)

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November 4, 2019
In this fantasy inspired by Navajo legends, two siblings discover they’re the latest incarnations of the famed Hero Twins, just in time to combat a devious monster who plans to unleash his brethren upon the world. In Albuquerque, N.M., 12-year-old Nizhoni Begay can detect monsters disguised as regular people. And no one heeds her warnings, even when one monster—her father’s new boss, Mr. Charles, an oil executive at a company that “people are protesting for putting in that pipeline”—shows interest in her Navajo heritage. After Mr. Charles kidnaps her father, Nizhoni, along with her younger brother Marcus and her best friend Davery, journey across the American Southwest and into a spiritual realm to obtain the weapons needed to defeat Mr. Charles’s army of monsters. But for Nizhoni to follow in her long-vanished mother’s footsteps as a monster slayer, she must survive a grueling series of challenges. Roanhorse (the Sixth World series for adults), who is Ohkay Owingeh and African-American, draws on her husband’s heritage to reimagine Navajo stories and characters, delivering a fast-paced, exciting adventure. While the antagonists could stand further development, Nizhoni’s blend of snark, confidence, and humor proves as multifaceted as the satisfying tale’s focus on friendship, family, and cultural legacy. Ages 8–12. Agent: Sara Megibow, KT Literary.