Book Recommendation: Amari and the Night Brothers, by B.B. Alston
Amari and the Night Brothers is an exciting and engaging debut middle grade fantasy book from B.B. Alston. Amari Peters, the titular character, is a driven thirteen-year-old Black girl from Atlanta who’s been having trouble in school since her older brother went missing, presumed dead. But Amari knows her brother, Quinton, is still alive—and she’s going to find him. When she receives a package from him, Amari learns an entire world of magic exists. Quintin has given her an invitation to learn at the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs during the summer and explore “this world to the fullest.” Amari has different ideas; she’s going to be the one to find her brother.
I usually read multiple books at once, switching out between them every few chapters. Not with this book; I couldn’t focus on other books when I wanted to know What happens next? Amari and the Night Brothers is a great addition to the “magical school” genre. Amari is a headstrong, intelligent, and open-minded main character, and I enjoyed following along in her perspective as she falls into this new world.
B.B. Alston does a solid job at balancing out the many different influences and stressors that Amari faces, from her competing against “legacy kids” for a summer internship, to trying to balance new friendships, to searching for clues about her brother, to learning about her own abilities.
Amari and the Night Brothers is recommended for anyone who enjoys:
Underdog stories
Hidden magical worlds
Kids sleuthing for clues
Magical boarding schools
Strong sibling relationships
Black heroines proud of their heritage
Quick Facts:
Author: B.B. Alston
Publish Date: 2021
Publisher: Balzer + Bray (Harper Collins Imprint)
Sequels: Amari and the Great Game (2022)
Representation: Black MC and side characters, POC side characters, supporting single parents, loss of family members
Sexual Content: None
Content Warnings: Non-graphic violence, non-graphic death, terrorism, bullying, classism, racism, mentions of U.S. slavery
Official Synopsis:
Quinton Peters was the golden boy of the Rosewood low-income housing projects, receiving full scholarship offers to two different Ivy League schools. When he mysteriously goes missing, his little sister, 13-year-old Amari Peters, can’t understand why it’s not a bigger deal. Why isn’t his story all over the news? And why do the police automatically assume he was into something illegal?
Then Amari discovers a ticking briefcase in her brother’s old closet. A briefcase meant for her eyes only. There was far more to Quinton, it seems, than she ever knew. He’s left her a nomination for a summer tryout at the secretive Bureau of Supernatural Affairs. Amari is certain the answer to finding out what happened to him lies somewhere inside, if only she can get her head around the idea of mermaids, dwarves, yetis and magicians all being real things, something she has to instantly confront when she is given a weredragon as a roommate.
Amari must compete against some of the nation’s wealthiest kids—who’ve known about the supernatural world their whole lives and are able to easily answer questions like which two Great Beasts reside in the Atlantic Ocean and how old is Merlin? Just getting around the Bureau is a lesson alone for Amari with signs like ‘Department of Hidden Places this way, or is it?’ If that all wasn’t enough, every Bureau trainee has a talent enhanced to supernatural levels to help them do their jobs – but Amari is given an illegal ability. As if she needed something else to make her stand out.
With an evil magican threatening the whole supernatural world, and her own classmates thinking she is an enemy, Amari has never felt more alone. But if she doesn’t pass the three tryouts, she may never find out what happened to Quinton.