Kwame Crashes the Underworld

by Craig Kofi Farmer Narrated by Joshua Quinn

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Kwame didn't expect to go on a death-defying journey with the grandmother he isn't ready to lose, but that's not even the hardest part. This is a rip-roaring adventure detailing bravery of all types.

Discover a stunning middle grade fantasy about a boy hurled into the Ghanaian underworld to help his grandmother save humanity, perfect for fans of Tristan Strong and Amari and the Night Brothers.

Twelve-year-old Kwame Powell isn't ready to deal with losing his grandmother, even as he and his family head to Ghana for her celebration of life.

He's definitely not ready when he's sucked into a magical whirlpool that leads straight to Asamando, the Ghanaian underworld. There, he comes face to face with his grandmother, who is very much alive, and somehow still...a kid? Together with his best friend, Autumn, and a talkative aboatia named Woo, Kwame must battle angry nature gods, and stop the underworld from destroying the land of the living.

But there's an even bigger problem: Only living souls can leave Asamando. In order to save the mortal world and return home, Kwame will need to find the courage to do the bravest thing of all -- learn how to say goodbye.


***

"Brimming with laughter, joy, and beautiful messages about grief, hope, lost loved ones, identity, and the ancestors, Kwame Crashes the Underworld rattles the spirit." -Dhonielle Clayton, New York Times-bestselling author of The Marvellers and The Memory Thieves

“I wish this book had existed when I was a child. I dare readers not to let Kwame Powell into their hearts.” -Roseanne A. Brown, New York Times-bestselling author of Serwa Boateng's Guide to Vampire Hunting

"A rollicking and electrifying adventure of one boy's journey to accept himself, his family, and his cultural heritage." -Jamar J. Perry, author of Cameron Battle and the Hidden Kingdoms

A Macmillan Audio production from Roaring Brook Press.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Coretta Scott King John Steptoe New Talent Award Winner

Children's Africana Book Award Winner

ILA Children's Book Awards Intermediate Fiction Winner

A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year

A Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year

An Evanston Public Library Great Book for Kids

A Kansas NEA Reading Circle Recommended Title

★ "Debut author Farmer tells a grand tale, funny and terrifying in turns, steeped in Ghanaian spirituality and folklore, and wrapped around themes of identity, obligation, true friendship, and devastating loss." — Kirkus Reviews, starred review

★ "This swashbuckling, supernatural adventure into the land of Ghanian mythology will have all readers (and especially fans of Rick Riordan Presents titles) craving more. Highly recommended." — School Library Journal, starred review

"Brimming with laughter, joy, and beautiful messages about grief, hope, lost loved ones, identity, and the ancestors, Kwame Crashes the Underworld rattles the spirit. Kwame Powell is a much-welcomed hero to the canon of children's books." — Dhonielle Clayton, New York Times-bestselling author of The Marvellers and The Memory Thieves

“Craig Kofi Farmer brings to life the myths of Ghana with heart, humor, and cinematic flair. I wish this book had existed when I was a child. I dare readers not to let Kwame Powell into their hearts.” — Roseanne A. Brown, New York Times-bestselling author of Serwa Boateng’s Guide to Vampire Hunting

"A rollicking and electrifying adventure of one boy's journey to accept himself, his family, and his cultural heritage. Readers will cry and laugh with and love Kwame Powell, the boy who wears his dashiki with pride and uses it to bring the underworld and its meddling gods to its knees." — Jamar J. Perry, author of Cameron Battle and the Hidden Kingdoms

"Farmer deftly weaves together an inclusive tale of friendship, family, and identity featuring characters and adventure readers will yearn to revisit." — Publishers Weekly

"This one’s a definite keeper." — Betsy Bird

"Young fans of the Tristan Strong series will find this story equally appealing." — Booklist

Kirkus Reviews

★ 2024-07-04
A grieving 12-year-old from North Carolina finds comfort, a sense of purpose, and epic adventures in the afterlife.

Kwame is reluctant to travel with his parents to Ghana for a celebration of the life of his beloved, sorely missed grandmother. He feels out of place there, not Ghanaian enough for his relatives. So what changes his mind? Perhaps it’s meeting his grandmother as a dynamic child of about his age following an involuntary leap into the underworld of Asamando? Or learning that he carries a fragment of Asase Yaa, Mother Earth? Or it might be facing threats including a sea monster and Asase’s conniving sons Tano the river god and Nansi the trickster. He also repeatedly rescues and is rescued by his game-loving, longtime bestie, Autumn Choi, who leaps intrepidly after him from the living world brandishing a sword she bought online and a fierce attitude honed by years of being bullied for being hard of hearing (the friends communicate using ASL) as well as Black and Korean. Ultimately, Kwame understands that he’s American by birth but Ghanian by heritage—and that, through his connection with Asase, he’s charged with everyone on Earth. Debut author Farmer tells a grand tale, funny and terrifying in turns, steeped in Ghanaian spirituality and folklore, and wrapped around themes of identity, obligation, true friendship, and devastating loss. Readers will come away admiring Kwame and the redoubtable Autumn.

Heroic feats aplenty amid explorations of rich cultural and personal landscapes. (map, author’s note, glossary)(Fantasy. 9-13)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940191467894
Publisher:	Macmillan Audio
Publication date:	09/10/2024
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

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