Meet your new favorite book: Amari and the Night Brothers. Men in Black meets the X-Men in this middle grade fantasy about a girl recruited to a supernatural oversight agency.
Life hasn’t been the same since Amari’s genius older brother went missing. But when a strange message from him arrives, along with an invitation to join something called the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs, she discovers the truth about the work he was doing. Her brother was a part of an elite branch of the Bureau, where Quinton and his partner–one of the Van Helsings–became a famous duo known as VanQuish. Right up until they went missing, that is.
But now, as a new recruit in the Bureau’s summer training program, Amari has a chance to find out the truth about what happened to her brother. If she can get used to having a were-dragon for a roommate and the fact that every story she’s every been told about mythical creatures and monsters is more or less true.
I mean, she pretty much joins the Men in Black: Supernatural Division.
Life at the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs isn’t a walk in the park, though. Amari might want to find out what happened to her brother, but she has to get through tryouts first. Otherwise, she’s gone for good. And to make matters worse, the enhanced ability she’s gifted on her first day at the Bureau is absolutely and completely illegal. As if she needed even more of a reason to stand out.
Now, all her classmates think she’s some dangerous criminal and she’s fighting for a place in the program, knowing, unlike the other trainees, she won’t get a second chance.
Magic and mythical creatures and a whole lot of adventure– I mean, what didn’t this book have? It explores racism, classism, and prejudice alongside an incredibly fun story about a magical young girl discovering the supernatural world for the first time. It’s exactly the kind of story I’m looking for in a middle grade fantasy book, and is without a doubt a new favorite.
Whether your grew up on stories of magic and are looking to relight that fire or want a book that will spark the imagination of young readers, Amari and the Night Brothers is the perfect book for the job. Trust me when I say you won’t be able to put it down.
I can’t believe I have to wait a whole year to find out what happens to Amari next. But that’s the problem with a great book, I suppose. You can’t ever get enough.