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THE CURSED CARNIVAL AND OTHER CALAMITIES by Rick Riordan

THE CURSED CARNIVAL AND OTHER CALAMITIES

New Stories About Mythic Heroes

edited by Rick Riordan

Pub Date: Sept. 28th, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-368-07083-6
Publisher: Rick Riordan Presents/Disney

In this anthology penned by authors from the Rick Riordan Presents imprint—and Riordan himself—mythological adventures lie in wait.

In the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, Gum Baby must save her friends from a ghostie dressed in rags in Kwame Mbalia’s “The Gum Baby Files.” In Carlos Hernandez’ “Calamity Juice,” Cuban American Sal and Gabi must figure out which alternate version of the universe has swallowed up their friend. In “Beware the Grove of True Love” by Roshani Chokshi, Aru Shah and her Pandava sisters enter a Night Bazaar in the Otherworld; they must return gunghroos, or anklet bells, to a magical being they upset. And at the All-Nations Assembly powwow, Diné girl Nizhoni; her best friend, Davery; and other Native youth try—and fail—to take a break from slaying monsters in “The Demon Drum” by Rebecca Roanhorse. The 10 short stories in this anthology pulse with imagination and humor, and each entry is a true page-turner set in a fully realized, satisfyingly complete fantasy world that is accessible even to readers who are not familiar with the authors’ novels. At times, the dialogue can feel forced, as though the writers are trying to shape their styles to match Riordan’s; the strongest stories are the ones that avoid this pitfall and which have the most distinctive voices.

A captivating collection of stories based on world mythologies.

(guide to Irish names, contributor bios) (Fantasy. 9-13)