Tristan, the main character of Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, fails to save his best friend from dying in a bus accident they were in together. This tragedy has had a really big impact on Tristan. All Tristan has left is a journal that his friend, Eddie, used to write in. Tristan is unwillingly sent to his grandparents’ farm in Alabama for a month, to heal over the loss of Eddie. He thinks his trip to the farm is going to be useless and no fun, especially because he just lost his first boxing match, but he is proved wrong just on the first night of his stay. The event that happens that night changes his life.

Tristan meets Gum Baby, a character from the African American stories his Nana tells him, while she was trying to steal Eddie’s journal. He chases after Gum Baby, and a tug-of-war results in breaking off a bottle that was on the off-limits Bottle Tree. When Gum Baby tries to escape, Tristan tries to take the journal for the last time but ends up punching a hole in the tree which results in a rip in the sky of Alke. He finds himself in the middle of The Burning Sea and tries to escape from the bone ships. Gum Baby and Tristan find Ayanna, who is a friend of Gum Baby, and she takes them to Midpass.

They arrive at the Thicket, where Tristan later on finds out that he is an Anansesem, a “servant” of Anansi, and that the Afrcian-American “gods” from his Nana’s story are real. John Henry and the other gods assign Tristan a task of getting a Story Box from Nyame so he can lure Anansi into fixing the rip in the sky. While doing his “quest”,Tristan encounters many different animals and creatures that are hard to defeat alone. Everything is going well until one unexpected twist happens in the story. Will Tristan become the hero of Alke or will he fail to save the world? Read Tristan Strong to find out what happens next!

Have you ever thought back to a moment when you felt as if you were going to lose everything important to you but at that very time, your family was there? That’s why the Beaumonts are so special, in the book Savvy by Ingrid Law. It’s not because of their powers that make them a wonderful family; it is that they care about each other and help each other out when in tough times. Savvy by Ingrid Law is a book about Mibs, a girl whose family receives supernatural powers on their thirteenth birthdays, their “savvy”. This family finds themselves in tough times when her Poppa is involved in a car accident. Mibs and her friends and family run away from home to save her Poppa by using her savvy. Savvy by Ingrid Law teaches that even in the worst cases we need our friends and family to help us because they gift each other with thoughtful presents, give advice to one another, and they protect each other.

TSavvy by Ingrid Law teaches that even in the worst cases we need our friends and family to help us because they protect each other. Mibs uses her new pen to draw a sun on Will, which starts to talk. This disturbs Mibs, and Fish tries to help: “Still holding tight to Will’s wrist, Fish worked his mouth for one long second, then spat right into Will’s hand” (108). This quote from the book shows that Fish will do anything for his loved ones. Even if it’s extremely gross. Later Bobbi finds out about Mibs’ savvy and starts to drive Mibs crazy while going to Salina. Fish sees this and starts to get angry and with that anger, he starts to create strong winds which blew the No Parking Any Time sign. The sign blows right towards Will, Bobbi, and Mibs, when suddenly Fish came to the rescue by using his savvy to rescue them. With that life-threatening scenario, Fish controls his savvy (187). Sometimes protecting each other also means protecting them from something you have done. Fish blows the sign because he could not control his anger. But when he sees what he has done, he uses his savvy and saves them. In conclusion, protecting each other is something that your family and friends should do no matter what happens.

Savvy by Ingrid Law teaches that even in the worst cases we need our friends and family to help us because they advise one another. As Mibs, Momma, and Gypsy were making pies, Mibs could not get her pie to have a perfect crust. Mibs sees Momma’s pie and sees it perfect and she asks Momma how she knew that her savvy is being perfect. Momma’s advice for Mibs when she couldn’t get the perfect pie was, “ I’m not perfect, Mibs. Nobody’s perfect. I just have a knack for getting things right” (97). Momma explains to Mibs that no one is perfect and accidents will always happen. This lets Mibs know not to worry about not getting things right. As their trip to Salina comes to an end, Lester talks about making a quick trip to Carlene. When Mibs all of a sudden, blurts out about Carlene. Mibs then talks about her feelings about Carlene and advises Lester about not letting Carlene and Rhonda, the two tattoos on Lester’s shoulder, talk badly about Lester (254). This example proves that if anyone tries to hurt or bully you, your family will be there to help you by giving advice and tips to standing up for yourself. All in all, advising each other is an important part of being a family or a friend.

Savvy by Ingrid Law teaches that even in the worst cases we need our friends and family to help us because they gift each other with thoughtful presents. Lill’s old boss fired her and threw some dollar bills to the floor for her to pick and keep to herself. Lester did not like how her boss treated her and helped to pick up the dollar bills. As a gift, Lill buys a necktie for Lester (216). When Lill buys a necktie for Lester, it was a sign saying that she wanted to be friends with Lester. This helps by letting one another help each other in personal and business matters. Another example is when Lill wants to spend all that money that she had to pick up from the floor. She bought all sorts of things that money to give to Mibs, Fish, Samson, Bobbi, Will Junior, and Lester when she could have used it for herself (215). Lill shows us that giving gifts to each other is being kind and helps to build stronger connections with one another. This strong connection helps by trusting each other more and more. In the end, gifting each other with gifts is helping one another bond and build stronger relationships.

Protecting, advising, and gifting each other is what your family does even when you are in tough times. Mibs and her family and friends are a perfect example of a family who cares for each other. They go to any height of danger just to save their loved ones. Savvy is a story where you can understand the love and care of family and friends.