For most kids, catching fireflies is a fun summer activity. For twelve-year-old Serwa Boateng, it's a matter of life and death.
That's because Serwa knows that some fireflies are really adze, shapeshifting vampires from the forests of Southeastern Ghana. Adze prey on the blood of innocents, possessing their minds and turning them into hulking monsters, and for generations, slayers like Serwa and her parents have protected an unknowing public from their threats.
Serwa is the best adze slayer her age, and she knew how to use a crossbow before she could even ride a bike. But when an obayifo (witch) destroys her childhood home while searching for a drum, do Serwa's parents take her with them on their quest to defeat her? No. Instead, they dump Serwa with her hippie aunt and cryptic-obsessed cousin in the middle of Nowheresville, Maryland "for her own safety." Now, instead of crossbows and battle armor, she's dealing with mean girls and algebra, and for the first time in her life she doesn't have to carry a staff everywhere she goes, which is . . . kind of nice, actually.
Just as Serwa starts to get the hang of this whole normal girl who doesn't punch vampires every day thing, an adze infiltrates her school. It's up to her to whip some of her classmates into monster-fighting shape before all of them become firefly food. And when she uncovers a secret that upends everything she thought she knew about her family's role in the slayer vs. adze war, Serwa will have to decide which side of herself--normal girl or slayer--is the right one.
After all, seventh grade is hard enough without adding vampires to the mix.
Endorsed by Rick Riordan, author of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, soon to be a series on Disney+.
Complete your middle grade action-adventure collection with these titles:
Rick Riordan Presents: Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia
Rick Riordan Presents: The Storm Runner by J.C. Cervantes
Rick Riordan Presents: Race to the Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
Rick Riordan Presents: Pahua and the Soul Stealer by Lori M. Lee
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Roseanne A. Brown is a science fiction writer.
I've been saying SERWA BOATENG'S GUIDE TO VAMPIRE HUNTING is not a book about Black Girl Magic but rather Black Girl Monsters and the point below is a big part of why. https://twitter.com/obaa_boni/status/1544856146204401664
Rick Riordan is a YA author.
"This is a book I have been craving for at least thirty years...Thank goodness Roseanne A. Brown has stepped up to the plate!" - Rick's review of SERWA BOATENG'S GUIDE TO VAMPIRE HUNTING by @rosiesrambles Read the full review below & pre-order your copy! https://t.co/lnMohddqcT
Public school parents & allies united to bring more Representation, Equity, Anti-Racism and Literary diversity to our Scotch Plains-Fanwood schools. Join us!
Today's #BlackHistoryMonth book of the day is: Rick Riordan Presents: Serwa Boateng's Guide to Vampire Hunting By Roseanne A. Brown (@rosiesrambles) Ages 10-14 Fiction https://t.co/ZXZ4I7ZU4J