Review By: Andrea Martin
Published: 2022 & 2024
Genre(s): Fantasy, Adventure, Middle Grade Fiction, Black Voices
Audience: Grades 5–8
Content Warnings: Bullying, discrimination, death, xenophobia, grief, violence, kidnapping
Goodreads Links: Amari and the Great Game | Amari and the Despicable Wonders
Summary:
B. B. Alston’s Supernatural Investigations series follows Amari Peters, a brave, quick-witted girl navigating a magical world hidden within our own. After discovering her brother’s disappearance is tied to a secret supernatural organization, Amari finds herself drawn into an ongoing struggle between magicians and those who fear them. In Amari and the Great Game, Amari must face new political dangers and moral challenges when she’s offered the chance to lead the League of Magicians. In Amari and the Despicable Wonders, war looms, forcing Amari to take risks that could change everything she believes about power, loyalty, and sacrifice.
Review:
B. B. Alston’s Amari series continues to impress with its imaginative world-building, complex characters, and balance between magic and meaningful real-world themes. Both books highlight Amari’s courage and resilience as she faces prejudice, grief, and responsibility far beyond her years.
Amari and the Great Game deepens the political and emotional stakes of the series. Alston masterfully weaves issues of identity, fairness, and moral responsibility into a world filled with wonder. Amari and the Despicable Wonders brings the magic back with even more heart and intensity, reminding readers why Amari is such a compelling heroine. Her relationships with family and friends remain central, and new characters add humor and warmth without detracting from the tension.
Alston’s writing shines for its accessibility and emotional depth, making this series an excellent recommendation for readers who love Percy Jackson or Keeper of the Lost Cities but want stories that feel modern, inclusive, and thought-provoking. Teachers will find many discussion points around ethics, prejudice, and the meaning of leadership.
