Fantasy

Seventh-grader Tristan Strong  is dreading the month he’s going to spend on his grandparents’ farm in Alabama, where he’s being sent to heal after a  tragedy.

But on his first night there, a sticky creature shows up. Tristan struggles with the creature and accidentally rips open a chasm into the MidPass, a volatile place with a burning sea, haunted bone ships, and iron monsters that are hunting the inhabitants of this world. 

Tristan finds himself in the middle of a battle that has left black American gods John Henry and Brer Rabbit exhausted.

In order to get back home, Tristan and his new allies will need to entice the god Anansi, the Weaver, to come out of hiding and seal the hole in the sky. But bartering with the trickster Anansi always comes at a price.

Can Tristan save this world before he loses more of the things he loves?

Summary from Goodreads

The Karensa Federation has conquered a dozen countries, leaving Mara as one of the last free nations in the world. Refugees flee to its borders to escape a fate worse than death—transformation into mutant war beasts known as Ghosts, creatures the Federation then sends to attack Mara.

The legendary Strikers, Mara's elite fighting force, are trained to stop them. But as the number of Ghosts grows and Karensa closes in, defeat seems inevitable.

Robbed of her voice and home, Talin Kanami knows firsthand the brutality of the Federation. 

When a mysterious prisoner is brought from the front, Talin senses there’s more to him than meets the eye. Is he a spy from the Federation? Or could he be the weapon that will save them all?

Summary adapted  from Goodreads