Living among gods and monsters, a young boy must save his friends and their magical island.Jumping right in where Nico Bravo and the Hounds of Hades (2019) left off, young Nico Bravo, resident of the enchanted isle of Celestina and employee at Vulcan's Celestial Supply Shop, is not looking forward to the annual visit of Sam, better known as Abonsam, the West African god of misfortune and pestilence-who, despite his bailiwick, comes across as a pretty likable character. When one of Sam's monsters is released, however, all at the shop begin to turn to stone. As Nico's friends are petrifying, Orcus, a shape-shifting monster henchman of Ahriman, god of evil, has broken into the shop to steal the last piece of Aether, the building block of all things. Nico embarks upon an epic quest to save his friends and their home-along the way encountering Atlantean flying saucers, unicorns stuck in a time loop, and steamroller scorpions-but not before he learns his own origin story. Cavallaro's sophomore graphic novel is both fast-paced and engaging, filling its full-color panels with enough intrigue and explosions to keep pages flying. Fans of Rick Riordan's works should feel at home here with its mix of multicultural religions. Ahriman comes from Zoroastrian tradition, Orcus is a Roman deity, and secondary character Eowulf derives from Nordic myth; figures from the Abrahamic faiths seem to be absent, however. Nico and most of the main human characters are white; only a few unnamed background humans show any different skin tones.Smart, fast-paced fun. (Graphic fantasy. 8-12)

Gr 3-6 The second adventure in the fantastical world of Nico Bravo is an epic, mysterious quest that also delves deeper into character backstories. An orphan, Nico finds a sense of family and belonging in his friends: Vulcan, who owns the Celestial Supply Shop; a sphinx named Lula; and Buck, a tough-talking unicorn. They live and work at the store, where all things arcane are available to every god and monster. A spy is stalking the shop's halls, though, and a monster is accidentally released from the West African god of pestilence and misfortune's pouch, forcing the shop into quarantine and sending Nico and his friends out to capture the escaped monster. However, this monster has the power to petrify, and as Nico plunges into the depths of the shop's cellars, he begins to unravel the mystery of who he is as well as his family's secrets. Bold artwork and clean lettering create a lively, action-packed read. Humorous side comments and references to Nordic, West African, and Roman myths and legends may inspire inquisitive readers to further investigate the origins of these gods and monsters. Familiarity with the first in the series is not a must, as the author provides textual and visual clues. VERDICT A satisfying continuation of the first book; fantasy and graphic novel readers, especially those who love Rick Riordan, will enjoy reading more of Nico's escapades.Rachel Zuffa, Case H.S., Racine, WI