A young Black boy has the power to create worlds from maps he draws. Walt is a Black seventh grader whose family recently, to his dismay, left Los Angeles for rural Blackbird Bay in Northern California. While his father pressures him to play football, Walt's passion is maps--he even draws his own intricate map of Djaruba, the world he's made up. This passion leads to Walt discovering he has the magical power to create real worlds from the maps he makes. When Djaruba springs to life, Walt is able to escape his dull and frustrating life in Blackbird Bay and visit his invented world filled with colorful landscapes and entities bloomed from his imagination, including dragons he can ride. Walt brings his twin sister, Van, and new friend, Dylan, along. But he has to be cautious because using his magic has a cost each time. On top of that, Walt learns that rather than create worlds, mapmaker Statica has been using his powers to destroy them, eliminating one world every year until he gets what he wants. It turns out that what Statica wants is influence over Walt. With the full extent of Statica's power unknown, it's now up to Walt to figure out how to save Djaruba--and even his real world--from destruction. Walt is an appealing hero to root for. Readers will be absorbed as they explore fantastical worlds through his curious and enthusiastic eyes. An exciting and imaginative read. (map) (Fantasy. 8-12) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Walt and his family relocate to the boring town of Blackbird Bay the summer before seventh grade. His friends are back in L.A., and his twin sister, Van, spends most of her time at the skate park. To make matters worse, his father is forcing him to play football even though all he wants to do is make maps. Walt spends hours analyzing maps of locations near and far, and he treasures his time with his map of Djaruba, a fantasy world he's been creating for years. One day, after a morning of sulking, Walt learns that his special interest is not just a hobby: he can make maps come to life. But the excitement over his newfound ability is short-lived because another mapmaker is destroying worlds, and the former residents of those worlds believe that all mapmakers, including Walt, must be stopped. With the help of Van and his new friend Dylan, Walt has to learn to harness his powers and thwart the malevolent mapmaker before all worlds, including Earth, are destroyed. This is an exciting adventure full of friendship and heart with a likable nerdy-Black-kid protagonist. Although the magic system could use more description, readers will enjoy the well-drawn characters as well as the fantastical landscapes and imaginative creatures in Walt's magical world. S. R. Toliver September/October 2022 p.99(c) Copyright 2022. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Blackbird Bay is dull as ditchwater according to our hero, Walt, and compared to his former life in L.A., it might be. With a twin sister, Van, miles ahead of him physically and a dad who is always reminding him to practice football, all Walt wants to do is hunker down in his room, mapping his fantasy world, Djuraba. When he's told that he possesses the power to draw changes into places, he goes adventuring with his new friend Dylan and the infuriating Van to check this out, only to get stuck in his fantasy world. There he encounters an evil mapmaker whose plans could ruin Djuraba and the world! Can he use his newly discovered abilities to get them home and save both places? Ramée's fast-paced novel centering on a Black protagonist engagingly leaves gaps for the reader to fill in with their own creativity and imagination, and themes of pushing against gendered expectations give the story emotional weight. A perfect fit for fans of Kwame Mbalia's Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky (2019).

In an ambitious fantasy from Moore Ramée (Something to Say), a Black seventh grader obsessed with maps navigates his family's move from Los Angeles to Northern California. Walt's former athlete father, an accountant for a video game company, wants Walt to "toughen up" and is set on sending him to football camp. It doesn't help that Walt's twin sister, Van, is taller than he is and wants to attend the camp herself. Walt--a creative soul like the twins' costume designer mother--would rather spend time working on his map of Djaruba, the imaginary world he's been drawing for years. Inspired by his Creole maternal grandmother's stories, Djaruba is filled with volcanic activity, immense deserts, futuristic cities, and flying dragons. When Walt starts drawing on an online printout of the family's new neighborhood, Blackbird Bay, creating an alternate history for the locale, it becomes clear that he has the ability to imagine real worlds--and that an evil mapmaker called Statica wants Walt to help him destroy them, instead. Exploring themes of gender norms and racism through a fantasy adventure with friendship elements, Moore Ramée offers a creative story of embracing one's prowess. Ages 8--12. Agent: Brenda Bowen, Book Group. (Sept.)