I haven't been reading that much middle grade in the last couple of years, but towards the end of 2022 I read a MG fantasy book that reminded me why I need to pick more of these books up. I'm so glad that this led me to pick up Amari and the Night Brothers because it was such a fun, entertaining, fast-paced, magical story. This book has a lovable main character, who in turn has a sweet and super smart best friend, and some understanding and empathetic mentor-like adult characters in her life, and I was rooting for all of them. I really appreciated that most of the adults in this book were actually not terrible.

I enjoyed the way this incorporated common elements of fantasy- there's a magical school, supernatural creatures from werewolves to bigfoot, magic mixed with technology, and so much more- but mixed them with new elements that make them feel new and fun. The ending felt a bit rushed and I saw the twist coming, but that didn't affect how much I liked this book.