{"id":14491,"date":"2021-10-08T05:00:03","date_gmt":"2021-10-08T09:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/?p=14491"},"modified":"2021-10-09T14:02:53","modified_gmt":"2021-10-09T18:02:53","slug":"blog-tour-tristan-strong-keeps-punching-by-kwame-mbalia-excerpt-giveaway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/blog-tour-tristan-strong-keeps-punching-by-kwame-mbalia-excerpt-giveaway\/","title":{"rendered":"Blog Tour: Tristan Strong Keeps Punching by Kwame Mbalia (Excerpt + Giveaway!)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"ubb-blog-tour-banner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rockstarbooktours.com\" target=\"_blank\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/TRISTAN-STRONG-KEEPS-PUNCHING.jpg\" alt=\"Blog Tour: Tristan Strong Keeps Punching by Kwame Mbalia (Excerpt + Giveaway!)\"><\/a><\/p><p>Happy Friday and welcome to my stop on the blog tour for TRISTAN STRONG KEEPS PUNCHING by Kwame Mbalia! I&#8217;m so excited because today I have an excerpt of the book to share with you! This book is truly amazing and I&#8217;m so excited to for you to find out more about it, PLUS enter for a chance to win a print copy!<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-13897\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/V3-Fall-2021-divider.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"645\" height=\"50\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/V3-Fall-2021-divider.png 645w, https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/V3-Fall-2021-divider-300x23.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 645px) 100vw, 645px\" \/><\/p>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/tristan-strong-keeps-punching-cover.png\" alt=\"Blog Tour: Tristan Strong Keeps Punching by Kwame Mbalia (Excerpt + Giveaway!)\" title=\"Blog Tour: Tristan Strong Keeps Punching by Kwame Mbalia (Excerpt + Giveaway!)\" class=\"ubb-cover-image alignleft\"><strong>Tristan Strong Keeps Punching<\/strong> by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/reviews\/authors\/kwame-mbalia\/\">Kwame Mbalia<\/a> <br><strong>Series:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/reviews\/series\/tristan-strong\/\">Tristan Strong #3<\/a> <br><strong>Published on<\/strong>  October 5, 2021 by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/reviews\/publishers\/rick-riordan-presents\/\">Rick Riordan Presents<\/a> <br><strong>Genres:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/reviews\/genres\/contemporary\/\">Contemporary<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/reviews\/genres\/fantasy\/\">Fantasy<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/reviews\/genres\/middle-grade\/\">Middle Grade<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/reviews\/genres\/mythology\/\">Mythology<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/reviews\/genres\/retellings\/\">Retellings<\/a> <br><strong>Pages:<\/strong> 320 <br><strong>Add to <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/57007820-tristan-strong-keeps-punching\" target=\"_blank\">Goodreads<\/a> <br><strong>Author Links:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/kwamembalia.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Website<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KSekouM\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Twitter<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/author\/show\/17954973.Kwame_Mbalia\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Goodreads<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Kwame-Mbalia\/e\/B07V6KTYR9\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Amazon<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/mbalia1\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Instagram<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@ksekoum\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">TikTok<\/a> <br><blockquote class=\"ubb-synopsis\"><p><span class=\"ubb-spoiler\"><a class=\"ubb-view-spoil\">View Spoiler &raquo;<\/a><span style=\"display: none;\" class=\"ubb-thespoil\">After reuniting with Ayanna, who is now in his world, Tristan travels up the Mississippi in pursuit of his archenemy, King Cotton. Along the way they encounter new haints who are dead set on preventing their progress north to Tristan's hometown of Chicago. It's going to take many Alkean friends, including the gods themselves, the black flames of the afokena gloves, and all of Tristan's inner strength to deliver justice once and for all.  <a class=\"ubb-hide-spoil\" style=\"cursor: hand; cursor: pointer;\">&laquo; Hide Spoiler<\/a><\/span><\/span><br \/>\n<b>Shocking twists, glorious triumphs, and a cast of unforgettable characters make this series conclusion as satisfying as it is entertaining.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\t\t<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">\n{\n\t\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\n\t\"@type\":\"Review\",\n\t\"datePublished\": \"2021-10-08T09:00:03+00:00\",\n\t\"description\": \"Happy Friday and welcome to my stop on the blog tour for TRISTAN STRONG KEEPS PUNCHING by Kwame Mbalia! I'm so excited because today I have an excerpt of the book to share with you! This book is \",\n\t\"publisher\": {\n\t\t\"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t\t\"name\": \"Kait Plus Books\"\t},\n\t\"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\\\/books\\\/blog-tour-tristan-strong-keeps-punching-by-kwame-mbalia-excerpt-giveaway\\\/\",\n\t\"itemReviewed\": {\n\t\t\"@type\": \"Book\",\n\t\t\"name\": \"Tristan Strong Keeps Punching\",\n\t\t\"author\": {\n\t\t\t\"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t\t\t\"name\": \"Kwame Mbalia\",\n\t\t\t\"sameAs\": \"https:\\\/\\\/kwamembalia.com\\\/\"\t\t},\n\t\t\"isbn\": \"1368054870\"\t},\n\t\"author\": {\n\t\t\"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t\t\"name\": \"Kaity\",\n\t\t\"sameAs\": \"https:\\\/\\\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\\\/books\\\/\"\t},\n\t\"reviewRating\": {\n\t\t\"@type\": \"Rating\",\n\t\t\"ratingValue\": false,\n\t\t\"bestRating\": \"5\"\n\t}\n}\n\n\n\n\t\t<\/script>\n\t\t\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-13897\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/V3-Fall-2021-divider.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"645\" height=\"50\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/V3-Fall-2021-divider.png 645w, https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/V3-Fall-2021-divider-300x23.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 645px) 100vw, 645px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-13940\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Read-an-Excerpt-Fall-2021.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"200\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><strong>stay strong<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It should be physically impossible for the human body to burst into flame. Aren\u2019t there rules against that? I\u2019m pretty sure my Life Science class covered it last year. Call me old-fashioned, but I\u2019m a firm believer that people aren\u2019t meant to be matches.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So that\u2019s why I stared in utter horror at the small silver flame popping out of my knuckles.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI don\u2019t like that,\u201d I said, my voice sounding faint and distant to my own ears.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That was probably wrong to say. For several reasons. First, I was already trying my best not to lose my temper and attract attention. Our tour guide kept shooting angry looks at our group and shushing us. And we weren\u2019t even being that loud! No more so than anyone else on the tour. Still, I was pretty sure my bursting into flame would get us more than a mean look.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We were stuffed in the middle of a crowd in a tiny museum crammed with fascinating exhibits. Granddad called it the Pharmacy Museum. From that name I expected to see boring displays, like the history of headache medicine or something like that. Instead, I learned about century-old tools used to probe, prod, and investigate the human body. Pretty cool! But again, the place was jam-packed. Everybody in the French Quarter must\u2019ve come for a tour. So I definitely didn\u2019t want to cause a panic because my fist had turned into a Flamin\u2019 Hot.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes, the Strongs were in New Orleans. One last adventure before I headed back to Chicago to start the new school year. It was bittersweet. I mean, I was looking forward to getting home, being back in my neighborhood, and seeing my parents. Still, I\u2019d had fun with Granddad and Nana. I\u2019d eaten a bunch of key lime pie, done a little boxing, fallen into another world with powerful gods and made a bunch of folk-hero friends&#8230;. You know, the normal summer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I was excited to visit the Big Easy, but this trip had come with a few strings attached. And\u2014<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWhat don\u2019t you like?\u201d someone said over my left shoulder. \u201cThe artificial leech? C\u2019mon! That\u2019s so cool! Apparently back then you\u2019d jam that thing into your\u2014\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThank you, Terrence,\u201d I whispered, covering up my burning hand.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tour guide glared as Terrence continued to hiss facts\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">at me. I shot a glare right back, and the guide huffed and turned around. Then I looked at the walking encyclopedia behind me. Terrence was a short, thin Black boy with a red-tipped lightning bolt dyed into his close-cropped hair. He was also one of those aforementioned attached strings.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cNo more ancient surgery lessons,\u201d I said in a low voice. \u201cPlease.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He shrugged and continued to mutter trivia to the stranger next to him. I shook my head. Terrence was my nine-year-old cousin, Dad\u2019s brother\u2019s son, and the second reason I had to keep things to myself. The powers that be (Nana) had decided that Terrence needed a buddy, someone to partner with as we toured New Orleans, and guess who that was?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lucky me.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Terrence wore an oversize lime-green T-shirt with an icon of a flexed bicep on the front and strongs on the move written beneath it in bold black letters. On the back, black is a rainbow arced over interlocking hands in different shades of brown. Yeah. Brown and lime green. The message was great! The aesthetics? Eh. I (unfortunately) was wearing the same shirt, and four or five others in the Pharmacy Museum were sporting it as well.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You\u2019ve probably figured out what was happening.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was a Strong family reunion.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Relatives I hadn\u2019t seen in years\u2014and some I\u2019d never met at all\u2014had made the trip. Great-aunts, cousins, their children. I met my Uncle Jeff-Jeff and what he called his emotional support pug (also, strangely, called Jeff-Jeff). In fact, it seemed the only ones not here were my parents. They\u2019d been unable to make the trip\u2014something about car trouble\u2014and Mom had stressed the importance of me representing for the Chicago Strongs. What I did would reflect on them. So, you know how it goes. Best behavior and all that.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Which brings us to the third reason I had to avoid making a scene. I was on a mission.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Two weeks ago I had returned from my second trip to Alke, the magical world where storied folk heroes like John Henry, heroines like Keelboat Annie, gods like Anansi and Nyame, and goddesses like Mami Wata reigned.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unfortunately, it was also my last trip there. Alke had been destroyed, and the only way to save its inhabitants had been to weave the story of their world into mine. Now Alkeans were scattered across the country, and it was my responsibility to help find them and make sure they were okay.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Which you can\u2019t really do when you\u2019re a line buddy for your cousin.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWhere should we visit next?\u201d Terrence asked as we exited the museum. \u201cI could use some dinner first.\u201d He pulled out his phone and started scrolling different travel websites, then gasped. \u201cTristan, look! There\u2019s a pizza parlor that gives you an oversize spatula if you eat a whole supreme pie!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He looked at me with way too much glee in his eyes (could that be a medical condition?) and I shook my head. \u201cWe\u2019re supposed to wait here for Granddad, then we\u2019ll move to the next stop.\u201d The hotel, I hoped.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My phone vibrated. I froze for a second before reaching for it. Fortunately, the flame had disappeared from my knuckles, and Terrence was still busy reading about pizza. I pulled a sleek black smartphone from the back pocket of my basketball shorts.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The SBP, or Story Box Phone, was the magical treasure chest of Anansi tales. Nyame the sky god had transferred the stories from an actual box into my phone and then trapped Anansi himself inside with them. That hadn\u2019t stopped the spider god from bossing and heckling me at every opportunity. The plus side? Anansi had turned out to be a talented web designer and had added all sorts of cool apps, including one that alerted us to the location of Alkeans. I now had the most advanced smartphone in this realm or any other.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The spider god stared out at me from the home screen. His expression was impatient as he pointed to the Maps app icon. \u201cWhat\u2019s taking you so long? We\u2019ve got to get a move on!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cOkay, where\u2019s the alert coming from?\u201d I asked Anansi.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I wanted to tell him about the knuckle flames, but just at that moment Terrence moved closer to me. I turned to prevent him from being able to see the SBP\u2019s screen. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019m on the phone,<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> I mouthed to him, pointing to the buds in my ears. He frowned but went back to scoping out which pizza he apparently wanted to cram inside his face.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cHurry up, Tristan,\u201d said Terrence. \u201cI\u2019ve always wanted a pizza spatula. I\u2019m going to be a chef, you know. Open my own restaurant and serve my famous teriyaki pizza.\u201d He licked his lips, and I shivered. Some food preferences should remain private.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I looked back at Anansi. \u201cWell? Where should I send Nyame?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hey, I was only twelve. I couldn\u2019t exactly go gallivanting across the country by myself to find every Alkean. But the sky god could.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Anansi shook his head. \u201cNo, you\u2019re not listening. Right here, just a few blocks away. There\u2019s an Alkean who needs help in the French Quarter!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I inhaled sharply. Yes! We could handle this ourselves! All I had to do was give Terrence the slip, and then we could\u2014<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A tingling sensation pricked the corners of my eyes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That was weird. I squinted. Rubbed at them. Blinked a few times, but the sensation wouldn\u2019t go away. I had just turned to ask Terrence if there was anything in my eyes when I saw someone I recognized. He was whistling while walking down the street in the opposite direction.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tall.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Neatly dressed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Evil.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">King Cotton was strolling through the French Quarter without a care in the world.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The way I figure it, no one is owed anything. Not an easy life. Not a happy ending. Nothing. I learned that from Granddad. Life comes at you fast, like a flurry of jabs and hooks, and sometimes the only thing you can do is learn how to take a few on the chin and keep on standing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And not every story is neat and tidy, either. Sometimes pages are missing, ripped out by forces beyond our control. Sometimes the villain wins. Sometimes the villain wins by a <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">lot<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. And not every question may get answered. I mean, there are a hundred stories unfolding without our knowledge every day, and the details will never see the light of day because we either can\u2019t or won\u2019t seek them out. So, tough luck, the ending to that chapter is forever shrouded from view.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Until someone comes along and tries to tell it. Tries to tease out the answers, give folks some closure. That\u2019s my role as an Anansesem\u2014a seeker, recorder, and teller of stories. I didn\u2019t ask for the title\u2014the title chose me when I was in Alke. In fact, I didn\u2019t want the job. I didn\u2019t think I\u2019d be any good at it. But I was wrong. And despite my best attempts to avoid the responsibility, the magic of my people\u2019s stories didn\u2019t care\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">about my objections. Since I was the reason the characters in those tales were now scattered around the globe, telling their stories was one thing that only I could do.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Maybe Nana had said it best the first week after we\u2019d returned to our world. She\u2019d been laid up in bed, recovering from being abducted, and the two of us were talking about Alke. And stories. When I mentioned it was hard to find the energy to speak about the world I had destroyed, she peered at me over the new quilt she was working on.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cYou gotta find the pulse of the story, baby,\u201d she\u2019d said. \u201cLet the rhythm beat like a heart, and hold on to that pulse once you got it. Don\u2019t change it, no matter what anybody else says. Even if they call you a liar or selfish, or say you lucky to be here, or tell you to go somewhere else if you so unhappy, you don\u2019t let it go. Then speak those words. Tell the story.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tell the story. <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I wanted to do just that. But how could I when King Cotton, the haint who had corrupted everything in Alke, now had his sights on my world? I had to stop him first.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cHoo HOOO! Boy oh boy oh boy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019d shoved the phone back into my pocket and was two seconds away from tearing off after Cotton when Granddad walked out of a seafood grill a few doors down from the Pharmacy Museum. He was licking his fingers and doing a little jig, something everyone in the family called his <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">good-eatin\u2019 shuffle. <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nana followed him, no stranger to Granddad\u2019s apparent inability to say no to an order of battered clam strips. He had a bunch of take-out bags in his hand, and Nana was scolding him.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWalter, you done stopped at every restaurant selling fried clams. You ain\u2019t supposed to be eating those! What you gonna do with all them, plant them?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before I could duck away, she spotted Terrence and me and steered Granddad toward us. Granddad didn\u2019t look up from his clam strips. He\u2019d eat two or three, smack his lips and exclaim how good they were, then roll the bag closed and open another. It was like watching a squirrel eat nuts, except this particular squirrel knew how to throw a mean right hook and could ground you.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cMaaaaaaaaaaan, let me tell you about these clam strips right here!\u201d Granddad said when they reached us.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I rolled my eyes. Anytime he started with a Let me tell you, I knew we weren\u2019t going anywhere soon. Might as well unfurl a sleeping bag and put on your pajamas, you\u2019re going to be there for a while. Few things riled up Walter Strong more than a crisp, well-fried clam strip. Which would have been fine any other day (that\u2019s not exactly true, but what was I, a mere twelve-year-old, supposed to do?), just not when Cotton was on the loose.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My pocket vibrated twice. I checked to make sure Granddad was distracted (which was easy, since his eyes were closed <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">as he bit into another clam strip) before pulling out the phone. Granddad hated how often I checked it. Meanwhile, Terrence told Nana about the pizza parlor.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The screen winked to life, and the worried face of a trickster god stared out at me.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On an average day, Anansi had a contagious smile and a twinkle in his eye. You never knew if he had your back or had a trick in his back pocket. He was the Weaver, the owner of all stories, from truths to tall tales, and his name was embedded in my title of Anansesem. But at the moment, the spider god looked far from his normal self.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I slipped in one earbud and his voice, normally melodic and lilting, was flat and strained. \u201cWell, are we leaving or not?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I peered around the crowded street filled with tourists just like me and my grandparents. It was early evening, but the Louisiana sun still beamed down on the French Quarter as if focused through a magnifying glass. My own reunion T-shirt (yes, still lime green) clung to my back, my black basketball shorts felt like they weighed thirty pounds, and my new all-black Chuck Taylors (<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That\u2019s the second pair we bought you<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Granddad had grumbled) felt like their soles were melting.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Still, everywhere I looked, people were laughing, joking, shopping, eating, dancing, and carrying on their merry way through what was possibly the most vibrant square mile in the whole country. Music thumped from Bourbon Street a few blocks over while the casinos on Canal Street flickered to life. Adults and teens and children walked by with powdered sugar dusting their lips and fingers as they bit into soft, hot beignets and\u2014if you didn\u2019t know any better\u2014life was all good.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yet a shadow lingered now, just out of sight. Cotton. The haint\u2019s specter hovered in my peripheral vision, waiting for the right moment to strike.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I shook my head. \u201cNot just yet,\u201d I told Anansi. \u201cBut\u2014\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cTime is running out, Tristan! We have to move!\u201d There was resignation in his voice. He already knew the answer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI know,\u201d I said. \u201cIt\u2019s just&#8230; all my family is here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Anansi didn\u2019t respond, and when I glanced at the SBP, I saw he was sitting with his back against the edge of the screen, slumped and depressed. I realized, too late, what I\u2019d just said, and I opened my mouth to say more, but no words would bring back his family\u2014specifically, his son\u2014safe and sound, so I closed it. Sometimes condolences don\u2019t ease the hurt\u2014they just make things worse.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cHey now, what\u2019s with that face?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Granddad\u2019s voice came from behind me. He cradled another container of clam strips as if it were a baby, but he wore a concerned look. Nana was speaking to Terrence a few feet away, both of them huddled over his phone as they picked the next destination for our Strong subgroup. \u201cYou look like you just got sucker punched, boy. What\u2019s the best way to defend against that happening again?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I snorted, though there wasn\u2019t much humor in it. Granddad always had a boxing analogy ready to apply to any situation, and he\u2019d quiz me at various points throughout the day to test my knowledge of the sport. History, theory, techniques\u2014it didn\u2019t matter. He\u2019d only let me go back to doing whatever I was doing if I answered his questions correctly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If Gum Baby were here, she\u2019d call it a Grandpop Quiz. I smiled, and then it faded from my face. The little loudmouth was lost out there somewhere, too. As much as I hated to admit it (and if you tell her, I will sing \u201cThe Ballad of the Gummy\u201d nonstop outside your window), I missed the tiny sap monster.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWell?\u201d Granddad asked.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I sighed, stared into the crowd streaming past, and racked my brain. \u201cUm, dodge it?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cYou take a sucker punch, you didn\u2019t dodge anything. Not for a good minute. Try again.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cKeep my head on a swivel? Make sure I\u2019m always aware.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Granddad pursed his lips. \u201cBetter, but still not all the way there. Think about it. Sometimes an opponent will get the drop on you, and they\u2019ll send punch after punch at you. Those blows gonna land and land hard. Knock you back. Stun you. How do you defend against a flurry like that? How do you respond?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I struggled to come up with an answer, but at that moment\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the SBP vibrated. Three times in a row. That wasn\u2019t a signal from Anansi. That was an alert.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cTristan.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Granddad\u2019s voice jerked me from my thoughts. He loaded me up with his take out boxes and bags so he could place both hands on my shoulders. Then he pulled me close, into a hug. My arms were too full to hug him back, but I was too surprised to respond anyway.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cSometimes,\u201d Granddad said, squeezing me tight, \u201cyou just have to hold on. Clinch, and catch your breath. The world is going to hit you hard, son. Clinch and don\u2019t let go until you can keep on fighting. Hear me?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cYessir,\u201d I said, my voice muffled by his shirt.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sometimes I forgot that Granddad had been violently introduced to the world of Alke when Bear\u2014under the poisonous influence of the haint King Cotton\u2014had attacked the farmhouse and kidnapped Nana. Had Granddad felt helpless while we were gone? Sucker punched?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The SBP vibrated again. Granddad sucked his teeth and stepped back. \u201cBoy, who is that blowing up your phone? Tell them Stanleys to give you a break.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I groaned. \u201cNo, Granddad, no, no, no. They\u2019re called stans. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stans.<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cStans, Stanleys, Stanford Cardinals, you need to tell them to lay off.\u201d Granddad took back his clam strips and popped a few more golden-brown pieces into his mouth, chewing angrily. \u201cI\u2019m trying to teach here, and you, Mr. Popular, can barely focus. Go on and answer that, boy. I won\u2019t stand in the way.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I grinned even as I pulled out the phone and began to back up. \u201cIt\u2019s not like that, Granddad. I just need to check something real\u2014\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cTristan, watch out!\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Anansi\u2019s shout came from the earbud I still wore, even as the SBP was snatched from my hand. I whirled to see a kid running into the crowd.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cHey!\u201d I cried.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cTristan\u2014\u201d Granddad began, but I was already tearing off after the robber.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cC\u2019mon, Granddad!\u201d I shouted and sprinted down the street.<\/span><\/p>\n<h6>Excerpted from <i>Tristan Strong Keeps Punching<\/i> by Kwame Mbalia with permission from Rick Riordan Presents. Copyright \u00a9 2021 by Kwame Mbalia.<\/h6>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-13897\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/V3-Fall-2021-divider.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"645\" height=\"50\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/V3-Fall-2021-divider.png 645w, https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/V3-Fall-2021-divider-300x23.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 645px) 100vw, 645px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-13959\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/About-the-Author-Fall-2021.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"200\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"ubb-about-author\"><h3>About Kwame Mbalia<\/h3><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/kwame-mbalia-350x350.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"alignleft ubb-about-author-photo\"><p>Kwame is a husband, father, writer, a New York Times bestselling author, and a former pharmaceutical metrologist in that order. His debut middle-grade novel, TRISTAN STRONG PUNCHES A HOLE IN THE SKY was awarded a Coretta Scott King Author Honor, and it\u2014along with the sequels TRISTAN STRONG DESTROYS THE WORLD and TRISTAN STRONG KEEPS PUNCHING, out October 5th\u2014is published by Rick Riordan Presents\/Disney-Hyperion. He is the co-author of LAST GATE OF THE EMPEROR with Prince Joel Makonnen, from Scholastic Books, and the editor of the #1 New York Times bestselling anthology BLACK BOY JOY, published by Delacorte Press. A Howard University graduate and a Midwesterner now in North Carolina, he survives on Dad jokes and Cheezits.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ubb-author-links\"><a href=\"https:\/\/kwamembalia.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Website<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KSekouM\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Twitter<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/author\/show\/17954973.Kwame_Mbalia\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Goodreads<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Kwame-Mbalia\/e\/B07V6KTYR9\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Amazon<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/mbalia1\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Instagram<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@ksekoum\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">TikTok<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-13897\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/V3-Fall-2021-divider.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"645\" height=\"50\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/V3-Fall-2021-divider.png 645w, https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/V3-Fall-2021-divider-300x23.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 645px) 100vw, 645px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-13957\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Follow-the-Tour-Fall-2021.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"200\" \/><b><\/b><\/p>\n<h2><b>Week One<\/b><\/h2>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">10\/1\/2021<\/span><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/amanisreviews.wordpress.com\/2021\/01\/17\/concrete-rose-is-a-must-read\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amani\u2019s Honest Reviews<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Excerpt<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">10\/2\/2021<\/span><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bookhoundsya.net\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">BookHounds YA<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Excerpt<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2><b>Week Two<\/b><\/h2>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">10\/3\/2021<\/span><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/www.yabookscentral.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">YA Books Central<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Excerpt<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">10\/4\/2021<\/span><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/rajivsreviews.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rajiv&#8217;s Reviews<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Review<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">10\/5\/2021<\/span><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/lexijavabookish.wordpress.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lexijava_Bookish<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Review<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">10\/6\/2021<\/span><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/whatanerdgirlsays.org\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What A Nerd Girl Says<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Excerpt<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">10\/7\/2021<\/span><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.givernyreads.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">GivernyReads<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Review<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>10\/8\/2021<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/kaitgoodwin.com\/books\">Kait Plus Books<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Excerpt<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">10\/9\/2021<\/span><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/thebookwyrmsden.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Bookwyrm&#8217;s Den<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Review<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2><b>Week Three<\/b><\/h2>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">10\/10\/2021<\/span><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/booksandladders.co.uk\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Books and Ladders<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Review<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">10\/11\/2021<\/span><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/www.morebookspleaseblog.wordpress.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">More Books Please blog<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Review<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">10\/12\/2021<\/span><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/bookstagramofmine\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">@bookstagramofmine\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Review<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">10\/13\/2021<\/span><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nerdophiles.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nerdophiles\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Review<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">10\/14\/2021<\/span><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/booksaplentybookreviews.blogspot.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Books a Plenty Book Reviews<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Review<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">10\/15\/2021<\/span><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rockstarbooktours.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rockstar Book Tours<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Excerpt<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">10\/16\/2021<\/span><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/themommaspot.home.blog\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Momma Spot<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Review<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2><b>Week Four<\/b><\/h2>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">10\/17\/2021<\/span><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/booksaremagictoo.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Books Are Magic Too<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Review<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">10\/18\/2021<\/span><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/onemused\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">onemused<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">IG Post<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">10\/19\/2021<\/span><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/blessedmommysc.blogspot.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lifestyle of Me<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Review<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">10\/20\/2021<\/span><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/brisbooknook.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bri&#8217;s Book Nook<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Review<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">10\/21\/2021<\/span><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/www.instagram.com\/coffeebooksandmascara\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">coffeebooksandmascara<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Review<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">10\/22\/2021<\/span><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amybooksy.blogspot.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Locks, Hooks and Books<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Review<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">10\/23\/2021<\/span><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/feedyourfictionaddiction.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Feed Your Fiction Addiction<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Review<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2><b>Week Five<\/b><\/h2>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">10\/24\/2021<\/span><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/kellysmithreviews.blogspot.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lily Luchesi&#8217;s Blog<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Excerpt<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">10\/25\/2021<\/span><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/littleredreads.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Little Red Reads<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Review<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">10\/26\/2021<\/span><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/drewsim12\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">@drewsim12<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Review<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">10\/27\/2021<\/span><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/fictitious.fox\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">@fictitious.fox<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Review<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">10\/28\/2021<\/span><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/bookbriefs.net\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">BookBriefs<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Review<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">10\/29\/2021<\/span><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/popthebutterfly.wordpress.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Popthebutterfly Reads<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Review<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">10\/30\/2021<\/span><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/am2cents.blogspot.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">two points of interest<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Review<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2><b>Week Six<\/b><\/h2>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">10\/31\/2021<\/span><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/www.twochicksonbooks.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Two Chicks on Books<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Excerpt<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><b><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-13897\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/V3-Fall-2021-divider.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"645\" height=\"50\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/V3-Fall-2021-divider.png 645w, https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/V3-Fall-2021-divider-300x23.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 645px) 100vw, 645px\" \/><\/b><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-13960\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Enter-the-Giveaway-Fall-2021.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"200\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rafflecopter.com\/rafl\/display\/e2389ba21338\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Enter here for a chance to win a print copy of <\/a><em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rafflecopter.com\/rafl\/display\/e2389ba21334\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tristan Strong Keeps Punching<\/a><\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rafflecopter.com\/rafl\/display\/e2389ba21334\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> by Kwame Mbalia!<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>(US Only)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-13897\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/V3-Fall-2021-divider.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"645\" height=\"50\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/V3-Fall-2021-divider.png 645w, https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/V3-Fall-2021-divider-300x23.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 645px) 100vw, 645px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-13968\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Questions-and-Answers-Fall-2021-1.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"200\" \/><\/p>\n<p>What do you think about <em>Tristan Strong Keeps Punching<\/em>? Have you added it to your tbr yet? Let me know in the comments and have a splendiferous day!<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-13969\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Kait-Plus-Books-Signature-Fall-2021.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"1322\" height=\"881\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Happy Friday and welcome to my stop on the blog tour for TRISTAN STRONG KEEPS PUNCHING by Kwame Mbalia! I&#8217;m so excited because today I have an excerpt of the book to share with you! This book is truly amazing and I&#8217;m so excited to for you to find out more about it, PLUS enter for a chance to win a print copy!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14500,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[484,1001,27],"tags":[537,651,540,462,1247,3367,538,1245,3541],"reading-challenges":[],"class_list":["post-14491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-tours","category-excerpt","category-giveaways","tag-blog-tour","tag-excerpt","tag-giveaway","tag-kait-plus-books","tag-kwame-mbalia","tag-october-2021","tag-rockstar-book-tours","tag-tristan-strong","tag-tristan-strong-keep-punching","book-author-kwame-mbalia","book-series-tristan-strong","book-publisher-rick-riordan-presents","book-genre-contemporary","book-genre-fantasy","book-genre-middle-grade","book-genre-mythology","book-genre-retellings"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Tristan-Strong-Keeps-Punching-Featured-Image.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14491","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14491"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14491\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14950,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14491\/revisions\/14950"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14500"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14491"},{"taxonomy":"reading-challenges","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaitgoodwin.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reading-challenges?post=14491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}