The Cursed Carnival and Other Calamities

A multi-author anthology of ten middle-grade short stories edited by Rick Riordan and published under his Rick Riordan Presents imprint, which showcases own-voices authors retelling mythologies from around the world.

Each story reunites readers with a beloved protagonist drawn from one of the imprint's series, sending them up against fresh supernatural menaces, from cave monsters and abandoned demons to ghosts and cursed groves.

The contributors and their tie-in worlds include Carlos Hernandez (Sal and Gabi), Roshani Chokshi (Aru Shah), J.C. Cervantes (The Storm Runner), Yoon Ha Lee (Dragon Pearl), Kwame Mbalia (Tristan Strong), Rebecca Roanhorse (Race to the Sun), Tehlor Kay Mejia (Paola Santiago), Sarwat Chadda (City of the Plague God), and Graci Kim (The Last Fallen Star), whose story gives the collection its title.

Rick Riordan contributes both a foreword and his own story, My Life as a Child Outlaw, his first venture into Irish and Celtic mythology, which follows a brand-new hero rather than Percy Jackson. Drawing on Indian, Mesoamerican, Korean, Cuban, Black American, West African, Navajo, Mexican, Mesopotamian, and Celtic traditions, the collection is fast, funny, and deliberately diverse.

Note that, as an anthology of ten authors, the writing styles and worlds shift from story to story; it works best as a sampler for readers already fond of the Rick Riordan Presents lineup, or as an inviting gateway into those series.