In this sequel to Ring of Solomon, an action-adventure drawing on Jewish folklore and mythology, we pick up a year later, after now-13-year-old Zach Darlington has saved the world from three mythic monsters (with a little help from his best friend Sandra, his sister Naomi, and Ashmedai, King of Demons). Zach has managed to keep a lid on their escapades, but Naomi starts telling tales to their parents, who think that watching too many scary movies is making Zach believe he’s living in a fantasy world. Zach has enough to worry about already, dodging the fellow students who bully him for being gay and Jewish, and wondering how to come out to his dad.
“I’ve felt monstrous my whole life,” Zach says, not because he’s gay or Jewish, but because he just doesn’t seem to fit in. Sandra, who is Latina (of Ecuadorian heritage) in a majority-White community, feels similarly like an outsider, and this is part of what brings them together.
Naomi then disappears during the family’s Passover seder (Zach’s mother is Jewish and his father Christian), along with the flaming sword that Zach had gained from the archangel Uriel in Ring of Solomon. Ash thinks Uriel is to blame and is keeping Naomi in the Garden of Eden, which means Zach, Sandra, and Naomi must set off to Eden to find her.
Just as demons (“shedim” in Hebrew) like Ash are not purely evil creatures in Jewish tradition, author Aden Polydoros leans into the parallel idea that not all angels are good—and nor is the Garden of Eden a paradise. Foes new and old await Zach and his friends as they seek to rescue Naomi—and maybe even save the world from destruction again.
Zach’s gay identity isn’t the predominant part of the adventure, although his concern about coming out to his dad and his general feeling of being an outsider form a secondary thread. Polydoros treats this with nuance. Although Zach knows that coming out to his parents “wouldn’t change me in their eyes,” the constant bullying he has suffered makes him feel like being gay is “a huge, monstrous secret.” We see that coming out to one’s parents involves more than just knowing whether they would be accepting; it can also be influenced, for better or worse, by the messages one receives from the world at large.
The action-filled story is again anchored by Zach’s colorful first-person narrative, full of entertaining similes. The use of Jewish legends and symbols is fun and welcome; fans of Rick Riordan’s books will likely enjoy this twist on contemporary, mythology-based adventures. There are deeper lessons here, too, about how every being is capable of both good and evil, and how being a “monster” is sometimes a matter of perspective—but these themes never weigh down the tale.
There are several characters and creatures who die in the course of the book; I don’t feel that any of this is presented inappropriately for the target age in general, but adults may may wish to be aware of it in case of sensitivities among particular readers.
My only quibble is that Zach at one point, frustrated with Naomi’s revelation of their monster-slaying secrets, asks her if she wants people to think she’s “nuts” and “cuckoo in the head.” That’s ableist language—and while a 13-year-old might say it without knowing how ableist it is, it feels irresponsible for the author not to convey that in some way.
The book ends with a few loose ends, but this is the second of a planned trilogy, so that feels appropriate. I’m looking forward to the third volume.
Zach is cued White. He also has a queer aunt who shows up in one scene and Sandra has a trans boy cousin who is mentioned in passing.
