The Last Akaway, A Spirit Animal Adventure by Gary Karton

Brody and his Grammy always got along well and he looks forward to his time with her.  She's always been a bit different and she's getting old, but their time is still precious.  It gets even more special when he sees this strange animal and she tells him it's an Akaway.

Brattle Publishing Group and Net Galley gave me the opportunity to read this ebook story (thank you).  It will be published February 25th, so you can grab a copy then.

Brody sees this spirit animal because he believes in magic.  He and Grammy do; it's his older brother who doesn't.  When he takes his big brother Jake, to see it, they are followed.  The hunter wants the Akaway, too, but not for any good reason.  It's the last Akaway and helps maintain order and balance in the world.  The evil Uncle Skeeta wants chaos so he can control the world.

This is written for middle-graders and has all kinds of action and challenges to keep their interest.  A lot of their quest to save the Akaway is similar to a video game so they'll relate.  I found it a good read.

My favorite part of the story is the fact that Grammy is pretty deaf.  Brody keeps asking or answering question and what she says next is hilarious.  The author must have been around someone older with poor hearing to get this part of the story so accurate.  It might be life or death for the Akaway, but you'll be laughing at the conversations with Grammy.

Happy reading.