The Bravest Warrior in Nefaria

In the Kingdom of Nefaria, evil schemes perpetrated by villainous foes are commonplace. But since ploys such as the Great Cheese Fraud, the formation of the Anti-beanbag Society, and a plot to take over the kingdom using highly trained spider monkeys turned out mostly harmless, residents rarely concern themselves about them. Even 11-year-old Bobert Bougainvillea, who has olive skin, is only worried that he seems invisible to his classmates. To make friends, Bobert accepts a peer’s dare to use a purportedly cursed gumball machine after dark. In doing so, he springs a trap laid long ago by a sinister wizard named Matt, whose plans to conquer the kingdom involve slowly gathering an army of children through his gumball ruse. Matt ensures that any memory of the child’s existence is erased, so as to elude the kingdom’s evil-scheme sniffer-outers, but Bobert’s new friends somehow remember him just enough to go looking for him, thus drawing them all into a struggle to save him and the kingdom. This goofy middle grade debut from Alsaid (Actually Super) possesses a simmering humor drawn from the premise and setting’s thoroughly absurd trappings, and its good-intentioned protagonists lend it an upbeat tone. Ages 8–12. (Sept.)