Kwame Crashes the Underworld

This book is a finalist for a 2024 Cybils Book Award in Elementary/Middle-Grade Speculative Fiction.
What worked:
The plot takes an immediate right turn as Kwame reluctantly prepares for a family trip to Ghana to honor his recently deceased grandmother. The next thing readers know, he’s spending the night at his best friend Autumn’s house only to end up in the Ghanaian underworld. The underworld is called Asamando in the Ghanaian culture and the back of the book includes a glossary for other terms. Kwame’s adventure begins when he tries to retrieve the dashiki his grandmother made for him. His blood carries power from the deceased Asase Yaa, Ghana’s Goddess of the Earth, although Kwame repeatedly denies he's Ghanaian. Asase Yaa’s death, Kwame’s denial of his heritage, and characters dealing with grief are major factors in the story’s plot.
The early chapters describe Kwame’s reluctance to accept his grandmother’s death. He’s in denial for a week and continues to struggle with his grief for much of the story. He begins to accept what’s happened when he encounters his grandmother in the underworld and remembers the wild stories she used to tell. Autumn accompanies him on the adventure and the author takes the time to address her hearing problems. She’s born able to hear but an illness takes away the ability. She has hearing aids but frequently communicates with Kwame using sign language. The author includes descriptions of hand motions used by Autumn and Kwame to communicate with each other.
Humor is a big part of the story and it comes in different forms. Interactions between Kwame and underworld characters lead to humorous misunderstandings and dialogue A monkey-like, mythical creature called an aboatia initially creates the conflict for Kwame and it stops atop Autumn’s shoulders for most of the adventure. Woo has an insatiable curiosity and appetite and becomes a part-time protector when not causing mischief. Woo steals an akrafena, a magical sword, that mostly follows Kwame’s commands. The akrafena can fight on its own but Kwame quickly learns that it doesn’t always do exactly as it's instructed. A variety of mythical creatures become part of the plot, some friendly and some dangerous, including cows as big as eighteen-wheelers.
What didn’t work as well:
The book goes heavily into the Ghanaian culture which may not appeal to all. However, it’s not a big deal and shouldn’t stop young people from reading it. Also, the plot feels very much like other adventures where characters discover they have new powers, such as Percy Jackson.
The final verdict:
Kwame’s love for his grandmother is prevalent as he manages his grief after her death. The plot’s antagonists are dealing with loss too so grief management may connect with young readers. This book about Ghanaian culture offers a freshness to mythology stories and I highly recommend you give it a shot.