Rick Riordan Presents: Serwa Boateng's Guide to Vampire Hunting

A Serwa Boateng Novel, Book 1

By: Roseanne A. Brown

Narrated by: Soneela Nankani

Length: 12 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

Best-selling author Rick Riordan presents best-selling YA author Roseanne A. Brown's middle grade debut about a pre-teen vampire slayer with a strong helping of Ghanaian folklore.

For most kids, catching fireflies is a fun summer activity. For twelve-year-old Serwa Boateng, it's a matter of life and death. That's because Serwa knows that some fireflies are really adze, shapeshifting vampires from the forests of Southeastern Ghana. Adze prey on the blood of innocents, possessing their minds and turning them into hulking monsters, and for generations, slayers like Serwa and her parents have protected an unknowing public from their threats.

Serwa is the best adze slayer her age, and she knew how to use a crossbow before she could even ride a bike. But when an obayifo (witch) destroys her childhood home while searching for a drum, do Serwa's parents take her with them on their quest to defeat her? No. Instead, they dump Serwa with her hippie aunt and cryptic-obsessed cousin in the middle of Nowheresville, Maryland, "for her own safety."

Now, instead of crossbows and battle armor, she's dealing with mean girls and algebra, and for the first time in her life she doesn't have to carry a staff everywhere she goes, which is . . . kind of nice, actually. Just as Serwa starts to get the hang of this whole normal girl who doesn't punch vampires every day thing, an adze infiltrates her school.

It's up to her to whip some of her classmates into monster-fighting shape before all of them become firefly food. And when she uncovers a secret that upends everything she thought she knew about her family's role in the slayer vs. adze war, Serwa will have to decide which side of herself—normal girl or slayer—is the right one. After all, seventh grade is hard enough without adding vampires to the mix.

Endorsed by Rick Riordan, author of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, soon to be a series on Disney+. Complete your middle grade action-adventure collection with these titles: Rick Riordan Presents: Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia Rick Riordan Presents: The Storm Runner by J.C. Cervantes Rick Riordan Presents: Race to the Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse Rick Riordan Presents: Pahua and the Soul Stealer by Lori M. Lee Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

©2022 Roseanne A. Brown (P)2022 Disney Hyperion

The perfect mix of Aru Shah, Savvy, and Magnus Chase

Kickbutt homeschooler. Just-the-right-amount-of-creepy vampires. Fabulous characters with personality for miles. This story had me on the edge of my seat. Could’ve had a little more LGBTQ+ representation, but one character did have two dads, and that was pretty awesome. And the way racism was addressed was absolutely amazing! This book is a fabulous mix of fantasy and equality.

Vampires…myths…& a kick but team of mini slayers

Ok this is the story that I didn’t think I needed but glad I came to picking it up. Besides being engulfed by the African folklore and mythology, I was pleased to come across characters that were perfectly flawed and unique in their own way. Plus this story shares that sometimes you have to go against what you know is true to find YOUR truth in this world. 11/10 can’t wait for the next one!

Very interesting tale with a bit of a twist.

The author does a good job of highlighting problems of inclusivity and belonging in K-12 education, while tackling issues of discrimination. It is impressive that this is done while weaving in Ghanaian folklore. Nicely done.

The narrator does a good job for most of the book. There is a little too much whine-screeching at the end of the book.

Kinda racist but otherwise great.

Both named white characters are antagonists, one comes off as the other very racist. While the protagonist are almost every other race. It did tackle racism well for the most part but allot of scenes where jarring and needless if not random, you could remove all but 1 and it wouldn’t effect anything at all.


That being said it was otherwise a great story, i loved learning about the culture, would be great to go more into the mythology, it overall great plot and characters. The author very skilled and problems aside i enjoyed it. If it wasn’t for the former issues id definitely recommend it and hope for a sequel.