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Parents' Guide to

Serwa Boateng's Guide to Vampire Hunting: Serwa Boateng, Book 1

By Carrie R. Wheadon, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 10+

Kids fight Ghanaian vampires and racism in exciting fantasy.

Book Roseanne A. Brown Fantasy 2022
Serwa Boateng's Guide to Vampire Hunting

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What you will—and won't—find in this book.

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What's the Story?

In SERWA BOATENG'S GUIDE TO VAMPIRE HUNTING, Serwa is celebrating her 12th birthday with her parents in their peaceful lakeside home when they are suddenly attacked by adze, the Ghanaian vampires Serwa and her parents have trained their whole lives to defeat. They are still taken completely by surprise because their house was warded against them and are even more surprised when a powerful witch is standing in their kitchen demanding a drum that Serwa has never heard of. As they flee their home to save themselves, Serwa's parents decide to do something they've never done in all of Serwa's young vampire-hunting life: They dump Serwa at an auntie and cousin's house in Maryland while they go on a mission without her to find the dangerous witch. Not only will homeschooled Serwa miss out on the mission and finding out what that mysterious drum was, she will have to go to a real school for the first time. Serwa thinks her new life will be super boring until her first day of school ends in a food fight and detention. Serwa started the fight but didn't mean to -- she was sure she saw an adze in its insect form in her classmate's bag. She and four other miserable kids are forced to pick up trash in the woods the next afternoon, and that's when she sees an adze for real. Before she can wonder how on earth it got there, she has her sword out and is fighting away -- right in front of the other detention kids who have lots of questions for her.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

Here's a "middle school is hard" book with real teeth, the Ghanaian-vampire kind and the "important tough topics" kind. Just as Serwa doesn't shy away from an azde (vampire) that invades her new middle school, Serwa Boateng's Guide to Vampire Hunting doesn't shy away from racism and how Serwa and her fellow students of color experience it. Author Roseanne A. Brown is sometimes blunt in her depiction of racism, which may make some readers uncomfortable. This seems both intentional and essential in our world today. The Black art teacher, Mr. Riley, probably didn't have to tell the kids in detention that they were there because the were Black and Brown, but it's a good reminder to readers that bias is real. And the White teacher that accuses Serwa of both cheating and stealing and calls her "Sarah" -- she's a nightmare almost as bad as the blood-sucking kind.

Still, these harassed kids with plenty already on their plates want to save their school from vampires and they need to work together to do it. Problem is, they don't really like one another that much. Even bigger problem is, only Serwa knows how to wield a sword and draw protective symbols, and she's not a patient teacher. Many social slipups and grueling practices later, they have a semblance of a team, and some cool extra powers thanks to a bargain with Asaase Yaa, the earth goddess, and a dangerous quest. That's when the fantasy part of the tale really takes off and excites, and after the showdown at school the story feels complete. But hold on -- the big reveal of a family secret veers the ending so far of the usual happy-ending course the story feels jarringly incomplete again. Good thing there's a sequel coming.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about race in Serwa Boateng's Guide to Vampire Hunting. In Chapter 30, the five friends talk openly about their experiences of racism. Why is this a hard conversation? Why do they all decide it's important for their friendship? Do you have conversations like these with your friends? Why or why not?

  • Could this story of kids fighting Ghanaian vampires been all about the vampires without dealing with racism? Is it easier to read about tough topics like racism when there are also vampires to fight and cool powers?

  • The ending is a truly jarring one. What do you think is next for Serwa and her friends?

Book Details

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