A seventh grader and native of Chicago, Tristan starts out as a quiet boy grieving the loss of his friend but transforms into a hero by the end of the novel. Tristan is feeling defeated at the start of the novel because he has failed to live up to his ideas about being a hero. His first great failure, his inability to save his best friend Eddie during a school bus accident, leads to a long depression that he cannot shake. His sense of failure grows when he fails to win a boxing match, a particularly big loss because both his father and grandfather have established the Strong family reputation as boxers.

Tristan’s life only begins to turn around as he learns key lessons and skills through a series of trials and epiphanies. In the world of Alke, he learns to admit that he is vulnerable and afraid to others as he faces challenges like retrieving a powerful Story Box to save MidPass. He learns to control himself and use stories for good from mentors like John Henry, Brer Fox, and Nyame.

Finally, near the end of the narrative, he has an

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