Ranger Nader & The Sunstruck Phantom

Ranger thinks he's an ordinary 9th grader. Then he inherits a magic ax and learns he's the new Guardian of the Forest, and, even more of a stunner, a demigod in training. Eons ago, another demigod, Gilgamesh--yes, THE Gilgamesh from The Epic of Gilgamesh--used the axe to clear the Forest, causing a Great Flood. Now, the evil king has returned to finish what he started. With the help of his sister, his cousins, and the axe of course, Ranger has to stop him.

Ranger Nader & The Sunstruck Phantom has received several honors and awards. It was Long LIsted by the 2019 Green Earth Book Awards and was named a Finalist in the 2019 National Indie Excellence Awards AND in the IAN Book of the Year Awards. BookLife Prize had these good things to say about it:

If Harry Potter were a Lebanese-American teen in the future, descended from Ancient Phoenicians, the plot for "Ranger Nader" would be the perfect blend of these stories. Young Ranger Nader attends an academy for teens with strange powers and must become a Guardian of Earth and defeat an evil demi-god from history, all while trying to survive adolescence. Although mimicking the Potter series, the use of Phoenician history in a futuristic setting, including bull jumping to determine spaceship assignments, is wonderfully fresh. And the use of Gilgamesh, an historic figure, as the villain is fascinating and new. By: BookLife Prize