Heroes of the Water Monster

Ages 8 to 12, Grades 3 to 7

Now in paperback, this remarkable, hard-hitting, and action-packed novel from rising talent Brian Young (Navajo) follows two young Navajo stepbrothers living in Phoenix as they try to save the world as they know it from a Water Monster from the Third World. The book is a companion to Young’s debut novel, Healer of the Water Monster, which won the American Indian Library Association Youth Literature Award, but can stand alone. 

An unmissable companion to Healer of the Water Monster, which won the American Indian Library Association Youth Literature Award, this novel by Navajo author Brian Young tells the story of two contemporary young Navajo heroes—and one water monster—who must learn to work together to save their present world from the lasting hurts of their people’s past.Edward feels ready to move in with his dad’s girlfriend and her son, Nathan. He might miss having his dad all to himself, but even if things in their new home are a little awkward, living with Nathan isn’t so bad. And Nathan is glad to have found a new guardian for Dew, the young water monster who has been Nathan's responsibility for two years. Now that Nathan is starting to lose his childhood connection to the Holy Beings, Edward will be the one to take over as Dew’s next guardian.But Edward has a lot to learn about taking care of a water monster. And fast. Because Dew’s big sister, the powerful Yitoo Bii’aanii, is coming up to Fourth World to instruct Dew after recovering in the Third World for one hundred and sixty years. She suspects a monstrous and enormous Enemy from the Hero Twins stories has returned and is stealing water from all of the Navajo Nation.In their search for the Modern Enemy, Nathan, Edward, Dew, and Yitoo must confront their pasts and their inner selves if they are to save the Fourth World from a devastating disaster.An American Indian Library Association Youth Literature Award Honor book!

About the Author

Author and filmmaker Brian Young is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation. He grew up on the Navajo reservation in Arizona. Brian earned his BA in film studies at Yale University and his MFA in creative writing at Columbia University. Brian currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.