Tristan wakes up from his dream to find himself falling into a fiery water called the Burning Sea in a region of Alke known as MidPass. Uncle C wants him to bring him Eddie's journal. In the place he meets Uncle C, who is the escaped evil spirit. Tristan has a strange dream that he is in a dark place. In the sky is the burning hole Tristan created when he punched the tree and accidentally set loose the evil spirit. Tristan wakes up in a strange new land populated by African gods and African American folktale heroes. Tristan gets sucked into the hole as well, along with Gum Baby and the journal.
When Gum Baby will not give Tristan back the journal, Tristan punches the tree in frustration and accidentally sets loose a haint and releases it through a fiery hole, or portal, into another world called Alke. Tied to its branches are old bottles that were used to capture "haints," or evil spirits, a tradition brought over by slaves from Africa. His Nana told him it is called The Bottle Tree. He enters the forest and follows Gum Baby to a particularly old tree. He chases after her by following her trail of sap and finds himself at the edge of his grandparents' farm by an old forest. That someone happens to be a live, ten-inch, sap-shooting doll named Gum Baby. That night, Tristan is woken up in the middle of the night by someone trespassing in his room. Soon they arrive at his grandparents' farm. He assumed he was dreaming, but isn't sure. He sees a giant man with an ax and a talking rabbit sending someone small on a mission to search for something. Halfway through the car ride to Alabama, curiosity gets the better of Tristan and he opens the journal. The journal has been glowing green, but only Tristan can see it. Eddie left behind a journal which he used to collect the best African American and African myths and stories that he came across. On top of that, Tristan is still grieving the death of his best friend, Eddie, who died in a tragic bus accident a few weeks ago. His father and grandfather are clearly disappointed in him. His family mantra is literally, "Strongs keep punching." Tristan feels ashamed for losing his first boxing match last night. Tristan comes from a proud line of male boxers, and is expected to uphold the Strong legacy. Lately he has been getting into fights at school. Tristan lives in Chicago, but he hasn't been doing too well lately, so his parents decided it would be a good idea if he got a little break from home.
Tristan is going to stay with his grandparents on their farm in Alabama for a month. Thirteen-year-old Tristan Strong is practicing boxing when his mom comes into his room and tells him it is time to go. Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky. The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Mbalia, Kwame.
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