Book Review: The Jaguar Mask, by Michael J. DeLuca
I started out only able to read this book in small bites, taking time for digestion, but by the end, I was eating it up eagerly, hungry for the meanings that were emerging and the inspirations I could take from it.
Book Review: Sun of Blood and Ruin, by Mariely Lares
Like xocolatl, the original chocolate drink, this book is a rich, frothy brew, and the conclusion, although it has its bittersweet elements, goes down smoothly.
Book Review: Vampires of El Norte
I enjoyed reading Vampires of El Norte. The young lovers’ misunderstandings feel natural, not artificially belabored, and the problems they’re dealing with, of trying to negotiate societal and familial expectations and demands to find some degrees of choice, are depicted with understanding, compassion, and warmth. The monsters are scary, the action scenes are exciting, the love story is sweet, and I found the conclusion very satisfying.
Book Review: WE SET THE DARK ON FIRE by Tehlor Kay Mejia
We Set the Dark on Fire, Tehlor Kay Mejia’s debut YA fantasy novel, is lush, lyrical, and sure to take the YA world by storm. Intensely descriptive and emotional, every page of this novel is a journey along a path of conspiracy and doubt, told through the eyes of a young woman who is desperate to find herself a secure place in a world that has been set against her since birth. This contemporary Latinx fantasy is a must-read for fans of dystopian worlds where badass women break social norms for the betterment of their people while celebrating their home culture in rich detail. The novel, set on a fictional version of the Philippine island of Medio, follows Daniela Vargas, a top student at the Medio School for Girls, where distinguished young women are raised and trained to be dutiful wives to their future husbands. Daniela, however, has a secret — she has been lying to everyone about her pedigree, her identity a forgery obtained by her parents to give their daughter a better life. When Daniela is chosen as the Primera for a rising political star, she must maintain her careful facade or lose everything. But when everything seems to go wrong at the last minute, Daniela finds herself facing a hard choice: become a spy for the revolution and be part of her people’s salvation or cling to the dream her parents had for her when they sent her to the capital.
