"Never underestimate a mother with a grudge"
Space obsessed Paula Santiago and her two best friends, Emma and Dante, know the rule: Stay away from the river. It's all they've heard since a schoolmate of theirs drowned a year ago. Pao is embarrassed to admit that she's been told to stay away for even longer than that, because her mother is constantly warning her about La Lorona, the wailing ghost woman who wander the banks of the Gills at night, looking for young people to drag into it's murky depths.
Hating her mothers' humiliating superstitions and knowing that she na her friends would bnever venture into the water, Pao organizes a meet-up to test out her new telescope new the Gils, since it's the best stargazing spot. Bot when Emma never arrives and Pao sees a shadowy figure in the reeds, it seems like maybe her mom was right...
Pao has always relied on hard science to make sense of the world, but to find her friend she will have to enter the world of her nightmares, which includes unnatural mists, mind-bending monsters, and relentless spirits controlled by a terrifying force that defies both logic and myth.
REVIEW: First of all I want to say, thank you to Rick Riordan presents for bringing all these myths and folktales to light. I have always been a fan on any and all mythology and folklore and I love that he is allowing all cultures to have their time to shine. Having grown up in South Texas and being of hispanic heritage, I saw myself in this book more than I could have ever imagined. I am hispanic on my dad's side but I was raised without that side of my culture in a white household, but living in South Texas I knew all the stories, La Llorona, El Chupacabra, Lechuzas, but I never wished I had known my abuela more than after reading this book. Besides all the nostalgia I felt while reading this, Pao is an incredible character. Her spunk and tenacity is delightful and reminds me of my own 12 year old daughter. Her friendship with Emma and her changing relationship with Dante is so spot on for this age and shows the power of true friendship along with the awkwardness of the "boy-girl spiderweb" of that age. The pictures that Mejia paints with her descriptions are spooky and beautiful at the same time. This book has it all ghosts, chupacabras, and even a magical chancla (if you know then you know) and I can't wait to share it with my own children and give them the background of the legends in their heritage. I will be counting the days until we know what happens next for Pao, Emma, and Dante.......and of course Bruto ;)
#thetattooedlibrarian #paolasantiago #rickriordanpresents #disneyhyperionbooks #lallorona #chupacabra
Publication date: August 4, 2020 (AVAILABLE NOW!!!)
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