Weekend Pick for March 11, 2022
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This weekend let's take a dive into the world of speculative fiction with the winner of the Newbery Medal and Pura Belpré Award, The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera.
This story is a story lovers tale. Set in a futuristic world where Earth has been destroyed by a comet, the story begins with, "Había una vez . . ." Then we meet our protagonist, a girl named Petra Peña, who wants nothing more than to be a storyteller, like her abuelita. But Petra's world as she knows it is coming to a close. As the child of scientists chosen to leave Earth for the journey to a new planet, Petra is tasked with the continuation of the human race in a new world. Put into suspended animation for hundreds of years, she wakes to this new planet only to find that she is the only one to still remember life on Earth, and the leaders of this new world are comprised of a sinister Collective focused on erasing the sins of humanity's past. The Collective have manipulated the suspended animation to purge the memories of all aboard the ship during their journey to the new world and purged those deemed "defective" all together. Petra now faces the challenge of carrying the stories of humanity's past, and with them, the hope for the future. The question remains can she make the stories live again?
This story is a story lovers tale. Set in a futuristic world where Earth has been destroyed by a comet, the story begins with, "Había una vez . . ." Then we meet our protagonist, a girl named Petra Peña, who wants nothing more than to be a storyteller, like her abuelita. But Petra's world as she knows it is coming to a close. As the child of scientists chosen to leave Earth for the journey to a new planet, Petra is tasked with the continuation of the human race in a new world. Put into suspended animation for hundreds of years, she wakes to this new planet only to find that she is the only one to still remember life on Earth, and the leaders of this new world are comprised of a sinister Collective focused on erasing the sins of humanity's past. The Collective have manipulated the suspended animation to purge the memories of all aboard the ship during their journey to the new world and purged those deemed "defective" all together. Petra now faces the challenge of carrying the stories of humanity's past, and with them, the hope for the future. The question remains can she make the stories live again?
I loved this novel for so many reasons. First, the writing--just incredible! Higuera envelopes the reader in her beautifully woven tale across space with magical Mexican folklore. Second, as all excellent science fiction stories do, The Last Cuentista makes the reader contemplate the importance of storytelling as a pathway tying the future to the past and asking the question, can the stories of the past save the future? Finally, the love and cleverness and hope embodied in the character of Petra brings readers light in the midst of darkness. A testament of the power of storytelling and the ways our shared histories make us connected to one another, this novel was exactly the right book at the right time for me. I hope you will find it just as compelling and spellbinding as I did!
Until next week, keep reading!
xo,
Cammie
Until next week, keep reading!
xo,
Cammie
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