Paola Santiago and the River of Tears (Paola Santiago Series #1)

by Tehlor Kay Mejia

Overview

Best-selling author Rick Riordan presents author Tehlor Kay Mejia's thrilling adventure based on the Mexican legend of La Llorona.

*"A new hero's fantastic and fantastical adventure—her next appearance can't come soon enough."—KirkusReviews (starred review)

Space-obsessed 12-year-old Paola 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 has been told to stay away for even longer than that, because her mother is constantly warning her about La Llorona, the wailing ghost woman who wanders the banks of the Gila at night, looking for young people to drag into its murky depths.

Hating her mother’s humiliating superstitions and knowing that she and her friends would never venture into the water, Pao organizes a meet-up to test out her new telescope near the Gila, since it’s the best stargazing spot. But 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 mist, mind-bending monsters, and relentless spirits controlled by a terrifying force that defies both logic and legend.

Part ghost story, part family story, and part hero quest, this exciting and imaginative tale will transport readers to another world.

Endorsed by Rick Riordan, author of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, soon to be a series on Disney+.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781368049337
Publisher:	Disney Publishing Group
Publication date:	05/04/2021
Series:	Paola Santiago Series , #1
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	66,677
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.40(h) x 1.10(d)
Lexile:	840L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Tehlor Kay Mejia is an Oregon native in love with the alpine meadows and evergreen forests of their home state, where they live with their daughter. When Tehlor's not writing, you can find them plucking the guitar, stealing rosemary sprigs from overgrown gardens, or trying to make the perfect vegan tamale. Tehlor is the author of three middle grade novels about Paola Santiago as well as the YA fantasy novels We Set the Dark on Fire and We Unleash the Merciless Storm. Follow her on Instagram @TehlorKay.

Editorial Reviews

*"A new hero's fantastic and fantastical debut—her next appearance can't come soon enough."—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

*"A warm, thrilling Mexican American ­adventure. An essential purchase."—School Library Journal (starred review)

*"Mejia draws upon her Latinx heritage to conjure creatures from folklore . . . and layer[s] in realistic plot points: socioeconomic and immigration concerns, the tension between science and superstition."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

*"This fast-paced journey into Latinx folklore, with its clever protagonist, is sure to keep readers turning pages into the night."—Booklist (starred review)

From the Publisher

★ 06/22/2020

Twelve-year-old Paola Santiago has always been more comfortable with science and logic than with her mother’s ghost stories, especially due to her history of vivid nightmares. When her friend Emma vanishes near the banks of Silver Spring, Ariz.’s Gila River, a place forbidden to Paola because of its history of mysterious disappearances, she and friend Dante investigate, only to be sucked into a realm where monsters out of her mother’s stories stalk them. The two find refuge with Los Niños de la Luz, an army of child warriors who guard the world’s liminal spaces. To track down Emma and save the world, the two must draw upon the strength of their friendship and confront a centuries-old tragedy. With this adventure, Mejia (We Set the Dark on Fire) draws upon her Latinx heritage to conjure creatures from folklore, such as chupacabras, La Llorona, and disembodied hands, arming Paola and her allies with fantastical weapons and layering in realistic plot points: socioeconomic and immigration concerns, the tension between science and superstition. Complicated emotional development is a particular strength—Paola wrestles with issues of anger and forgiveness, mother-daughter strife, and the new “boy-girl weirdness” between her and Dante en route to becoming a reluctant hero. Ages 8–12. Agent: Jim McCarthy, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

★ 08/01/2020

Gr 5–8—Twelve-year-old Paola "Pao" Santiago lives in Silver Springs, AZ, with her besties Dante and Emma. Her mother strongly believes in ancestor ghosts and regional legends like La Llorona, a weeping ghost who drowns her victims in the Gila River. Pao appreciates science and evidence, a position she must question when Emma disappears. Pao and Dante search for her in a magical hinterland, where their dream guide Ondina steers them past frightening chupacabras and ghost children ahogados. They reach a camp with immortal child warriors who defend Silver Springs but fear an overwhelming assault. Pao departs the camp to find Emma, facing a battle with the ghosts' puppet master. Mejia's Mexican American myth succeeds both as an extended quest and a humorous contemporary story. Her real genius lies, however, in detailed yet effortless characterization. It takes mere pages before readers will know and love Pao. Pao is both a pragmatist and a dreamer. Her loyalty to Emma and her changing feelings for Dante feel well integrated with the action. Minor characters like Ondina and the camp children have stand-out moments. And who can resist Pao's acquisition of a demon hound? Character development, the Southwestern setting, and action share story space without seeming rushed. Spanish phrases, like those Dante's abuela uses to advise the children, are understandable to non–Spanish speakers in context. Readers may wonder why the unwed mother in the folktale is shunned and could benefit from a grown-up's explanation. VERDICT A warm, thrilling Mexican American adventure. An essential purchase.—Caitlin Augusta, Stratford Lib. Assoc., CT

School Library Journal

Narrator Frankie Corzo brings relatable warmth to this supernatural adventure. Twelve-year-old Paola’s mother has warned her not to go near the river for fear of La Llorona, a legendary weeping ghost who drowns her victims. Pao and her friends, Emma and Dante, ignore the warnings—and then, Emma disappears. To rescue her, Pao and Dante embark on an adventure into a magical dreamworld full of frightening chupacabras and ghostly drowned children. Corzo’s intensity matches the nonstop action, but distinct voices for the three friends also highlight the human interactions. The Spanish accent of Dante’s abuela and effortless pronunciations of Spanish words and phrases add authenticity to the Mexican-American legend. Also fun is Rick Riordan’s introduction, in which he shares his own childhood connection to the story. S.C. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

SEPTEMBER 2020 - AudioFile

Narrator Frankie Corzo brings relatable warmth to this supernatural adventure. Twelve-year-old Paola’s mother has warned her not to go near the river for fear of La Llorona, a legendary weeping ghost who drowns her victims. Pao and her friends, Emma and Dante, ignore the warnings—and then, Emma disappears. To rescue her, Pao and Dante embark on an adventure into a magical dreamworld full of frightening chupacabras and ghostly drowned children. Corzo’s intensity matches the nonstop action, but distinct voices for the three friends also highlight the human interactions. The Spanish accent of Dante’s abuela and effortless pronunciations of Spanish words and phrases add authenticity to the Mexican-American legend. Also fun is Rick Riordan’s introduction, in which he shares his own childhood connection to the story. S.C. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

SEPTEMBER 2020 - AudioFile

★ 2020-05-18
A 12-year-old girl must leave behind her preconceived notions of what is real if she wants to save her missing friend.

Paola Santiago looks forward to summer days filled with daydreaming and “ponder[ing] algae or other fuel experiments” with her best friends, Dante and Emma, down at the riverbanks. Her mother has forbidden Pao from hanging out down at the Gila River, but Pao disregards her advice, as most of her mom’s warnings include folkloric elements, like the fabled La Llorona. Pao, a self-professed scientist, cannot fathom believing in things like ghosts that have “no scientific basis to them.” That is, until Pao and Dante wait in vain for Emma to show up at the river. Emma’s disappearance, along with those of many other young people in the area, leads Pao and Dante on a journey that will shatter the laws of physics and other scientific truths Pao holds dear. As the duo searches for Emma, they will encounter lands and creatures that Pao held to be fictitious, along with her mother’s beliefs, which Pao has often pushed away along with the connection to her Mexican ancestry. Mejia’s writing is fast-paced and engaging, as the colorful imagery places readers in Southwestern cacti fields and in the tumultuous mindset of an insecure 12-year-old. For all its exploration of Pao’s internal landscape, there is action aplenty. Dante is Latinx, like Pao; Emma is white.

A new hero’s fantastic and fantastical debut—her next appearance can’t come soon enough. (Fantasy. 8-13)

Kirkus Reviews