The Cursed Moon

by Angela Cervantes

Overview

Celebrated author Angela Cervantes' brand new novel combines a chilling ghost story with her award-winning, heartfelt storytelling style.

One two, the Caretaker’s coming for you. Three-four, you’ll breathe no more. Five-six, you’ll float like sticks. Seven, eight, you’ll meet your fate.

Rafael Fuentes isn’t easily scared. He loves writing ghost stories, reading scary books, and entertaining his friends with terrifying tales he creates on the spot. Rafa has come up against enough real-life scary situations that fictional hauntings seem like no big deal. Rafa’s incarcerated mom is being released from jail soon, and will be coming to live with him, his sister, and their grandparents. For the first time in a while, Rafa feels a pit of fear growing in his stomach.

To take his mind off his mom’s return, Rafa spends an evening crafting the scariest ghost story he’s ever told. As an eerie blood moon hangs in the sky, Rafa tells a group of friends about The Caretaker. The Caretaker is an evil ghost who lures unsuspecting kids into the neighborhood pond. . . and they don’t ever come out. Rafa is really proud of his latest creation, until strange things start to happen around him. With a sinking feeling, Rafa realizes the Caretaker is real. Rafa has brought the ghost to life—and only he can stop him.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781338814019
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	09/05/2023
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	18,578
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Angela Cervantes is a poet, storyteller, and animal lover. Her poetry and short stories have appeared in various publications, and she has written the novels Gaby, Lost and Found and Allie, First at Last. When Angela is not writing, she enjoys hanging out with her husband in Kansas and eating fish tacos every chance she gets. Keep up with Angela at angelacervantes.com.

Editorial Reviews

07/31/2023

A tween with a penchant for crafting creepy tales must reckon with ghosts from his past and present in this haunting read. Mexican American 11-year-old Rafael Fuentes is dreading his mother’s early release from prison. While living with his abuelos for the last two years during her incarceration, he’s managed to cultivate a stable environment for his younger sister Brianna, and he worries that his mother’s return will disrupt his established peace. When his neighbor Ms. Martin ominously warns him to not tell scary stories tonight during the blood moon lest he awaken a restless spirit, Rafa believes she’s just another adult trying to control him. But after regaling his friends with his most terrifying yarn yet, about a specter who lures kids to their deaths in the local pond, strange things start happening: jaguar claw marks appear on Rafa’s door, and he begins receiving sinister countdown texts and having ghostly visions of missing youths. Via sometimes choppy prose, Cervantes (Letty Out Loud) delivers a frightening adventure; Rafa and Brianna’s close sibling dynamic, and his strained relationship with his mother, are the emotional center of this supernatural page-turner. Ages 8–12. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

2023-06-08
A boy tells one scary story too many and must find his way to a happy ending—or else.

Eleven-year-old Mexican American Rafael Fuentes loves writing horror stories. It comes easily to him despite his struggles in school because much of his life has been a different kind of scary story, one full of neglect and instability. For the past two years since their mom was sent to prison, Rafa and his younger sister, Brianna, have lived with their loving abuelos. But now Rafa is dreading his mom’s upcoming early release. One day, neighbor Ms. Martin warns Rafa that he should not, under any circumstances, tell a scary story during the upcoming blood moon. But Rafa’s storytelling has brought him social acceptance, so at his friends’ urging, he tells one of his most frightening tales yet. Soon after, strange, unsettling things start happening. Rafa thinks his spooky story has something to do with this, and he tries to craft a new, happy ending for his story. With the support of his friends and help from a magical jaguar, he faces down the evil threat. Featuring excellent pacing and seamlessly centering a diverse, well-drawn community, Cervantes’ latest deals with the complicated issues that arise from having an incarcerated parent and provides ample creep factor for young horror fans without ever losing sight of the fact that maintaining hope is key.

The power of words lies at the heart of this heartwarming story. (Horror. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews