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olivialandryxo 's review for:
Paola Santiago and the River of Tears
by Tehlor Kay Mejia
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
3.5 stars
Mejia’s YA duology We Set the Dark on Fire is one of my all-time favorites, so I was curious to see how she would approach a Middle Grade novel. While I do think Paola Santiago and The River of Tears is a good story, I don’t think it’s a story for me.
This was much spookier than I expected, though that could simply be because I didn’t read the synopsis. I knew the author wrote a story about La Llorona, and legitimately nothing else. But honestly? It was kind of fun that way. That aside, it was spooky enough to be atmospheric, maybe give you slight chills, but not actually scary. Props to Mejia for that.
As for the characters, I liked them as well. Paola and her friends Emma and Dante are a close-knit trio of twelve-year-olds, enjoying the summer leading up to seventh grade. I’m sure we all know that there’s a specific kind of angst that comes at that age, and Mejia wrote it well—present, but not overbearing. I liked the three of them both as individuals and as a group.
Yet, despite these positives, I found myself not really invested in the story until close to the end. I was curious about what would happen, but not super eager or desperate to find out. I almost gave the novel three stars, but raised my rating by a half star because of Bruto. Such a good boy.
I don’t think I’ll be reading the sequel, but if you like Middle Grade and/or are searching for books for a sibling/child/etc., I recommend Paola Santiago and The River of Tears.
Representation:
• Latinx protagonist & many Latinx side characters
CW: kidnapping, brief mention of child death
Mejia’s YA duology We Set the Dark on Fire is one of my all-time favorites, so I was curious to see how she would approach a Middle Grade novel. While I do think Paola Santiago and The River of Tears is a good story, I don’t think it’s a story for me.
This was much spookier than I expected, though that could simply be because I didn’t read the synopsis. I knew the author wrote a story about La Llorona, and legitimately nothing else. But honestly? It was kind of fun that way. That aside, it was spooky enough to be atmospheric, maybe give you slight chills, but not actually scary. Props to Mejia for that.
As for the characters, I liked them as well. Paola and her friends Emma and Dante are a close-knit trio of twelve-year-olds, enjoying the summer leading up to seventh grade. I’m sure we all know that there’s a specific kind of angst that comes at that age, and Mejia wrote it well—present, but not overbearing. I liked the three of them both as individuals and as a group.
Yet, despite these positives, I found myself not really invested in the story until close to the end. I was curious about what would happen, but not super eager or desperate to find out. I almost gave the novel three stars, but raised my rating by a half star because of Bruto. Such a good boy.
I don’t think I’ll be reading the sequel, but if you like Middle Grade and/or are searching for books for a sibling/child/etc., I recommend Paola Santiago and The River of Tears.
Representation:
• Latinx protagonist & many Latinx side characters
CW: kidnapping, brief mention of child death