Alebrijes by Adonna Barba Higuera
Dystopian, Science Fiction, Fantasy and Magic, Survival, Hispanic-Latino
2023; 404 pages
Description
Booklist starred (August 2023 (Vol. 119, No. 22))
Grades 5-8. Upon a desolate Earth, an enclave of humans has established a society amid hostile surroundings, including a wyrmfield inhabited by subterranean monsters straight out of Tremors. A harsh caste system has landed orphaned 13-year-old Leandro and his little sister, Gabi, in the Pox (Pocatel’s slum) with the other Cascabeles, who work the potato fields each day under the watchful eye of the Pocatelan guards. Longing for a better life, Leandro has planned an escape, but everything is ruined when he is arrested for stealing and sentenced to three years’ exile. Curiously, it will only be his mind that is held captive—uploaded into a tiny piece of Old-World tech called a spark. The physician performing the procedure secretly offers Leandro a deal in which she will place his spark into a hummingbird drone if he will search for her missing daughter, who is also in drone form. He accepts, knowing he and Gabi can leave Pocatel should he succeed. The high-stakes adventure awaiting Hummingbird Leandro is enthralling and studded with surprises that spur the narrative onward. Beautiful, imaginative writing fills this dystopian sf novel. Though it exposes cruelty and corruption, it raises up storytelling, culture, and kindness as stronger yet, giving a satisfying nod to Higuera’s Newbery Award–winning The Last Cuentista (2021) in the process. A wondrous addition to any collection.
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