The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera

This book is a finalist for the 2021 Cybils Award in Elementary and Middle-Grade Speculative Fiction.

What worked:

The premise of the story is very novel and uncommon. Earth is being destroyed by a comet, so groups of people are sent into space where they’ll reinhabit a planet in another galaxy. Petra awakens from the centuries-long journey to discover she’s the only one who remembers living on Earth. The Collective has erased all memories of the planet in order to establish a more perfect community. However, Petra’s mind isn’t erased, and she still remembers her grandmother’s Mexican folktales. This fact might undermine the Collective’s efforts, so Petra can’t let anyone know about her memories. It’s not clear why the author gives her a chronic eye disease that will steadily become worse since it’s not much of a factor in anything that occurs. The vision problem is mentioned throughout the story, but it could easily have been left out.

This is a dystopian story that opens around the year 2150, with most of it set around the year 2600. The technology is based on science with nothing being overly unbelievable. There’s a movement to fix the world even before Earth is destroyed by the comet, and the hope is to end all wars and unrest and make everyone equal. Equality doesn’t mean everyone’s the same. Equality and a peaceful world sound great but the danger is in what people will do to make that happen. The main conflict deals with saving the past, as Petra discovers what the Collective is planning.

The heart of the book is found in the folktales Petra learned from her grandmother. She thinks of them in her mind and also shares them with the children in her Zeta squad. The children love the cuentos and Petra is able to manipulate them with promises of more. The stories are analogous to what’s happening in the plot, and Petra uses them as guidance and motivation. Blending space travel with Mexican folktales makes this book creative and original.

What didn’t work as well:

It’s a little challenging to make connections with the characters as the story unfolds. Most of those introduced early in the book are not part of the plot later. Petra spends much of the time alone or with characters having little personality. The other children in Petra’s Zeta squad are unique but don’t fully develop their identities until much later.

The Final Verdict:

Remembering the past is crucial and worth protecting. The early part of the book is not as engaging as the second half, but Petra’s battle to save Earth’s relics and stories is captivating. I recommend you give it a shot!