Towards the end of December, I ordered a bunch of newer middle grades books from Amazon. Part of my reading goals for 2022 is to read more current books from this genre, so I wanted a little stockpile ready for me to pull from once the year started. The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera was in that stack. I hadn't heard of this book at all before browsing online, but the beautiful cover and summary on the inside flap drew me in right away. I hadn't tried much middle grade science fiction prior to reading this, so I was excited to see what it would be like.
The plot of the novel follows a young girl named Petra Peña, who is on her way to board a spaceship as the story begins. A comet is on a collision course with Earth, and Petra, her parents, and her little brother Javier are among those who were chosen to be a part of lucky few to escape the coming disaster and colonize a new planet. The trip to her new home will take 300 years, so she and the rest of the passengers will be put into stasis and awoken just before landing. Despite her good fortune in getting a spot on the ship, Petra isn't happy about leaving her friends and the rest of her family behind, especially her grandmother, whom she is very close to. Her grandmother is a cuentista, or storyteller, and Petra hopes to follow in her footsteps and become a storyteller herself one day. For now though, she has to focus on her upcoming journey.
As she is being put to sleep in her pod on board the spaceship though, something goes wrong. She is still awake, but unable to move her body. Eventually, her body does settle into stasis, but not before she overhears some troubling information about the launch going wrong in some way. When she is finally woken from her sleep 300 years later, she learns just how wrong things went. The caretakers on board the ship that were meant to look after all the passengers during the journey have formed a new Collective, and over the past centuries have used the resources on board the ship to alter their genetic makeup to make them all "equal." Their goals, they claim, are to solve the problems humans faced in the past by making themselves into a homogenous group. They look similar, dampen their emotions using drugs, and function more or less like robots for the good of the Collective. The passengers they were supposed to care for, like Petra, have been awoken at their whim and used for labor on board the ship. Those that couldn't be reprogrammed to be a part of the Collective have been eliminated and removed. Petra is awoken when they reach their new planet to be used as a botany scout. They attempt to reprogram her mind, but whatever went wrong with the initial attempt to put her to sleep causes their process to fail. She is canny enough to catch onto what's happening and pretend to be a part of the group, so she can plan her next move.
From that point on, Petra must figure out if she can reunite with her family, and then get them all off the ship and onto the new planet, where they could potentially make a fresh start. Doing so will be next to impossible though, with the Collective lurking around every corner, highly attuned to any signs of uniqueness or dissent. Petra will have to use all of her courage and intelligence to save the people she loves and foil the Collective's misguided and brutal plans.
This book was absolutely phenomenal. I was pulled in from page one and raced through the novel, always eager to find out what happens next. The writing was beautiful and easy to read and there were many really creative ideas and twists woven throughout the text. I thought that Petra was a likable and relatable heroine, and Higuera did a nice job of making her journey an emotional one. Petra's relationship with her grandmother was especially well done. The stories and folktales her grandmother shared with her were beautiful to read and actually played an important part in the story. There was a consistent message about taking these types of stories and making them your own too. which I thought was nice--sort of a "controlling your own destiny" idea that is great for young readers. I was highly entertained all throughout my reading an incredibly impressed with the world that Higuera created. This was science fiction with a lot of heart and spirituality, and that combination was wonderful.
Aside from the story elements, I found myself really enjoying the physical design and texture of the book too. This kind of thing doesn't usually make a difference to my reading experience, but I really liked the feeling of holding this one in my hands. The dust jacket has a stunning illustration and is buttery smooth to feel. If you take the dust jacket off, there's a beautiful illustration printed on the actual book cover as well. The paper is a heavier weight than normal and feels a little bit slick--turning the pages just feels good and they make a subtle little papery noise as they turn. The heavier paper makes the book a tiny bit more weighty in your hands as well, which I really liked. Whoever was in charge of the design and material aspects of the book did an amazing job, and I would definitely recommend picking this book up in hardcover once there is a choice between formats. It makes a difference here and the extra money is worth it.
I don't have much in the way of criticisms for this novel, as I thought it was truly excellent. The only issue I noticed from time to time were some confusing spots in the text. The way Higuera weaves the old Mexican folktales into Petra's thoughts didn't always make for easy reading. There were a few places I had to go back and reread to sort out what was a memory of an old story versus what was currently happening. If it was occasionally confusing for me, it would definitely be confusing for a pre-teen reader. Kids are apt to quickly put down books that frustrate them, so that could be an issue here. There were also the typical unbelievable or unrealistic science fiction events happening in the text, but the story was engaging enough for me to be able to suspend my disbelief and just go with the flow the majority of the time.
It's becoming clear that I've really been sleeping on the middle grades genre. The past few of these I have picked up have been some of the best books I've read in a long time. The Last Cuentista is no exception. This was an interesting, exciting science fiction adventure full of heart and great messages for young readers. It featured an admirable, likable protagonist, and lots of other diversity throughout. This is suitable for advanced middle grades readers and adults that have a soft spot for middle grades books as well. I'm quite happy to have picked it up and discovered another favorite.
Challenge Tally
Middle Grade Mission: 2/24
Total Books Read in 2022: 4
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