Petra Peña is a young girl who embarks on a journey as humanity’s last hope when Halley’s comet officially heads on a collision course with earth. Petra and her family of highly trained scientists are put in status for the 300 year journey, but the some of the monitors who will live out their lives on the ship carrying for those in status form the Collective—a society that evolves physically and erases the history, culture, and stories of humanity. When Petra awake, she finds herself a servant to the collective with only her cuentas to save her and the remaining “relic” (OG) humans.
I have not come across too much middle grade sci-fi in my experience as the target demographic for books or as a bookseller (though granted, the genre isn’t my specialty) and this novel is not only another book to contribute to a limited niche, it’s like the freaking crown jewel of the whole genre. The Giver who??? The Last Cuentista deals with the same themes via dystopian fiction, but sprinkles in Mexican folklore to make an argument for storytelling. Petra is a phenomenal protagonist; she’s brave, smart, and she’s got a lot of heart. She perseveres through a lot of loss (tbh this book has a pretty solid core of sadness) and ultimately has enough hope and tenacity to buoy the whole god damn human race. The Last Cuentista does an outstanding job at demonstrating that diversity, culture, heritage, language, and stories are all the good bits of humanity.
All in all, easily my new favorite middle grade book!
I have not come across too much middle grade sci-fi in my experience as the target demographic for books or as a bookseller (though granted, the genre isn’t my specialty) and this novel is not only another book to contribute to a limited niche, it’s like the freaking crown jewel of the whole genre. The Giver who??? The Last Cuentista deals with the same themes via dystopian fiction, but sprinkles in Mexican folklore to make an argument for storytelling. Petra is a phenomenal protagonist; she’s brave, smart, and she’s got a lot of heart. She perseveres through a lot of loss (tbh this book has a pretty solid core of sadness) and ultimately has enough hope and tenacity to buoy the whole god damn human race. The Last Cuentista does an outstanding job at demonstrating that diversity, culture, heritage, language, and stories are all the good bits of humanity.
All in all, easily my new favorite middle grade book!