Two very different children meet in 1950s. Teo is given the fortunate that this Lightning Queen will be his friend for life and that he will save her.

This book was filled with a beautiful friendship, different cultures, and different family dynamics. The story is told in two different timelines. We see Teo telling his grandson about his childhood growing up in a rural village in Mexico and we see the story through Teo's POV as a young boy.

Teo and Esme both come minority groups within Mexico. Teo is Mixtec Indan and Esme is Roma. Both groups are treated like terribly, they have their own languages, and they have their own cultures. They are able to relate to one another and that helps their bond depend.

My favorite aspect of this book was the deep friendship between Esme an Teo. They care so much about one another. They are challenging one another to become a better person.

While I really enjoyed the story, I am giving this a C.

​I wasn't able to commit to reading. This took me more than two weeks to read which is extremely unusual for me. I loved the story and the characters but I found it a chore to read.

Hmmm... This was a nice, simple little story. Very heart-warming, good writing, cool themes. But there wasn't much in characterization. I really love me some good, complex, real characters, and maybe I'm a bit too picky about it, but I just feel like the book ended and I still didn't know a lot about any of the characters. There wasn't much in plot but I do think the writing was lovely, the story was sweet, it's definitely something to read with your kids or if you need a little reminder of the world's goodness. Overall nice read but it could've used a little... more, in general. I may change this rating later but for now we're at a very hesitant 4 stars.

I bought this book as part of my annual Holiday Charity giving, but I couldn't help wanting to read it first.... so I VERY carefully read through it, making sure not to crease any pages etc. This is a very well written book that really does grab attention, the definition of a page turner. It tells the story of a friendship that truly lasts a lifetime. The author is quite skilled at creating "word pictures". In addition to the main story of friendship, there is the underlying story of Mexico and it's people during that point in time.

I do highly recommend this book for anyone. I'm considering buying a second copy for my Mom.

Magical. Two people of marginalized cultures come together in friendship. I loved it.

Both the story and the author's way of telling it are absolutely beautiful.

I have found myself coming back to this book over and over throughout the years. It’s truly a beautiful story. The characters the plot the execution. All perfect. It’s the type of story that you get lost in and by the time you finish it you’ll look back thinking how quickly it went by and how much you want to do it all over again. Strongly recommend.

Hmmm... This was a nice, simple little story. Very heart-warming, good writing, cool themes. But there wasn't much in characterization. I really love me some good, complex, real characters, and maybe I'm a bit too picky about it, but I just feel like the book ended and I still didn't know a lot about any of the characters. There wasn't much in plot but I do think the writing was lovely, the story was sweet, it's definitely something to read with your kids or if you need a little reminder of the world's goodness. Overall nice read but it could've used a little... more, in general. I may change this rating later but for now we're at a very hesitant 4 stars.

I wanted to like this book so much better than I did. It has beautiful sections. But it also has sections that are so awkwardly written or out of touch that it pulled me out of the narrative. The magic realism element with the Rom and Teo's healing were very well done. I just wish the rest of the story followed suit. Also the ending is very rushed. Young Teo comes back from Mexico and 20 pages later it's over. They've found the girl and grandpa is reunited with his friend, and it just ends. It was abrupt.