I listened to this via audiobook and loved it. LOVED IT. Cece is such an amazing character: compassionate, courageous, curious, and kind. While her physical journey was tons of fun and I loved the criaturas she comes to befriend, it was her emotional journey and character growth that blew me away.

There’s so much at work in this story from themes of slavery and power dynamics to what it means to be a friend and standing up for what is right to questioning the history we’re taught. A lot of the lessons Cece learns are appropriately named for the target audience but nuance still resides in them, too.

I do wish there had been a bit more scaffolding of the folklore and the world-building and there’s a relatively big storyline that has zero resolution, but overall, this was a brilliant read. I cannot recommend it enough. I adored it.

Please ask if you'd like more info about the content warnings I added.

CWs: References to and instances of child abuse, kidnapping, allusions to death of a grandparent, descriptions of graphic injury, scenes containing graphic violence

This is an extraordinary Latinx fantasy-adventure that's perfect for fans of the Rick Riordan Presents line and other mythological inspired fantasy stories!

Cece Rios is a story about family, community, and power, and the inherent connection between all of those things. Cece is a character who was raised to fear criaturas, powerful supernatural entities who seem to prey on humans, and also to resent brujas, the magical humans who are the only ones who can control the criaturas. But ever since she was young, Cece has known that criaturas are not something to fear, in fact she was saved by one when she was young—the same criatura who proclaimed Cece to have a soul of water despite living in a village that worships the Sun god.

After her sister disappears, Cece embarks on a journey to become a bruja, which necessitates her capturing and controlling a criatura in hopes that she can prove her strength and fight her way into the criatura underworld where her sister was taken. As the story progresses, Cece continues to defy expectations and challenge those long-held beliefs about criaturas and magic. She has her own way of going about things, especially because she's a soft-hearted person who doesn't want to hurt anyone, whether they're human or criatura, and she will not compromise her principles no matter what's at stake.

That is precisely what I loved most about this story. It explores how maybe we fear the things we fear simply because they're different from us and we haven't taken the time to understand them. The story also challenges how we understand "weakness," and speaks directly against the machismo that's rampant in many Latinx communities. There is often this idea that in order to be "tough" or "strong," we have to hide our emotions, and we have to put aside emotions like fear, sadness, and even empathy in order to earn other people's respect when that is not at all true. It is human to love, to care, to hope, and to help others, and when we pretend otherwise, we are doing ourselves a disservice. Our emotions are what make us human, and caring about others is in fact what makes us stronger, and that message is on full display in this book.

As she gets closer and closer to figuring out how to save her sister, Cece is actually reforging the broken relationship between human and criatura, and making amends with her criatura friends for how they were mistreated in the past. She is able to see the dignity and wholeness they all inherently possess, and together they're learning how they can help each other and save each other. Their relationships become stronger because of that vulnerability, that willingness to reveal the parts of themselves that have been hurt, and that's what makes their relationship stronger.

Ultimately, this is an incredible and unforgettable story that has adventure, action, magic, supernatural creatures, Latinx-based mythology, friendship, and above all else emotion. It's about being unafraid to write your own story and to be different than the person you were taught to be. It's how strength comes from vulnerability and change is only possible when we are brave enough to be different. I do wish we could've seen a little bit more of Cece's family, especially with her mysterious tía, and there definitely feels like there's room for a sequel if not an entire series, but I absolutely loved this all the same and I'd highly recommend it!