Status
Available
Publication
Square Fish (2022), 336 pages
Library's review
In the aftermath of an assault at a party, the lives of two teens intertwine as they struggle to find healing, lost magic, and ways to move forward.
Like her bisabuela before her, Ciela Cristales speaks “the language of flour and sugar.” In her family’s pastelería, she is La Bruja de los
Piercing magic. (author's note) (Magical realism. 14-18)
-Kirkus Review
Like her bisabuela before her, Ciela Cristales speaks “the language of flour and sugar.” In her family’s pastelería, she is La Bruja de los
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Pasteles, who can sense exactly which pastry someone wants before they know themselves, which flavors will give them courage or help open their heart to love. Although her abuela warned her that such gifts could be lost, she did not know this was true until a shard of glass buries itself deep in her heart along with the sharp, mirrored truth of what happened to her and a boy she’d just met at a party she wishes she could forget. McLemore reimagines Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Snow Queen,” or “La Reina de las Nieves,” in the weaving of an aching, vivid narrative about two young adults, a White boy and a queer, Mexican American girl, who are grappling with trauma from sexual assault. The poetic and vulnerable prose illuminates the need for more open conversation about sexuality, consent, and abuse without the limits of the gender binary. Balancing raw honesty and hope, McLemore does not shy away from depicting discomfort and injustice, but they also surround Ciela with a loving and affirming community of characters crafted with tender detail in this contemporary novel brushed with fairy tale.Piercing magic. (author's note) (Magical realism. 14-18)
-Kirkus Review
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Awards
National Book Award (Longlist — Young People's Literature — 2021)
Commonwealth Club of California Book Awards (Finalist — Young Adult — 2022)
Américas Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature (Commended Title — 2022)
ALA Rainbow Book List (Selection — 2022)
Best Fiction for Young Adults (Selection — 2022)
Nerdy Book Award (Young Adult Literature — 2021)
Chicago Public Library Best of the Best: Teens (Fiction — 2021)
Rise: A Feminist Book Project for Ages 0-18 (Selection — 2022)
Penn GSE's Best Books for Young Readers (Selection — Young Adult — 2021)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2021
ISBN
1250821177 / 9781250821171
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