Tortilla Sun
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- $4.99
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
When twelve-year-old Izzy discovers a beat-up baseball marked with the words "Because magic" while unpacking in yet another new apartment, she is determined to figure out what it means. What secrets does this old ball have to tell? Her mom certainly isn't sharing anyespecially when it comes to Izzy's father, who died before Izzy was born. But when she spends the summer in her Nana's remote New Mexico village, Izzy discovers long-buried secrets that come alive in an enchanted landscape of watermelon mountains, whispering winds, and tortilla suns. Infused with the flavor of the southwest and sprinkled with just a pinch of magic, this heartfelt middle grade debut is as rich and satisfying as Nana's homemade enchiladas.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this strong debut, Cervantes relies on the tried-and-tried recipe of a preadolescent forced to spend summer in an unfamiliar environment, but spices it up with a dash of magical realism and a vibrant New Mexico landscape. Twelveyear-old Izzy, whose father died before she was born, is sent to live with her grandmother while her mother completes a research project. An aspiring writer, Izzy is haunted by the mystery of her father's death and frustrated by her mother's refusal to talk about him. Once in her parents' native village, she begins to find answers to her questions about his life and death and her own birth. Colorful characters an orphaned six-year-old girl; a prophetic storyteller; a handsome 13-year-old neighbor accompany Izzy on her quest for her heritage; mouthwatering descriptions of her grandmother's culinary gifts waft tantalizingly through the tale. Cervantes fills her story with mystical possibilities talking with spirits, hearing what the wind whispers, gathering powerful herbs by moonlight but also with the inescapable realities of illness, death, and mourning. The result is an imaginative yet grounded novel. Ages 8 12.
