The Last Cuentista
Newbery Medal Winner
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4.2 • 95 Ratings
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- $2.99
Publisher Description
Winner of the Newbery Medal—a brilliant journey through the stars, to the very heart of what makes us human.
“Gripping in its twists and turns, and moving in its themes — truly a beautiful cuento.”—New York Times
Había una vez . . .
There lived a girl named Petra Peña, who wanted nothing more than to be a storyteller, like her abuelita.
But Petra’s world is ending. Earth has been destroyed by a comet, and only a few hundred scientists and their children — among them Petra and her family — have been chosen to journey to a new planet. They are the ones who must carry on the human race.
Hundreds of years later, Petra wakes to this new planet — and the discovery that she is the only person who remembers Earth. A sinister Collective has taken over the ship during its journey, bent on erasing the sins of humanity’s past. They have systematically purged the memories of all aboard — or purged them altogether.
Petra alone now carries the stories of our past, and with them, any hope for our future. Can she make them live again?
P R A I S E
“Clever and compelling … wonderfully subversive.”
—The Wall Street Journal
★ “This tale packs a wallop. Exquisite.”
—Kirkus Reviews (starred)
★ “Gripping, euphonious, and full of storytelling magic.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred)
★ “A strong, heroic character, fighting incredible odds to survive and protect others.”
—School Library Journal (starred)
A W A R D S
Winner of the John Newbery Medal
Winner of the Pura Belpré Award
BEST OF THE YEAR
TIME - Wall Street Journal - Minneapolis Star Tribune’s - Boston Globe - BookPage - Publishers Weekly - School Library Journal - Kirkus - Bank Street - Chicago Public Library - New York Public Library
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
An aspiring young storyteller with retinitis pigmentosa discovers that she's the only one who remembers life on Earth after waking up 380 years in the future in this suspenseful speculative novel. In the year 2061, a solar flare has altered the course of Halley's Comet, putting Earth and its inhabitants right in its trajectory. Twelve-year-old Petra Peña, a resourceful Mexican American preteen who longs to follow in her cuentista grandmother's footsteps and tell stories for a living, successfully boards one of the last ships off-world—as do members of a dangerous, cultlike group called The Collective. When Petra awakens centuries later at the ship's destination, she quickly realizes that The Collective has wiped the memories—or lives—of her fellow passengers, and she must use her wits and Mexican folklore to protect the remaining humans and avoid the same fate. Through Petra's gut-wrenching, tenderly crafted narrative arc, author Higuera (Lupe Wong Won't Dance) explores how story can awaken empathy, hope, and even resistance in an audience. This is the work of a true cuentista: gripping, euphonious ("The wind carried it off far away into the stars"), and full of storytelling magic. Ages 10–14.
Customer Reviews
The Last Cuentisto
Lovely well written novel
Blew me away
I had to read this book for class. The first chapter made me think that this book would be sterotypical and boring, but as I read more chapters, I became obsessed. I don’t typically read sci-fi, but I am more than happy to make an acception for this book. 10/10.
AMAZING BOOK
I read this book for a contest.
The contest was to write another chapter about what you think should happen after the book ends.
I wrote about Petra telling a story.
I got to meet the author and go to a writers workshop.
She was very nice.
#PNW