The Daggers of Ire
by J C Cervantes (Author)
A rich and exciting new Latine middle grade fantasy about sisterhood, grief, and the power of kids to face what grown-ups refuse to see—by J. C. Cervantes, New York Times bestselling author of the Storm Runner series.
Esmerelda Santos is a rare bruja, born with Chaos magic in her veins. She and her family are direct descendants of one of the four original witches—a mysterious legend about the night magic was born in San Bosco. But since the death of her mother, Esme is more concerned about healing their father’s spiraling grief.
When Esme finds a heart spell in a forbidden grimorio, she thinks it could be the answer to making her dad whole again. But before she can try, she and her best friend, Tiago, discover that their families and all the town’s witches have vanished—along with their magic, which keeps San Bosco alive. The only way to save them and the town is to find an original witch, impossible since no one has actually ever seen one.
With a witch hunter on their tail, Esme and Tiago journey to a banished realm, where forbidden magic runs wild. Here the two must embrace their powers and confront the legend’s terrible truths . . . or risk losing their families and their magic forever.
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Kirkus
An adventurous, otherworldly story that explores emotional themes.
Publishers Weekly
All the brujxes of the city of San Bosco have a magical specialty that involves dominion over one of four elements: fire, earth, water, and air. All except 12-year-old Esmerelda Santos. She’s secretly a witch of Chaos, an element considered illegal by magical society. Following her mother’s death in an accident, Esme is desperate to help her father, who has since "curled up into a ball of grief." She soon finds a spell to "render a heart full again," but before she can cast it, all the other witches of San Bosco suddenly disappear. At her older sister’s final behest before her vanishing, Esme and her involuntarily shape-shifting friend embark on a quest to find one of San Bosco’s original witches, whom no one has seen in over a century. A somewhat slow start evolves into an adventure of epic proportions, brimming with talking animals, mysterious realms, and witch hunters. Cervantes (Dawn of the Jaguar) doesn’t let the rollicking fun overshadow themes such as sisterhood and grief, all of which is handled with care. Major characters cue as Latinx. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 2024 Publisher’s Weekly, LLC Used with permission.
JUV037000 - Juvenile Fiction | Fantasy & Magic
JUV012070 - Juvenile Fiction | Legends, Myths, Fables | Caribbean & Latin American
