The Enchanted Life of Valentina Mejía
by Alexandra Alessandri (Author)
Encanto meets The Chronicles of Narnia by way of Colombian folklore in this middle grade fantasy adventure. To save their father's life, a brother and sister must journey across a land full of mythical creatures and find the most powerful and dangerous of them all: the madremonte.
Twelve-year-old Valentina wants to focus on drawing the real world around her and hopefully get into art school in Bogotá one day, but Papi has spent his life studying Colombia's legendary creatures and searching for proof of their existence. So when Papi hears that a patasola--a vampire woman with one leg--has been sighted in the Andes, Valentina and her younger brother Julián get dragged along on another magical creature hunt. While they're in the Andes, a powerful earthquake hits. Valentina and Julián fall through the earth...and find an alternate Colombia where, to Valentina's shock, all the legends are real.
To get home, Valentina and Julián must make a treacherous journey to reach this land's ruler: the madremonte, mother and protector of the earth. She controls the only portal back to the human world--but she absolutely hates humans, and she'll do anything to defend her land.
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Publishers Weekly
Colombian 12-year-old Valentina "Vale" Mejía would rather spend her summer working on her art portfolio for the Bogotá Academy of Arts than searching for a patasola in the Andes with her folclorólogo father and younger brother Julián, who still believes in the Colombian myths and legends their father tells them. When they get caught in a sudden earthquake, their dad falls into a crevice and is injured. While trying to get help, Vale and Julián stumble upon a mysterious cave that leads to a fantastical version of Colombia seemingly straight out of their father's stories. The siblings journey across the Land of the Forgotten--through a brujita's magical house, an armadillo's cozy burrow, and a village of playful duende--to the castle of the Madremonte, protector of the land, keeper of the only portal back to their world, and known for disliking humans. Vale's pragmatism paired with Julián's effervescent sense of wonder helps them to navigate a world full of danger and magic. Through their adventures, Alessandri (Isabel and Her Colores Go to School) expertly weaves an immersive tale bursting at the seams with folklore, enchantments, and spirit. Ages 8-12. Agent: Deborah Warren, East West Literary. (Feb.)
Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
JUV030040 - Juvenile Fiction | People & Places | Caribbean & Latin America
JUV012070 - Juvenile Fiction | Legends, Myths, Fables | Caribbean & Latin American
Families
Family life
Folklore
Fantasy fiction
Animals, Mythical
Mythical animals
Colombia
Novels
