The Last Cuentista - Donna Barba Higuera

The Last Cuentista

By Donna Barba Higuera

  • Release Date: 2021-10-12
  • Genre: Fantasy for Young Adults
Score: 4
4
From 92 Ratings

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

Reviews

  • AMAZING BOOK

    5
    By WarmWind from ShadowClan
    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
  • The Last Cuentisto

    4
    By Que4u
    Lovely well written novel
  • Disappointed

    2
    By kris 32
    I found the stories to be a bit Little House series and the ending to be a bit the Giver. I think I was expecting it to be more than it was. Too much hype? I also felt I was being indoctrinated a few times. The case with most books. ‘This is what dogma means?’ and a few other examples. The Collective seemed more like aliens that infiltrated than evolved humans. I was half expecting the aliens aboard to admit part of their plan to destroy earth just to gain some humans to make further use of. No way would they leave with Voxy missing or there. I was also half expecting her to be purged and wake up in alive with others purged at another location maybe purge meaning something unexpected to the reader. Perhaps I’m a purist and love Giver too much?