The Last Cuentista

The Last Cuentista

by Donna Barbra Higuera
Levine Querido, 2021. 320 pages. 
YA Science Fiction

A girl named Petra Pena, 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? 

While I typically don't dive into science fiction, The Last Cuentista surprised me with Higuera's seamless blend of futuristic themes like spaceships and exploration with rich folklore. I was drawn into Petra's world and on the edge of my seat. This novel is not just a tale of adventure, but a testament to the enduring power of stories themselves.

If you like The Last Cuentista, you might also like: 

The Grief Keeper
by Alexandra Villasante
G.P Putnams's Son's, 2019. 310 pages. 
YA Science Fiction

American television has shaped 17-year old Marisol's idealized dream of life in the United States. When her opportunity finally comes, its not in a way she could have wished or expected. After her relationship with Liliana comes to light, Marisol's mother is forced into hiding, and Marisol and her little sister Gabi are forced to flee for their lives. They leave El Salvador and cross the American border illegally. They are caught and will almost certainly be sent back home until Marisol is presented with an unusual opportunity. If she will take on the grief of someone else--become a grief keeper--her participation in this study will allow her and her sister to stay in the United States. Marisol will do almost anything to protect Gabi, even if it means falling in love and overcoming her own grief.

The Sound of Stars

by Alechia Dow

Toronto, Ontario:Inkyard Press, 2020. 426 pages. 

YA Science Fiction

Two years ago, a misunderstanding between the leaders of Earth and the invading Ilori resulted in the deaths of one-third of the world's population. Seventeen-year-old Janelle "Ellie" Baker survives in an Ilori-controlled center in New York City. With humans deemed dangerously volatile because of their initial reaction to the invasion, emotional expression can be grounds for execution. Music, art and books are illegal, but Ellie breaks the rules by keeping a secret library. When a book goes missing, Ellie is terrified that the Ilori will track it back to her and kill her. Born in a lab, M0Rr1S was raised to be emotionless. When he finds Ellie's illegal library, he's duty-bound to deliver her for execution. The trouble is, he finds himself drawn to human music and in desperate need of more. They're both breaking the rules for the love of art--and Ellie inspires the same feelings in him that music does. Ellie's--and humanity's--fate rests in the hands of an alien she should fear. M0Rr1S has a lot of secrets, but also a potential solution--thousands of miles away. The two embark on a wild and dangerous road trip with a bag of books and their favorite albums, all the while creating a story and a song of their own that just might save them both.

BWW