A rash of mysterious fires sets Jorge and his amigos on the trail of an evil arsonist…or maybe a vengeful ghost.
Being as his best friend, Carter, is the 7-foot tall, wolflike cryptid met in the series opener—and now just back in town—Jorge Lopez has trouble dismissing a scary old local legend about an evil incendiary piñata possessed by the ghost of a despised rich kid. Still, since the grown-ups in Boca Falls seem oddly uninterested in finding out who, human or otherwise, is burning down local businesses, Jorge nervously enlists his fanged but friendly buddy to join science-minded classmate Liza in an investigation that quickly turns up a positively bountiful array of clues and suspects. Seasoning the eponymous narrator’s account with Spanish words, including flavorful Chicano slang, Lopez and Calejo alternate chuckles and chills as the young detectives struggle with their fears, fend off prankster “bully-jerk” Zane, puzzle over the significance of seemingly contradictory findings, and, in the wake of a string of (as Jorge puts it) “übercreepy” incidents and narrow squeaks, wind up stuck in a ruinous old mansion with an entire gang of crazed villains eager to explain their motives before setting one final, deadly blaze. Gutiérrez’s frequent monochrome illustrations feature both a racially diverse cast and action and dialogue that segue smoothly into the narrative, offering the feeling of a graphic novel–prose hybrid format.
A fresh, lively escapade with lots of übercreepy bits. ¡Órale!
(Fantasy. 8-12)