ENCANTO

This prequel to Disney’s animated film Encanto centers on the mysterious outcast Bruno Madrigal.

Bruno, who’s a triplet, has a lot on his mind. He wants to be supportive of his hermanas: Pepa, who’s getting married, and Julieta, who’s still deciding among suitors. Then there are his mother’s expectations that they should be helpful to the townspeople, making the most of the magical gifts his family’s been given. Bruno, who’s socially out of step, struggles with anxiety and wonders who he really is. Is he just a broody social pariah who only predicts bad news? Could he alter his fate by dressing differently—changing his style and sharing the hopeful news people want to hear, even if it’s not entirely true? And what if, the entire time, someone is waiting on the periphery, threatening Bruno’s family and the Encanto? The dialogue often casually includes Spanish phrases that are easily comprehensible in context, fleshing out the Colombian setting. The book includes some characters who do not appear in the movie, and the plot and setting walk a line between following the canon of the movie and presenting an original world (for instance, there’s no mention of Bruno’s room being a sandy cavern). Unfortunately, the text relies too heavily on overexplanatory narration, which takes away from the fun of learning more about these characters naturally over the course of the story.

May satisfy diehard fans of the original movie.