QUETZALLI’S LAST SONG

Calderón de Fawaz’s debut YA novel follows a clever teenager and her family as they escape from an authoritarian United States in the midst of revolution to seek safety in Mexico, where they encounter a very different conflict.

In this future-set tale, Covid-19 is merely the first of several pandemics that resulted in political unrest as well as a return to herbology and Indigenous healing methods. When the Hesles family arrives in the small tourist town of El Nidal, Mexico, they find out their aunt, María Luisa, disappeared 10 months before and that local authorities have given up looking for her. Locals puzzlingly call her abode “the House on the Lake” despite the lack of any body of water nearby, as 15-year-oldBrum Hesles notes. However, it does have a marvelous library and a collection of artifacts, which Brum and her younger siblings, Tara and Rami, sort through. Soon, the kidsundertake an unexpected journey in another world, where they realize that it’s up to them to save their aunt—and keep multiple realms of existence from destruction. Over the course of the story, Calderón de Fawaz focuses mainly on Brum, and as a result, Tara and Rami become sidekicks with side plots. Overall, the author crafts a coming-of-age story rooted in family ancestry, skillfully interweaving reality and fantastical elements. The fictional world offers several imaginative creations, including a quirky forest sprite, a talking eagle, a shape-shifting jaguar, and a messenger butterfly. This novel is not only a celebration of Indigenous knowledge, Mayan and Aztec legends, and Mexican folklore, but also of matriarchs in general and Mother Earth in particular. It also effectively advocates for environmental justice, although some may be disappointed by its cliffhanger ending.

An exciting synthesis of dystopian, SF, and magical realist tales that will entertain young and adult readers alike.