THESE VENGEFUL WISHES

A scandal forces a high school senior to move to her mother’s childhood home—a tiny town with a secret.

Aspiring artist Cecilia “Ceci” Navarette enjoyed a privileged life in Miami until her millionaire stepfather was arrested for fraud. Afterward, her newly broke mother (even Ceci’s college fund is gone) relocates them to remote Santa Aguas, Florida, where she owns an old mansion. Ceci’s first impressions are bleak; graffiti on the town’s welcome sign warns of la Cegua, a woman from a Nicaraguan folktale who lures men into the forest and petrifies them. As Ceci settles into the estate once owned by the Sevilla family, the town’s founders, she uncovers their bloodline’s chilling legacy—a supposed curse that led six generations of male heirs to untimely deaths and one to disappear. Inexplicably drawn to the house, Ceci finds inspiration for her art. After she paints a mysterious garden door, she’s exploring the grounds with her kindhearted new friend, Jamie, when she stumbles upon the actual door. Beyond it, in the forest, she and Jamie find a statue of la Cegua guarding a wishing well. But the wishes it grants could come with perils, putting Ceci and her loved ones in grave danger. Nicaraguan American Ceci is a richly developed protagonist, yearning for genuine connections, while Jamie emerges as a dreamy love interest. This gothic tale weaves together a captivating backstory with entertaining—if occasionally predictable—twists.

A delightfully eerie exploration of curses and wishes.