BURN DOWN, RISE UP

Bronx high schooler Raquel gets tangled up in a dangerous game while trying to save a friend.

After Fordham University student Francisco Cruz goes missing, Raquel offers to help Charlize, his cousin who is also her childhood friend and secret crush, start up a search. But the circumstances signal that something even bigger than the mystery of his disappearance is wrong. Cisco seems to have been infected with a condition no one can explain that has spread to a nurse at a local hospital who just happens to be Raquel’s Mami. Now Raquel’s mother is comatose, and hints of a strange and fatal game start popping up as Raquel and Charlize try to get to the bottom of Cisco’s disappearance. The novel’s highlight is its premise that the Echo Game, an urban legend centered around historical atrocities that occurred in the Bronx, might be more than just a legend. As Raquel and Charlize grow closer during the course of their search, they learn about the horrors that shaped the community they love. Certain decisions made by characters—along with the central game itself—feel a bit underdeveloped; regardless, Tirado does an excellent job of portraying the Bronx and its people, especially in depicting the often villainized spiritual practice of Santeria with care. The cast is majority Afro-Latine.

A deadly game meets social commentary in an ode to the Bronx.