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“A magical, philosophical tale rooted in Mexican lore.” —School Library Journal, starred review
In the hottest hour of the hottest day of the year, a fateful wind blows into Oaxaca City. It whistles down cobbled streets and rustles the jacaranda trees before slipping into the window of an eleven-year-old girl named Clara. Unbeknownst to her, Clara has been marked for la Lotería.
Life and Death deal the Lotería cards but once a year, and the stakes could not be higher. Every card reveals a new twist in Clara’s fate—a scorpion, an arrow, a blood-red rose. If Life wins, Clara will live to a ripe old age. If Death prevails, she’ll flicker out like a candle.
But Clara knows none of this. All she knows is that her young cousin Esteban has vanished, and she’ll do whatever it takes to save him, traveling to the mythical Kingdom of Las Pozas, where every action has a price, and every choice has consequences. And though it seems her fate is sealed, Clara just might have what it takes to shatter the game and choose a new path.
Karla Arenas Valenti weaves an adventure steeped in magic and mythology, exploring the notion of free will in a world where fate holds all the cards.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
September 7, 2021 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780593415726
- File size: 178654 KB
- Duration: 06:12:11
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Languages
- English
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Levels
- Lexile® Measure: 740
- Text Difficulty: 3-4
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Reviews
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Starred review from August 2, 2021
“And so it was that the fate of a child... hung on a pile of beans and a deck of cards.” In Oaxaca City each year, Life and Lady Death come together for 36 hours to play Lotería, a game of chance that will decide the future of one human being without their knowledge or consent. After arriving on a hot summer day, Life and Lady Death let loose their magic, which chooses as its next target Clara, a steadfast 11-year-old who draws fantastical creatures. But when the consequences of the game and grief drive Clara’s eight-year-old cousin Esteban to enter the perilous Aztlán through a nopal cactus, Clara must go after him—and face dangerous obstacles awakened by the Lotería cards—to keep a promise. From the first line of this philosophical debut, Arenas Valenti demonstrates a gift for interweaving immersive, sensory-rich storytelling (“Life sauntered into town on a wave of heat”) with a thoughtful discussion of fate vs. determinism. Fans of Coco will savor this tale and Sanmar’s occasional illustrations, which visualize Clara and Esteban’s journeys and the Lotería cards as the game progresses. Ages 8–12. Agent: Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary. -
May 27, 2022
Gr 4-7-In this book based on the card game Loter�a and set in Oaxaca, Mexico, 11-year-old Clara has been marked for a Loter�a. Life and Death only deal the cards once a year, and each card they draw impacts Clara. Whoever wins, Life or Death, will determine Clara's future, or lack thereof. Meanwhile, Clara's aunt suddenly passes away. Her grieving cousin Esteban disappears into the night and to save him, Clara has to travel to Las Pozas, a mythical kingdom beyond the Aztl�n portal, where every choice has direct consequences. Can she overcome the game? Can she save her cousin? Narrator Frankie Corzo's slow, methodic voice is a solid fit for the philosophical elements of the story. Her narration helps to bring the likable characters and their emotions to life. The plot is well developed and does justice to Aztec mythology, but gets significantly bogged down in the middle. The imagery is detailed and helps set the scene for listeners. The characters are Mexican. VERDICT Recommended for collections where mythological fiction, folklore, fantasy, and philosophy are popular.-Kira Moody
Copyright 2022 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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