songwind

Review copy provided by the publisher.

This is an unsubtly sweet book, an homage to Puerto Rico and its people and also a lovely depiction of being a second-culture kid. Nico is a budding filmmaker, desperate to win the approval of the most famous Puerto Rican in the world, filmmaker and musical writer Juan Miguel Baranda. (I said "unsubtly," didn't I?) He's spending a glorious summer with his abuela and his two primos, looking forward to lazy days at abuela's house, glorious snacks, and beach time.

But the three cousins have far more adventure than they bargained for when they encounter a chupacabra--and the rest of the legends of Puerto Rico are not far behind. Nico and his family have to figure out what the mysterious creatures and sublime beings are trying to tell them, before the island they love faces devastation again--this time possibly for good.

Sometimes Nico's angst about his movie career and his parents' relationship slows the pace of this middle grade fantasy, but cousins Nessi and Kira are always there to pick up the pace--and Pineiro succeeds in what Nico hopes to do, painting a portrait of the island he loves so that the rest of the world can see what he loves about it.

Review copy provided by the author, who is a personal friend.

Nera has been helping her father at the titular Station her whole life. Or...her whole life-ish thing. Because Nera has only ever been in the Station, so she only interacts with her father, the dead, and the dogs who guide the dead on their way through the Veil and keep them safe. (The dogs. OMG the dogs. So many good doggos in this book.) Charlie has just lost her sister, who is also her best friend, and her family is falling apart. On top of it all, she's been seeing ghosts--but never the one she most wants to see.

But when Charlie finds the Station, she hopes for a chance to reverse what was lost. Nera is astonished--delighted--to meet another living person who can share at least some of her ghost experiences. But all is not well with the Station itself--dark forces threaten its peaceful work of helping spirits leave this world for what comes after. They want to shatter and rend. And the dark forces know all of Nera and Charlie's most vulnerable points.

Like life, this book is so full of both grief and joy. Both are extremely well-drawn and intense--I started reading this book on an airplane and stopped almost immediately, because I could see that there would be moments of stronger emotion than I wanted to invite by myself in seat 16B. If you've suffered loss recently, time your reading of this book carefully, but I think it can be very healing. I think this is one of those rare books that can be enjoyed by many but will be desperately needed by some. There's so much heart here, for other people and of course dogs, but also for places. Highly recommended.