I love how this book is solidly grounded in traditional tales and yet is an absolutely fresh imagining. The world building and magical systems are interesting and relatively solid. The relationships are supportive, if a bit superficial. On the whole, I enjoyed reading it -- here are the bits that bugged me: (would they bug a middle grade reader? I don't know)

What is Cece supposed to be doing all day? She seems very much at loose ends, while her parents are out working the fields and helping with hunting parties. It makes it easy for her to sneak around and get her bruja-self together, but it's also a bit confusing.

There's a certain inconsistency in the space that the family and town and magical shenanigans occupy -- there doesn't seem much to keep Cece from going out and rambling around without being caught, but she also just gets magically carried around a lot.

I thought it was kind of brilliant for the Bruja fights to resemble Pokémon battles, but I also felt like the "death" situation was unclear -- the criaturas only need to be knocked out to be eliminated, but the desert rises up to consume them regardless of whether it's injury or the type of death that causes their soul stone to be marked.

Why on earth doesn't she free her familiars at the end? If she's such a caring Curandera, surely they could choose to help her without being tied to her by their soul stones. It was an off note in an otherwise solid message of how not to a be a jerk when you have power over someone. They help her, but they don't receive the reward of debts paid.

5 stars for world building and imagination, 2 stars for plot holes and questions that seem to be answered by "because". I didn't think the fire and water soul stuff worked very well. I wanted more actual interactions/resolutions with her family. I like the creature crew and some of their conversations, but there were too many things left unresolved and mysteries left hanging. ( )

This novel is a 2022 Lone Star selection.

Cece lives in a desert town, Tierra del Sol, a descendant of the sun god. Cece, however, seems to be more water than sun because of an encounter with some creaturas when she was younger. Cece, unlike the other people in her town, refuses to live by hate and superstition. She lives by following her heart. The criaturas must be fought off by a dance that girl's train for. Cece's sister, Juana, dances the dance. However, when Cece runs off, Juana comes after her and is kidnapped by El Sombrerón, a powerful dark criatura. No one returns when taken by him. Cece determines that she WILL rescue her sister. To rescue her, Cece will have to train to be a bruja, someone who practices the dark arts and lives in Devil's Alley. To become a bruja, one must shave one's head and participate in fights. To participate, one must have a criatura who lives under your influence. Cece asks the Great Namer, Coyote, to be her criatura.

Cece must rescue her sister. She and Coyote must participate in multiple fights. Upon winning, she will join the other dark brujas and live in Devil's Alley. She can't, however, tell her mother or father. Cece's maternal aunt became a bruja and Cece's mother has never recovered from the betrayal. Cece's mom absolutely will not support Cece and her father is abusive, so Cece is truly on her own. She holds innate knowledge that her parents cannot access because of their own paths in life. Cece shows abilities unlike any bruja before her. Still, can she save Juana from one of the strongest and darkest criaturas.

I ended up enjoying the journey this novel took me. Cece shows grace under pressure and the ability to tap into courage she doesn't know she possesses. One of her most important traits is one of kindness. Perhaps light can vanquish the dark? ( )

3.66 ( )

"I am sensitive about my familia. Familia is life. Without it, there is nothing, and I am nothing."

QOTD: Who is your favorite Pokémon?

I've been sitting on this review of Cece Ríos and the Desert of Souls for a few weeks because it not only warmed my heart but gave me so much to think about. CeCe, was a loveable lead and her experiences and thoughts about Latinx culture mirrored so many of my own. Her love of family was her motivation and strength and helped to keep her negative thoughts at bay. The magical aspects of the story made me smile because they reminded me so much about Pokémon. The folklore had me looking up seeking out more stories.

People think middle grade stories are supposed to be just mindless fun but I always learn so much from them and leave with questions to think about. Cece Ríos explored some great themes:

🌵 family as the center of Latinx culture
🌵 culture clash within families
🌵 anxieties created from sibling comparisons
🌵 importance of recognizing individual gifts and talents
🌵 how machismo shapes expectations placed on women & girls
🌵 how women are seen as dangerous or morally corrupt if they go against societal norms
🌵 dispelling the belief that all Latinx women need to be strong & display certain outward markings of femininity
🌵 parents can be flawed
🌵 capitalism & need for power has corrupted & seeped into Latinx traditional ways of being
🌵 the possibilities of redemption
🌵 family can be chosen
🌵the strength of love
🌵 nature should be protected and respected
🌵 ancestral ways are valid and relevant

If you love stories about families, nature, magic and folklore, pick this one up. I read this one with #WeLoveMGLit Book Club and it is a hit in my book. I can't wait for the next installment of Cece. Thanks to @theshelfstuff @harperkids for the gifted copy.

#CeceRiosandtheDesertofSouls #KaelaRivera #HarperKids #books #latinxbooks #LatinxHeritageMonth #bookstagram #bookphotos #brujas #bookreviews #latinxbookstagram #ownvoices #middlegrade #criaturas #bookworm #Mexicanfolklore #latinx #magic #bookfeature #reading #latinxfantasy #bookdragon #gifted #welovemglit #Latinxbookrecs #bibliophile #booksoutside #Pokemon ( )

Cece Rios lives with her parents and older sister Juana in Tierra Del Sol, where dangerous criaturas roam the desert. When Juana is kidnapped by El Sombrerón, a dark criatura, Cece feels responsible and is determined to do whatever she can to get her sister back. But in order to get to where Juana is, though, in Devil's Alley, Cece will need to become a bruja and capture a criatura's soul. Cece doesn't want to become a bruja, but she will do whatever it takes - and it turns out that Coyote, the Great Namer, owes her a favor for a previous kindness. Cece learns to question the legends, myths, and stories that she has grown up with - about criaturas, curanderas, brujas, and herself. Cece finds that she is fierce, and that her water-soul is no less powerful than the fire-soul her family has always wished she had.

See also: Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas (YA), Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger, Sal & Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez

Quotes

No matter where I went, my soul didn't seem to have what people wanted. (65)

[Coyote's] presence was like wearing a pair of new, stiff gloves, both attached to me and not. (101)

"Familia is life. Without it, there is nothing, and I am nothing." (155)

Everyone wanted fire from me, but my soul was cursed with water. (158)

"I know a lot of my last life's story, but that's all it is to me. A story. It doesn't even feel like I lived the things I did then, even if I remember parts of it....I don't have a personal connection to it. Just facts...Life I read pieces of my own history book." (Coyote to Cece, 196)

I was sick of feeling like who I was....was somehow not acceptable. Because if I was doing the right thing, if I was following all the goodness I believed in, that was good enough. (219)

That wasn't the way our legends went at all. I wondered, silently, what other history we'd rewritten. (249)

"The Great Namer has always been a friend to Naked Man when we have been a friend to him." (Dominga del Sol to Cece, 264)

...when people are in pain, they do terrible things to try to bandage their broken hearts. (267)

Ideas become more powerful when you give them words. (320)

"It's okay to be afraid. As long as you don't let it stop you from being the best of who you truly are." (Cece to Juana, 324) ( )