Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Finalist: THE LAST CUENTISTA by Donna Barba Higuera
Introduction by Heavy Medal Award Committee member Christy Brennan.
Habia una vez…there was a girl named Petra. THE LAST CUENTISTA by Donna Barba Higuera is not only Petra’s story but an incredible novel that underscores the power of storytelling. By mixing Mexican folklore with science fiction, Higuera has created a completely engaging, post-apocalyptic, scenario. As Petra breaks through false narratives and plants the stories from her abuelita, Higuera highlights the power the stories of our past have on informing our future and how stories can define cultures.
In the novel, we meet Petra. A strong, heroic character who wants to be a storyteller like her abuelita and not necessarily follow the path of her scientist parents. However, Petra’s world is in peril. Earth has been destroyed by a comet. A select group of scientists and their children, including Petra and her family, have been chosen to go to a new planet, and the fate of the human race depends on them. The catch is that it will take over three hundred years to get to the new planet and they’ll be put to sleep the whole time.
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Many years later, we come to discover that a group called the Collective has taken over the traveling group of scientists and erased their memories. Everyone seems to have lost any memories of their past except for Petra who somehow wasn’t put to sleep correctly and can hear everything going on around her. Armed with the stories from her abuelita, Petra is determined to guide the group out of darkness, despite the Monitors who would do anything to keep the knowledge Petra has from being shared.
This was such an interesting book. The blend of dystopian science fiction with Mexican folklore was surely unique and engaging. There’s definitely a darkness and sadness at the core of the book but a hopeful ending that certainly seems to leave the option open for a sequel. Overall, a stunning dystopian novel with strong messages of individuality, hope and the power of storytelling.
Heavy Medal Award Committee members and others are now invited to discuss this book further in the Comments section below. Please start with positive observations first; stick to positives until at least three comments have been posted or we reach 1:00 pm EST. Let the Mock Newbery discussion begin!
Filed under: Book Discussion, Heavy Medal Mock
About Steven Engelfried
Steven Engelfried was the Library Services Manager at the Wilsonville Public Library in Oregon until he retired in 2022 after 35 years as a full-time librarian. He served on the 2010 Newbery committee, chaired the 2013 Newbery Committee, and also served on the 2002 Caldecott committee. You can reach him at sengelfried@yahoo.com.
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I enjoyed Petra’s narration as well as the blending of folktales (some of which I did not know), into the complex plot. I felt disquiet while reading the story but also loved the sympathetic characterization. Even the “villains” have a legitimate motivation in their quest to remake a new world, and the trauma of having to leave Earth in such a frightening way would definitely cause a change in your mental capacity. I particularly enjoyed the relationship between Petra and her brother, and the twist avout her brother’s identity was so sad and beautiful. The Last Cuentista is poignant and very relevant.
This book was not on my list at all, but I’m so glad I read it. I couldn’t put it down and I’m not a Sci-Fi fan. This book was gripping. I especially loved how Higuera used the author, Yuri Morales, ‘The Dreamers’ in the book. I did like the relationship between Petra and her brother as well and the theme of storytelling and the importance it plays in our lives, especially generational. The other themes of humanity and empathy are important in this book. This will be a great book to recommend to my middle-grade Dystopian readers. Well done!
I really enjoyed the sci-fi aspect of this book, and agree with Lisa that it will appeal to the dystopian fans as well as the folklore-fans. I LOVED That it had a bittersweet ending for a MG book, but I do wish there had been a little more obvious tie-in of the stories to the plot overall. I felt like I was missing something sometimes–not that all the stories had to be DIRECT correlations, but the relationship felt tenuous at times and didn’t fully explicate why these stories were “dangerous” to the Collective.
I LOVED the Dreamers references.
Only three comments (before mine) on this book? I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised that THE LAST CUENTISTA made the final list as it didn’t seem to have much support in the nominations and discussion in previous weeks. The lack of comments here suggest to me that many Heavy Medal followers just haven’t read this beautiful book. Is it because it is science fiction? I know that sci-fi is intimidating to many readers. Good science fiction can challenge the way you think or feel about everyday situations or about life in general. Meredith said that she felt disquiet while reading it. Good! That’s a sign that the author was doing a good job. I, myself, was unaware of THE LAST CUENTISTA until it started showing up on some of the end-of-year lists on the Internet. It immediately became my favorite and the book I would champion if I were on the committee. I’m hoping the real committee members are open-minded about all genres of literature.
I will admit, Glenn, I don’t read a lot of science fiction and that this book really hasn’t been on my radar until recently. I think it can be intimidating to readers because unlike realistic fiction, you have to build somewhat of a new context. I agree that we can connect with the feelings, thoughts and themes very easily, but sometimes we have to break through a lot of unfamiliarity to get to the connections. I definitely agree with you, however, that good science fiction (like good anything) is worth the work, and this is GOOD science fiction. I just finished it last night and I was so impressed by the different layers and the storytelling that runs through it. This should certainly be in the conversation.
This is in my top 3 to win this year. I absolutely loved this gorgeous (outside and inside) book. I am admittedly a huge sci-fi fan and so I was very excited to see that Higuera would tackle sci-fi in such a stunning way. From the moment the book started I knew something terrible would happen, but the rise of The Collective was not what I thought would happen. There were so many echoes and references to what is happening in the world today, but written in a somewhat nuanced way. I love the way Higuera included stories and folklore to inspire Petra. This is a book that is deeply heartbreaking yet so hopeful.
I loved this one- I was initially drawn in by the Mexican folklore connection and was not expecting such a sci fi turn. There were many creepy connections to today’s world; the idea that the Collective wants to erase stories and memories so that the people can “start over” reminds me of the way so many people want to ban the teaching of the histories of marginalized communities. The question of “Who gets to repopulate the earth?'” really struck me – isn’t this exactly what people are asking when they decide who is worth saving and who is replaceable? I also appreciated the fact that Petra had “vision problems” but her name means “the foundation of something” – maybe the best way to start over is to start seeing the world in a different way.
I had not ever heard of this book until the Heavy Medal list, and I have to say, I loved it! It gave me serious vibes of a previous Newbery winner (The Giver!) but it is so much more diverse and tackles challenges and issues that will be familiar to 21st century students. I think it would be easy to get kids interested in this book, and it would make an excellent read-aloud. Higuera’s work on the setting is phenomenal. I found it very easy to picture both the ship and Sagan. (sp? I listened to the audiobook) And I’ll agree, the reveal about Javier was just the right amount of shocking but not confusing. I loved this book.
This book was such a pleasant surprise! I loved the descriptions of Petra listening to Lita’s stories and I really felt that I was right there with them under the stars. Also, the description of Petra coming out of the stasis mode, and the fear and the tension she feels waking up was really powerfully written. The fact that cuentos were able to keep the kids together and give them comfort in a world that was uncertain was really impactful too, and I think this is a story kids will appreciate, especially during the time of a pandemic.
I just finished this novel last night and I was thoroughly impressed with it! This one is moving quickly up my list. The world building here is just enough to give us the context that we need, but not too much to bog us down in detail. She did a smart thing here by start in a realistic place, even though it was in the future. It gave those of us who don’t read a lot of science fiction a chance to catch our breath before being launched into space. The theme of the “power of story” comes through so well all throughout this book and blending of Mexican folklore into the story is beautifully done. The action built steadily throughout and as new information was revealed, the story just got that much more interesting. Seriously, this is very strong and needs some serious consideration.
Have to admit, I started this book thinking I was going to read a sci-fi pioneer book (think, The Green Book), but it turned out to be a sci-fi thriller. Great read. Loved the folktales, and how they worked into the story.
The big drawback is it’s sci-fi and a thriller… both of which have been notoriously shunned by the Newbery committees.
I was surprised by this book. I’m not much of a science fiction fan outside of my past obsession with dystopian books, but I found myself enthralled with the story and wanting to see what happened next. I loved how the author added Mexican folklore to the story and I think that did a lot to bring down the science fiction element to the story. The reveal about Javier was wonderful and I wished their relationship was explored more and had more time to develop.
I compare this a lot to the other sci-fi book that got a lot of conversation– Lion of Mars. I thought CUENTISTA outshone in setting and world building.. I really found myself wanting more in character development though.. I felt connected with Petra but wanted more about Javier, more about the other Zetas, more about the members of the Collective…