#the last cuentista
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Currently reading:
The Last cuentista, Donna Barba Higuera
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Top 10 Reads of 2022
The Last Cuentista-2021 Donna Barba Higuera (a meteor is on a crash course with the Earth and a small group has been selected to start over on a new planet, but first they must be placed in hibernation. Decades later a young girl awakens from her hibernation only to realize that things have gone horribly wrong)
Girl In The Blue Coat-2016 Monica Hesse (1943 in Nazi occupied Netherlands a young woman works in the black market and one of her customers have come to her with a strange request. She has been hiding a Jewish girl in her house and the girl has disappeared without a trace.)
The Diamond Eye-2022 Kate Quinn (based on the true story of the best female sharpshooter in the Soviet Union during World War II. However, more then the enemy is gunning for her. Including some who should be her friend.)
The Fervor-2022 Alma Katsu (in the Japanese internment camps an illness is spreading. It's called hatred and its spreading quickly. What will happen when the illness escapes the confinement of the camp and spread thought out the world?)
Anatomy-2022 Dana Schwartz (in Scotland during the 19th century a young woman doesn't want to marry and raise a family. She wants to be a surgeon and instead of accepting her initial rejection she sneaks into an operating theater and meets her fate. Sequel expected February, 2023)
The Memory Police-1994 Yoko Ogawa (on an unnamed island things are vanishing. Things the memory police no longer deem important. Things like ribbons, perfume, and birds. In an act of defiance the unnamed narrator hides her editor under her house in hopes of finding salvation.)
You've Reached Sam-2021 Dustin Thao (after an argument with her boyfriend a girl learns that he has been hit by a car and killed. Believing that she played a part in his death she is unable to move on, but hopes to hear his voice one last time.)
The Last Grand Duchess-2022 Bryn Turnbull (told by Olga Romanov the eldest daughter of the last Tsar of Russia. Olga watches the fall of her family and prays that someone will come and help them.)
Girl A-2021 Abigail Dean (after her family home is raided by the police a woman comes to terms with the truth. She was raised in a cult and must rely on herself to keep from crumbling.)
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo-2017 Taylor Jenkins Reid (set in the glamor of old Hollywood Evelyn Hugo dreams of stardom. Instead she finds herself married to one man after the other while her real love is just out of reach.)
Honorable Mentions
Princess Knight the Complete Series-1963-1966 Osamu Tezuka
Skin of the Sea-2021 Natasha Bowen
A Certain Hunger-2021 Chelsea G. Summers
Hani and Ishu's Guide To Fake Dating-2021 Adiba Jaigidar
The Pink Triangle-1986 Richard Plant
#top 10 reads of 2022#the last cuentista#girl in the blue coat#the diamond eye#the fervor#anatomy#the memory police#you've reached sam#the last grand duchess#girl a#the seven husbands of evelyn hugo#princess knight#skin of the sea#a certain hunger#hani and ishu's guide to fake dating#the pink triangle
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the last cuentista- donna barba higuera
#the last cuentista#donna barba higuera#stories#booklr#quotes#words#books#life#happiness#happy endings#fiction#dystopian#middle grade#ya
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First Entry
“Esto es verdad, y no miento. Como me lo contaron, lo cuento.”
― Donna Barba Higuera, The Last Cuentista
For my first (and a few after this one) entry into this blog, I've decided that I would review books I've read in the near past before exhausting my queue. So let's jump in, shall we!
Synopsis
A story spanning centuries and across worlds, The Last Cuentista follows young Petra Peña, the daughter of scientists and the granddaughter of a storyteller as her entire sense of reality crumbles in the wake of an apocalyptic event. Leaving behind the only place she, or any other person in history, has called home in hopes of starting civilization over on a new planet, Sagan.
Petra has to come to terms that all she ever knew, the landscapes and stories from her abuela are gone as she and the rest of her family enter hypersleep, hoping to wake up once the journey is over. However in the ranks of those whose fate is to watch over their pods for generations never to see Sagan itself, conflict is brewing; change is coming.
Now Petra, the sole person to remember the past and Earth as it was, has to navigate an eerie and dangerous landscape all while grappling with the fact that even the things she thought she’d keep through her journey to Sagan may very well be memories in the wind.
First Impressions
The Last Cuentista felt to me like it nailed the central themes and overall narrative about remembering the past and honoring the traditions of our ancestors even in the face of conformity. I remember reading it on a plane ride, squished against a total stranger in the dimly lit cabin and never taking my eyes off the pages. I felt the loss and the anger, the tension, fear, grief and solace as I walked through this interstellar journey with Petra and the other kids of Zeta Group.
The book felt simultaneously easily digestible due to its middle-grade rank and still complex enough to ponder what it was conveying. I came away feeling at peace, there isn’t technically a happy ending I would argue, not after all that went on right before. But it was a start after the end, left open ended not in hair pulling agony; rather slumping in exhaustion and taking a moment before gathering up the pieces left.
The Good, The Bad, and the Fuzzy
Now here’s where we get to the Nitty Gritty of book reviewing. I’ve already outlined the Good in my First Impressions but I will place more of the Good I saw in the book smiles. I enjoyed the vivid descriptions, especially tied into the uncanniness of the augmented Collective. It kept me wondering why they would want to radically change their own genetic makeup if the memory of Earth had been (supposedly) all erased. The trauma Petra experiences and her reaction to it is realistic, and I felt for her as someone who also recently lost a loved one dear to me. It’s hard, and the moments where you feel like letting go are visceral. Plus less about the story but the cover illustration is absolutely gorgeous, shout out to the illustrator for such an amazing design!
The Bad…as a preface I will never be too harsh on a book since again, this is for my own entertainment and overall my reading list is catered to what I like. But still, no book is ever perfect. One of the problems I had was my suspension of belief in the fact that the ark ships had the technology for suspended animation and the ability to upload any topic of the world’s collective knowledge in the modern day. Not to mention how the Collective simply “purged” the adults because they were too finicky to brainwash. Even still, those were valuable resources they could have used instead of relying on the limited amount of children on board. It reduces risk of course, but surely having maybe one or two adult scientists around per generation, even if confined, would have sped up their technological advances. Plus for the book’s title to be the Last Cuentista, The Last Storyteller, the stories Petra herself tells Zeta crew feel almost rushed and unsubstantial.
The Fuzzy, where things feel lost in the fluff. I had so many questions throughout the book, mainly about Voxy and what will happen to him on Sagan since the Collective seem to be deathly allergic to something in the environment. Why Chancellor Nyla kept the personal effects of the ship's inhabitants instead of purging them like the rest of the risks. How Ben managed to upload an ai/computer program into Petra and the fact that she was only able to access it in hypersleep and not normal sleep. I understand that this book is middle-grade rated and that may provide some restrictions and boundaries, but I still felt that there were so many what-ifs?
Conclusion
The Last Cuentista is one of the few Sci-Fi books featuring a Latina protagonist I’ve seen, with an interesting narrative weaving tradition with promises of the future together while arguing against conformity as a solution to previous misdeeds. It’s a good read that I feel definitely would have completely captivated Middle School me hard, and even now as an adult I still enjoyed it despite its moderate use of what I can only describe as ‘trust me’ poetic faith. Overall this book is one I would recommend as an easy sci-fi read that also provides good emotion to keep you invested and feeling.
Rating
A solid 7.6/10 Lamps!
Upcoming…
Be On the Lookout for the next book being reviewed, The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer by Janelle Monae!
#book review#bookblr#mothymusings#the last cuentista#my art#moving image#science fiction#middle grade fiction#i'd love to hear any discussion you all have in the notes!#however please exercise proper etiquette when replying. Bad faith comments will be deleted#long post
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Title: The Last Cuentista
Author: Donna Barba Higuera
Series or standalone: standalone
Publication year: 2021
Genres: fiction, science fiction, fantasy, dystopia, family
Blurb: There lived a girl named Petra Peña, who wanted nothing more than to be a storyteller like her abuelita...but Petra's world is ending. Earth has been destroyed by a comet, and only a few hundred scientists and their children - among them Petra and her family - have been chosen to journey to a new planet. They are the ones who must carry on the human race. Hundreds of years later, Petra wakes to this new planet...and the discovery that she is the only person who remembers Earth. A sinister Collective has taken over the ship during its journey, bent on erasing the sins of humanity's past. They have systematically purged the memories of all onboard...or purged them altogether. Petra alone now carries the stories of the past, and with them, any hope for the future. Can she make them live again?
#the last cuentista#donna barba higuera#standalone#2021#fiction#science fiction#fantasy#dystopia#family
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NI EN EL CIELO NI EN EL INFIERNO
En Benichembla, por dónde se ha quemado, había un herrero de lo más laborioso. Su único problema era que vivía cerca del infierno y los demonios siempre iban a su casa para solicitar sus servicios. Cosa que tenía harto al bueno del herrero, básicamente, porque no cobraba por estos trabajos.
Un buen día, San Pedro, que se encontraba, de casualidad, por los valles, le pidió alojamiento. Alguien le advirtió:
- Herrero, este hombre es San Pedro. No seas bruto, y, cuando se vaya, y te pregunte lo que pides de pago, dile que un trocito de cielo.
- Muy bien. Pero yo ya sé lo que tengo que decir...
San Pedro quedó muy satisfecho del trato recibido en casa del herrero. Y, como era de esperar, le preguntó que pedía como recompensa. A lo que, imprevisiblemente, el herrero respondió:
- Un peral mágico. Quien lo toque, se quede pegado hasta que yo ordene lo contrario.
-¿Estás seguro, Herrero? Mira que en el cielo vamos cortos de espacio y es conveniente reservar.
- Peral.
-Muy bien. Ahí lo tienes.
Inmediatamente apareció un espléndido peral grande y joven. Así, cuando los demonios volvieron a pedirle un favor, el herrero los hizo subir al árbol mediante engaños. Sus gritos de dolor, mientras trataban de despegarse, resonaron por todo el valle. En el infierno se corrió la voz del incidente como la pólvora... Y los demonios jamás volvieron a molestarle.
Pasaron muchos años hasta que el herrero murió. Cómo tenía el infierno cerca, pasó por allí, a ver si lo recibían. No obstante, los demonios, nada más verlo, cerraron sus puertas a cal y canto: habían declarado al herrero persona non grata desde aquel incidente del peral.
Entonces, decidió ir a las puertas del cielo. San Pedro, cuando vio sus credenciales, recordó que había cedido su espacio allí a cambio de un árbol encantado. De modo que el herrero tampoco pudo pasar...
Este previsible contratiempo causó su, también, previsible fastidio. No obstante, pensó: "no me quieren ni en el cielo ni en el infierno. Pues no pasa nada. Me regreso a casa." Y así lo hizo.
Allí ha estado, el herrero, todos estos años. Hasta que, el otro día, tuvieron que desalojar a los habitantes del valle a causa del fuego...
He preguntado por él varias veces y nadie sabe dónde está... Si lo véis, decidle que pronto podrá volver...
#escritora#querido diario#relato corto#relatos#relato breve#cuento corto#cuento#the last cuentista#cosas que escribo#incendio#ecologia
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Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself.
Donna Barba Higuera, The Last Cuentista
#literature#literature quotes#book quotes#the last cuentista#donna barba higurera#reading list#sci-fi#sci-fi books#science-fiction#middle grade#mg books#literary quotes#books#bookshelf#2022 reads
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Last night was book club! I work for the Good Story Company and once a month we have book club to discuss published books (since we edit manuscripts for work).
We recently moved over to hosting book club on Discord so we can include more people and create a community for interested readers to connect.
Follow our tbr, book club schedule, and join the Discord here!
#studyblr#student#college#ya books#read books#amreading#the last cuentista#middle grade#book club#bookstagram#booklbr#author of color#author of tumblr#writers#ya writers#writerslife#discord chat#discord server#joinus#uni#studyspo#english major#studying#writing major#university
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Suma's eyes are still closed, and I can't tell if she's trying to forget, or to remember. Maybe stories are there to help us do both. I know stories can't always have happy endings. But if there are chances for us to do better, we have to say out loud the parts that hurt most.
Donna Barba Higuera, The Last Cuentista
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"I know stories can't always have happy endings. But if there are chances for us to do better, we have to say out loud the parts that hurt the most"
The last cuentista, Donna Barba Higuera
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2022 reads // twitter thread
The Last Cuentista
MG sci-fi about a girl who gets on one of the last ships leaving earth before a comet hits
when she wakes from cryo, everyone's memories have been erased to create a society of people with no differences or reasons for conflict - except for her.
the importance of culture and stories
visually impaired MC
#The Last Cuentista#aroaessidhe 2022 reads#loved this#this.....made me cry less than an hour in LMAO#Ben telling her the stories :(#ALSO THE PLOT TWIST?????? ABOUT [REDACTED]????#it's definitely very heavy handed on the bad-people-saying-Diversity-Is-Bad-We-Must-All-Be-The-Same-is-wrong-actually#but it's middle grade! it's supposed to be#i would have loved more story also#it also reminds me of Kipo? just a little.#probably just in that it's a MG scifi thing with vaguely similar themes; there's no significant similarities#)(is visually impaired the right term? i just looked it up she specifically has retinitis pigmentosa
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I read The Last Cuentista today (the 2022 Newbery winner, if you care about that kind of thing) and the whole time I’m reading it I’m like “oh my god this is so creepy, this is so dark, I wouldn’t give this to a middle schooler this has to be aimed at older high school students because I, am adult, am HAVING A TIME” and then I looked it up after I finished reading it and it’s described as a middle grade novel and I...I need to go lie down?
(The irony is that middle schoolers probably would have an easier time reading this than I did. They read so much fucked up shit and murder mysteries now they’d probably just be like “huh. okay, cool” meanwhile I’m over here stewing over the first 80 pages of the book which I think might have been the most upsetting. Help.)
#the last cuentista#if you've read it let's discuss because I don't think any of my coworkers are going to read it#after I spent all day telling them how disturbed I was#like don't get me wrong it was GOOD but it also freaked me the fuck out#think the giver on steroids but worse and apocalyptic
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Lita said there was a time, when she was a little girl, she didn't dare speak Spanish in public, or share her stories where others could hear. A time when her language and the color of her skin could mean trouble. So, under a blanket of starry skies and piñon smoke, out of habit, she whispered her stories to me in Spanglish.
Her own version, passed from her grandmother, and her grandmother's grandmother-each of them a slightly different version depending on what was happening in their world at the time.
I remember what Lita said about my stories. "Never be ashamed of where you come from, or the stories your ancestors bring to you. Make them your own."
I will never be a real storyteller now like Lita. But for Zeta-4, I decide to tell one more. And for Lita, I'll make it my own.
The Last Cuentista, Donna Barba Higuera
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The Last Cuentista
By Donna Barba Higuera.
Cover art and design by Raxenne Maniquiz.
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Here’s 22 of my favorite books from 2022! What were your favorites?
#books#book reviews#year in reading#graphic novels#middle grade#nonfiction#the midnight library#adhd#the last cuentista#gallant#v.e. schwab#Anne of west philly#attached#amir levine#attachment theory#remarkably ruby#swim team#frizzy#claribel ortega#miss quinces#quinceañera#kat fajardo#fangirl#crumbs#golden girl#novels in verse#city of ghosts#horror#small spaces#heartstopper
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The Last Cuentista || Donna Barba Higuera || 320 pages
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Top 3 Genres: Middle Grade / Science Fiction / Dystopia
Synopsis: There lived a girl named Petra Peña, who wanted nothing more than to be a storyteller, like her abuelita.
But Petra's world is ending. Earth has been destroyed by a comet, and only a few hundred scientists and their children – among them Petra and her family – have been chosen to journey to a new planet. They are the ones who must carry on the human race.
Hundreds of years later, Petra wakes to this new planet – and the discovery that she is the only person who remembers Earth. A sinister Collective has taken over the ship during its journey, bent on erasing the sins of humanity's past. They have systematically purged the memories of all aboard – or purged them altogether.
Petra alone now carries the stories of our past, and with them, any hope for our future. Can she make them live again?
Publication Date: October 2021. / Average Rating: 4.19. / Number of Ratings: ~7780.
#tbr tuesday#I haven't read this yet!#the last cuentista#donna barba higuera#300-399 pages#middle grade#science fiction#dystopia#jomp original
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