Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls by Kaela Rivera

It makes it easy for her to sneak around and get her bruja-self together, but it's also a bit confusing. 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. The relationships are supportive, if a bit superficial. The world building and magical systems are interesting and relatively solid. I love how this book is solidly grounded in traditional tales and yet is an absolutely fresh imagining. Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook. With him at her side, Cece sets out to reunite her family-and maybe even change what it means to be a bruja along the way. Thankfully, the legendary criatura Coyote has a soft spot for humans and agrees to help her on her journey. To get into Devil’s Alley, though, she’ll have to become a bruja herself-while hiding her quest from her parents, her town, and the other brujas. When her older sister, Juana, is kidnapped by El Sombrerón, a powerful dark criatura, Cece is determined to bring Juana back. After all, only brujas-humans who capture and control criaturas-consort with the spirits, and brujeria is a terrible crime. But Cecelia Rios has always believed there was more to the criaturas, much to her family’s disapproval.

Living in the remote town of Tierra del Sol is dangerous, especially in the criatura months, when powerful spirits roam the desert and threaten humankind. When a powerful desert spirit kidnaps her sister, Cece Rios must learn forbidden magic to get her back, in this own voices middle grade fantasy perfect for fans of The S torm Runner and Aru Shah and the End of Time.

Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls by Kaela Rivera