A review by dandelionsteph
Paola Santiago and the River of Tears by Tehlor Kay Mejia

adventurous

4.0

It feels a little slow at times, but it's possible that was intentional, since it was depicting a sequence that would feel slow to the protagonist. This one is unusual in that the conspicuous, super-special hero isn't the protagonist. I get the feeling the Southwest folklore had to be stretched to create a fantasy world: even the characters seem to acknowledge the oddity that a hand monster should exist in huge numbers when its folktale of origin suggests it was the only one of its kind. Nonetheless, it had all the elements needed for an enjoyable fantasy novel.

I read this during a near-blackout at my house for a few hours late into the book, and boy, was that spooky.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Child death, and Kidnapping