The Moonlit Vine

by Elizabeth Santiago, McKenzie Mayle (Illustrator)

Overview

Fourteen-year-old Taína just learned that she is a descendant of a long line of strong Taíno women, but will knowing this help her bring peace and justice to her family and community?

Despite her name, Taína Perez doesn't know anything about her Taíno heritage, nor has she ever tried to learn. After all, how would ancient Puerto Rican history help with everything going on? There's constant trouble at school and in her neighborhood, her older brother was kicked out of the house, and with her mom at work, she's left alone to care for her little brother and aging grandmother. It's a lot for a 14-year-old to manage.

But life takes a wild turn when her abuela tells her she is a direct descendant of Anacaona, the beloved Taíno leader, warrior, and poet, who was murdered by the Spanish in 1503. Abuela also gives her an amulet and a zemi and says that it's time for her to step into her power like the women who came before her. But is that even possible? People like her hardly make it out of their circumstances, and the problems in her home and community are way bigger than Taína can manage. Or are they?

A modern tale with interstitial historical chapters, The Moonlit Vine brings readers a powerful story of the collective struggle, hope, and liberation of Puerto Rican and Taíno peoples.

Also available in Spanish!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781643795805
Publisher:	Lee & Low Books
Publication date:	05/30/2023
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	284,863
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	HL760L (what's this?)
Age Range:	13 - 18 Years

About the Author

Elizabeth Santiago grew up in Boston, MA with parents who migrated from San Sebastián, Puerto Rico in the 1960s. The youngest of nine, Elizabeth was entranced by the stories her mother, father, aunts and uncles, and community elders told her. Later, she sought to capture and honor those narratives and share them with the world. She earned a BFA in creative writing from Emerson College, a master’s in education from Harvard University, and a PhD in education studies from Lesley University. She still lives in Boston with her husband Kevin and son Ezekiel, but travels to Puerto Rico as often as she can to feel even closer to her ancestors, culture, and heritage. Find her @liznarratives

McKenzie Mayle is a New York City based artist and illustrator with roots in Appalachia Ohio. She delights in creating relatable and eccentric characters, predominantly inspired by Tim Burton, Shel Silverstein, Jann Brett, and Roald Dahl imagery. Van Gogh and Monet influenced the scenery she would create for her characters. When not drawing or out and about people-watching for character inspiration, she can be found cuddled with her cats, Pretzel and Tarmac. Find her at mckenziemayle.com.

Editorial Reviews

05/08/2023

After getting suspended for fighting in school, Puerto Rican 14-year-old Ty Perez’s older brother Alex is sent to live with their father. Now, Ty alone must help care for her younger brother and her grandmother, who has Alzheimer’s, while her mother works long hours. Worse, a gang has been stirring up trouble in the family’s rapidly gentrifying neighborhood. When Abuela reveals that Ty is a descendant of an Indigenous Taíno leader, Ty assumes Abuela is hallucinating. But Abuela persists, entrusting her with two family heirlooms—an amulet and a zemi—and claiming that they will provide Ty with the power she needs to overcome obstacles. Meanwhile, Ty struggles to navigate racism and classism from prejudiced schoolteachers, as well as police brutality and escalating gang violence. As she begins to uncover more about her heritage, she resolves to use her ancestors’ strength to help better her community. Mayle’s elegant b&w art appears throughout and historical interstitials center Ty’s forebears as they endured harrowing events such as genocide and colonization. Via evocative third-person prose, Santiago proudly showcases Taíno culture in this empowering debut that is at once educational, realistic, and speculative. Ages 13–up. (May)

Publishers Weekly

* "A beautiful ode to Puerto Rican history...Santiago's writing sparkles, even as it draws upon hard realities that Puerto Ricans can face in their everyday lives and sense of cultural identity. Filled with arresting prose and historical stories, this novel brings Puerto Rican history into the present, mixing in realistic themes to which most readers will relate." — Booklist, starred review

* "Readers will cheer for the bold, resourceful protagonist as she uses her newfound power to bring everyone she cares about together. . .Mayle's evocative black-and-white art and interstitial chapters centering Ty's ancestors through the centuries round out the contemporary storyline . . . Deeply moving, beautifully written, and inspiring." — Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"An excellent choice for all YA shelves." — School Library Journal

"Mayle's elegant b&w art appears throughout and historical interstitials center Ty's forebears as they endured harrowing events such as genocide and colonization. Via evocative third-person prose, Santiago proudly showcases Taíno culture in this empowering debut that is at once educational, realistic, and speculative." — Publishers Weekly

Best Books 2023 - Kirkus Reviews
RISE: A Feminist Book Project Booklist Winner 2024 - American Library Association (ALA)

From the Publisher

10/06/2023

Gr 6 Up—This debut novel deftly reaches into the graveyard of history to address the lore of Taíno (Indigenous peoples of many Caribbean islands) extinction. This contemporary YA centers around Ty, a 14-year-old girl whose neighborhood is in the throes of gentrification. Ty and other children of color in her community have to confront the failings of public education, the over policing of schools, the humiliation heaped on poor women who have to ask for public assistance, and all manner of other injustices that mushroom under a structure of oppression. Her story parallels that of Anacaona, the warrior leader attempting to save her Indigenous people from first contact with colonizers. The two time lines and storylines bring history and realistic fiction to a tense intersection. Hundreds of years later, these stories and Ty's life finally weave together. Ty's grandmother passes on a small handheld zemis that contains the names of all the mothers going back to Anacaona. The unlocking of this charm gives Ty and her community the ancestral strength and power needed to save lives and bring justice to heartbroken mothers. Santiago's text, while tackling unsavory history, does not soften the content for the middle grade reader. Simple sentence structures and comprehensive language still deliver a goldmine of story telling. With compassion and tenderness, this same structure brings to the page the upheavals that Ty confronts. Looming large over all of the conflicts is Ty's inspirational courage and love for her family. VERDICT An excellent choice for all YA shelves.—Stephanie Creamer

School Library Journal

★ 2023-03-29
The 14-year-old descendant of a Taíno leader finds the strength in ancestral roots to help her present-day community.

Taína, who goes by Ty, has a lot on her plate. Her parents have been separated since her father got out of jail. She takes care of her grandmother, who has Alzheimer’s, and her little brother, who’s in first grade, while her mother works two jobs. Her mom just kicked her older brother out of the house for getting into a fight at school. Childhood friends, including her crush, have felt pressured to join a violent gang. Her neighborhood is gentrifying, and Ty, whose brown-skinned family is Puerto Rican, encounters racism and prejudice everywhere, from the teacher who shames an English language learner to the welfare officer who made her mother feel terrible for applying for affordable housing. One night, Ty’s grandmother gives her an amulet and a zemi, a sacred carving, created by their ancestor Anacaona, a Taíno leader, warrior, and poet. Abuela tells Ty that knowledge of her birthright is her power. As Ty learns more about her heritage, one crisis after another ensues. Readers will cheer for the bold, resourceful protagonist as she uses her newfound power to bring everyone she cares about together to save loved ones and create positive change in her neighborhood. Mayle’s evocative black-and-white art and interstitial chapters centering Ty’s ancestors through the centuries round out the contemporary storyline.

Deeply moving, beautifully written, and inspiring. (author’s note, ancestors, historical timeline, inspiring Boriqueños, references) (Fiction. 13-18)

Kirkus Reviews