★ 05/09/2022
An Ecuadorian tween from a family of former monster protectors embarks on one final mission in Córdova’s (The Way to Rio Luna) rewarding on-the-road fantasy. During “the worst summer of my whole eleven-and-a-half-year-old life,” Valentina Salazar longs to return to the Before Times—an era before school bullies, nightly homework, busy older siblings, and most importantly, the death of her beloved father. Now settled in Missing Mountain, N.Y., after a lifetime of camping and homeschooling, Valentina searches with little luck for a case that will help her family get back to normal—and back into their 1965 Ford Falcon camper. When Valentina sees video footage of a boy showcasing an egg that belongs to a rare monster—the same rare monster that killed her father—she and her elder siblings undertake a road trip to retrieve it, encountering a double-headed scorpion and large winged cats, among other creatures. With a gutsy, lionhearted protagonist (“By the way, weirdos make the world a better place!”), an inventive cryptid menagerie, and a sensitive portrayal of grief’s effect on individuals and familial dynamics as seen through young eyes, Córdova’s narrative comes aglow as it unfolds, radiating warmth, humor, and a love of the fantasy genre on each and every page. Ages 8–12. Agent: Suzie Townsend, New Leaf Literary & Media. (June)
Praise for Valentina Salazar is Not a Monster Hunter:
* "With a gutsy, lionhearted protagonist, an inventive cryptid menagerie, and a sensitive portrayal of grief's effect on individuals and familial dynamics as seen through young eyes, Cordova's narrative comes aglow as it unfolds, radiating warmth, humor, and a love of the fantasy genre on each and every page." —Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
* "From the author who created the Brooklyn Brujas trilogy, Cordova brings a new fantastical adventure to younger readers. Cordova crafts an adventure story to explain a standard lesson that monsters (like humans) are not all bad and can be misunderstood. A wonderful read that shows people should never underestimate the power of family — or their youngest siblings!" — Booklist, Starred Review
"Middle grade fantasy at its finest, led by a protagonist who has as much spirit and fire as the monsters she's sworn to protect.” — Rena Barron, author of Maya and the Rising Dark
"An action-packed, un-put-down-able, adventure filled with fun, family, and fabulous magical creatures! You're in for a real treat!" — Sarah Beth Durst, award-winning author of Spark
"A wondrous journey, full of friendship, family, and self-discovery. It has everything I look for in a book — heart, humor, and an innovative magic system." — Alex Aster, award-winning author of the Emblem Island series
Praise forThe Way To Rio Luna
*"Cordova infuses Danny's quest with friendship, whimsy, and boundless creativity... the result is a revised canon of children's fantasy literature to center a global mythology, heralded by children of color. With its diverse, fully-realized cast of characters and inventive world-building, this complex adventure quest is a rare treat for fantasy lovers and those who believe in magic." — School Library Journal, Starred Review
"Cordova takes classic fairy-tale tropes and structure and modernizes them, adding diversity and providing a fresh storyline that a broad group of children will be able to relate to. Fans of the Narnia books or Norton Juster’s The Phantom Tollbooth will delight in this microcosmic story-within-a-story, full of secrets and surprises and overflowing with introductions to a host of whimsical characters." — Booklist, Starred Review
★ 09/02/2022
Gr 3–7—The heart of this middle grade novel is a family that begins to fray after a father's death. The pain and loss lead all of the children to react in varying ways that further divide them. Andromeda abandons her family's motto and purpose of saving magical creatures—in fact, she joins forces with her villainous uncle to hunt down and destroy them. Rome retreats into a world of silence rooted in misguided guilt over his father's loss. Lola leans into academics and cheerleading, spending every possible minute away from the home. And Valentina, the youngest, clings to the family's motto of Protect, Valor, Heart. When everyone tells her to stop searching for monsters, she disobeys. This disobedience alienates her from kids at school as well as her own family. But her rebellious spirit is a force to be reckoned with. Equal parts goofy and courageous, Valentina helps guide her family back to healing while also unraveling the truth about their father. Valentina's infectious can-do attitude is a uniting force. Not only does this young hero reassemble her fragmented family, she also weaves together a motley ensemble of believers in magic and monsters to help save the magical creatures. Young readers will especially love Brixie, a fairy and satellite character to Valentina who delivers pleasing comic relief. VERDICT Put this stellar magical family novel on both fantasy and adventure shelves.—Stephanie Creamer
2022-03-29
Three siblings go on a road trip to find a mythical creature.
Eleven-and-a-half-year-old Valentina Alexander Salazar is the youngest sibling in a family that used to be monster protectors, rescuing creatures who cross over from another dimension and sending them back before they are killed by monster hunters. But since Val’s father’s untimely death during a mission gone wrong, her mother has taken the family off the road and settled into a more normal (and in Val’s honest opinion, dull) life. While her older siblings seem to be fully adapted to their new reality, Val struggles to fit in and secretly continues to track magical creatures. When the egg of a mythical being appears on her radar, she manages to convince her older siblings Rome and Lola to join her in finding and protecting it (deep inside hoping she can convince them to carry on with the family’s mission). This entertaining adventure novel is full of surprising twists and features a nice blend of science-fiction and fantasy worldbuilding. Ostensibly a story about monsters and how to deal with them, at its heart is the close-knit Salazar family, whose bonds are fraying at the edges of their shared grief, and their youngest child, who helps them with her fierce, earnest advocacy to remember who they truly are. The Salazars are originally from Ecuador, and most of the cast is brown-skinned.
Fun and heartwarming. (Fantasy. 8-12)
Valentina Salazar is proud of her family's role as monster protectors, and narrator Ana Osario voices that family with distinct and vivid characterizations. Everyone is dealing with the death of Valentina's father in different ways: Her mom demands that they give up their nomadic, magical adventures; her brother, Rome, broods alone; her older sister, Lola, tries to be the perfect teenager; and her other sister, Andromeda, runs away to hunt the beast that killed their father. Valentina just wants them to work together again and fulfill their promise to return creatures to the mystical world they come from. Osario delivers a feisty and charismatic young heroine in a tiny package. Valentina demands listeners’ attention as she leads them on a wild ride. S.T.C. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
Valentina Salazar is proud of her family's role as monster protectors, and narrator Ana Osario voices that family with distinct and vivid characterizations. Everyone is dealing with the death of Valentina's father in different ways: Her mom demands that they give up their nomadic, magical adventures; her brother, Rome, broods alone; her older sister, Lola, tries to be the perfect teenager; and her other sister, Andromeda, runs away to hunt the beast that killed their father. Valentina just wants them to work together again and fulfill their promise to return creatures to the mystical world they come from. Osario delivers a feisty and charismatic young heroine in a tiny package. Valentina demands listeners’ attention as she leads them on a wild ride. S.T.C. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
