BY RAINA TELGEMEIER ; ILLUSTRATED BY RAINA TELGEMEIER ‧ RELEASE DATE: SEPT. 13, 2016
Catrina narrates the story of her mixed-race (Latino/white) family’s move from Southern California to Bahía de la Luna on the Northern California coast.
Dad has a new job, but it’s little sister Maya’s lungs that motivate the move: she has had cystic fibrosis since birth; a degenerative breathing condition. Despite her health, Maya loves adventure, even if her lungs suffer for it and even when Cat must follow to keep her safe. When Carlos, a tall, brown, and handsome teen Ghost Tour guide introduces the sisters to the Bahía ghosts, most of whom were Spanish-speaking Mexicans when alive, they fascinate Maya and them, but the terrified Cat wants only to get herself and Maya back to safety. When the ghost adventure leads to Maya’s hospitalization, Cat blames both herself and Carlos, which makes seeing him at school difficult. As Cat awakens to the meaning of Halloween and Day of the Dead in this strange new home, she comes to understand the importance of the ghosts both to herself and to Maya. Telgemeier neatly balances enough issues that a lesser artist would split them into separate stories and delivers as much delight textually as visually. The back matter includes snippets from Telgemeier’s sketchbook and a photo of her in Día’s makeup.
Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-54061-2
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: November 19, 2020
Writera Magazine Reviews Issue:November 19, 2020
Categories: GENERAL GRAPHIC NOVELS & COMICS | CHILDREN’S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN’S FAMILY