08 Sep / Mañanaland by Pam Muñoz Ryan [in Booklist]
Readers might need the opening sentence repeated here: “Somewhere in the Américas, many years after once-upon-a-time and long before happily-ever-after, a boy climbed the cobbled steps of an arched bridge in the tiny village of Santa Maria in the country of the same name.” The distracting, unnecessary music thankfully dissipates with the next sentence, making room for Roxana Ortega’s impressive range as she aurally conducts readers into Newbery Honoree Pam Muñoz Ryan’s mythic – yet especially timely – new journey.
Eleven-year-old Maximiliano Córdoba lives with his reticent stonemason Papá and storyteller Buelo. He doesn’t remember Mamá, who left when he was a baby. Max dreams of becoming a fútbol star, but joining the new team requires proof of age. When Papá admits that Max’s birth certificate went missing with Mamá, he must also reveal many of the “when you’re older”-secrets he’s hidden from Max – especially about the Guardians who guide desperate refugees in transit. When the call for help arrives at Max’s front door, the courageous tween risks his life to continue the family’s “noble legacy.”
Measured, authentic, agile, Ortega’s narration remains persistently empathic throughout.
Review: “Media,” Booklist Online, August 14, 2020
Readers: Middle Grade
Published: 2020