pickExcellent dystopian middle grade sci fi set 400 years in the future, ultimately hopeful that social change is possible. The MC is small for 13 & feels powerless as a member of the Spanish-speaking underclass in a rigid authoritarian society where English-speakers hold power. Examples throughout show how storytelling can be used for good or evil: to maintain hope & cultural connection, or to instil fear & reinforce an unfair system. #audiobook
I looked up the English meaning of the title, and learned it is the word for Mexican brightly-painted fantasy animal carvings. It‘s used slightly differently in the novel, which is set hundreds of years in the future.
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pickI loved Donna Barba Higuera‘s Newbery Medal winning The Last Cuentista. Alebrijes is her newest book, and like Cuentista, it showcases both her fantastic imagination and her understanding of humanity. It‘s dark, and it takes awhile to settle into its story, but by the halfway point, I was all in.
pickI don‘t know if you can tell from the pic but this cover is so cool with a cut out in the center! It was worth it in the end but it started off so slow and bleak I‘m not sure kids will like it. The Last Beekeeper is probably a more accessible Hispanic dystopian story.
My #weekendreads - Alebrijes is a dystopian story, middle grade but by no means a quick read! I'm listening to A Place to Hang the Moon (MG Historical Fiction). And I just finished The Count of Monte Cristo this morning after starting early this year!!!!
@rachelsbrittain
Alebrijes | 
