A multi-award winning and bestselling novel, blending science fiction and Mexican folklore to explore acceptance, resistance and the power of storytelling.
Earth will soon be destroyed by a comet, and only a few hundred scientists and their children - among them Petra and her family - have been chosen to journey to a new planet.
An unforgettable journey through the stars, to the very heart of what makes us human. The incredible Newbery Medal-winning novel from Donna Barba Higuera.
"Gripping in its twists and turns, and moving in its themes - truly a beautiful cuento."
- NEW YORK TIMES
HabΓa una vez . . .
There lived a girl named Petra PeΓ±a, who wanted nothing more than to be a storyteller, like her abuelita.
But Petra's world is ending. Earth will soon be destroyed by a comet, and only a few hundred scientists and their children - among them Petra and her family - have been chosen to journey to a new planet. They are the ones who must carry on the human race.
Hundreds of years later, Petra wakes to this new planet - and the discovery that she is the only person who remembers Earth. A sinister Collective has taken over the ship during its journey, bent on erasing the sins of humanity's past. They have systematically purged the memories of all aboard - or purged them altogether.
Petra alone now carries the stories of our past, and with them, any hope for our future. Can she make them live again?
Gripping in its twists and turns, and moving in its themes - truly a beautiful cuento New York Times
Clever and compelling . . . wonderfully subversive The Wall Street Journal
This tale packs a wallop. Exquisite Kirkus Reviews
The Last Storyteller is about the stories that create the universe, the tales that weave us together across light-years and generations, and courage that sings in the darkness. It's an incredibly memorable story with a masterful twist. I absolutely loved it! SinΓ©ad OβHart, author of The Eye of the North
The Last Storyteller took risks as an MG sci-fi novel and I'm very grateful it did. Some believe you must water certain themes down for younger readers because they're unable to handle it, but, in this case, I don't agree. At the heart of it, the book is about the power of storytelling, human connection and family. What a spectacular book! Rachel Faturoti, author of SadΓ© and Her Shadow Beasts
Donna Barba Higuera grew up in Central California and now lives in the Pacific Northwest. She has spent her entire life blending folklore with her experiences into stories that fill her imagination. Now she weaves them to write picture books and novels. Donna's first book, Lupe Wong Won't Dance, won a Sid Fleischman Award for Humor and a Pura BelprΓ© Honor.
Her second novel, The Last Cuentista, received the John Newbery Medal and the Pura BelprΓ© Award. It was named one of the Best Books of the Year by the Boston Globe, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Wall Street Journal and TIME.
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