By Pam Muñoz Ryan
New York: Scholastic Press, 2020. Fiction.
12-year-old Max is excited to spend his summer vacation playing futbol with his friends and preparing to try out for his city's junior league in the fall. Then he finds out that the league is going to be extra-strict at tryouts this year, requiring a birth certificate from each player. For Max, this is a problem because his birth certificate disappeared with his mother when she left him as a baby. Desperate to reconnect with his mother, Max uncovers a long-held family secret and embarks on a dangerous mission to lead a young refugee to Mañanaland -- hoping that he'll find his mother there.
This beautiful and incredibly layered story reads like a fairy tale - imbued with magic, mystery and adventure. The repeating motif of the La Reina Gigante, a hideout used as shelter by generations of refugees fleeing dictators and war-torn countries, provides beautiful and hopeful imagery (as shown on the cover). But, despite its fable-like tone, this book is grounded in a mythical sort of reality, the fictional country of Santa Maria is said to be "somewhere in the Americas" and Max's ordinary 12-year-old desires will feel familiar to young readers. As she did with the incomparable Esperanza Rising, Pam Muñoz Ryan shares a story of hope and compassion perfect for readers of all ages.
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