This is a creepy middle grade read for Halloween that focuses on the tale of La Llorona, the weeping woman who cries at the side of a river for the children she's murdered, but warps her tale in a way that's both old and new at the same time.
Paola Santiago is not a likely candidate for believing in La Llorona -- if it isn't scientifically provable, she's not interested. Her mother, on the other hand, is all about folk remedies and beliefs and embarrasses Paola to no end in their tight-knit Silver Springs, AZ apartment community.
Paola and her friends, Emma and Dante, are used to roaming free on their bikes and frequent the banks of the Gila River for its coolness in the heat, and to talk and star-gaze. But one night, Emma doesn't show up, and when Pao leads police to the river, she finds Emma's bracelet -- something Emma would never allow to let slip, not unless something horrible has happened.
Quickly Pao and Dante are swept up and out of the world as they know it and into another world, one in which grandma's chancla is a powerful Talisman, capable of defeating blood-thirsty chupacabras. But where's Emma? Why does La Llorona want her? And what will the friends have to do to release Emma from La Llorona's deadly grasp?
A great creepy Halloween read! Enjoy!
