ALA Booklist (Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 CST 2013)

When Mom must go to Costa Rica for research, 12-year-old Izzy is sent to spend the summer with her grandmother in a remote New Mexico village. There, Izzy gets to know Nana and begins to learn much about her long-deceased father, a baseball player who drowned shortly before Izzy was born. Spurred on by a baseball inscribed with an obscured phrase (a memento of her father) and guided by her grandmother and Socorro, an elderly seer-storyteller, Izzy uncovers secrets about her past that will help to guide her future. Cervantes' first novel is rich with local color th physical landscapes and traditional spiritual beliefs. Catholicism, magic, and communicating with the dead blend seamlessly with the power of storytelling and fresh, homemade tortillas. Secondary characters, such as new friends Maggie and Matteo, are also well developed. Appended with a recipe for tortillas and a glossary of Spanish terms, this should be popular with readers who enjoyed Sharon Creech's Granny Torrelli Makes Soup (2003) or Pam Muñoz Ryan's Becoming Naomi Leon (2004).

Horn Book

In a familiar tale of family heritage, twelve-year-old Izzy spends the summer with her grandmother in a remote New Mexican village while her mother completes a research project. Izzy learns to cook, makes friends, and finds answers to her questions about the life and death of the father she never knew. Some characters veer toward stereotype, but the mysticism-laced story has appeal. Glos.

Kirkus Reviews

Twelve-year-old Izzy Roybal, who loves writing stories, is reluctant to spend the summer in a small village in the New Mexican desert, where she was born. But when she gets there, she is gradually delighted with the landscape's undeniable beauty and with her grandmother's cultural and spiritual Mexican-American values. Nana gives a name to each room in her colorful old house, she mixes her perfect English with Spanish words and in her kitchen not only Izzy but her neighbors find a place to share stories while they eat Nana's traditional Mexican dishes. Socorro, the village storyteller, helps Izzy find the answers to questions she has had about her deceased father all her life. The girl also develops a close friendship with two local kids: Mateo, a 13-year-old boy, and Maggie, a six-year-old orphan. Socorro's stories suggest ways to navigate the boundaries of life and afterlife, leading to an ill-considered adventure that helps Izzy define who she is. Cervantes evokes the beauty of the setting and develops a memorable cast of characters, brought to life through Izzy's heartfelt narration. A beautiful and engaging debut novel. (author's note, tortilla recipe, glossary) (Fiction. 8-12)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

In this strong debut, Cervantes relies on the tried-and-tried recipe of a preadolescent forced to spend summer in an unfamiliar environment, but spices it up with a dash of magical realism and a vibrant New Mexico landscape. Twelveyear-old Izzy, whose father died before she was born, is sent to live with her grandmother while her mother completes a research project. An aspiring writer, Izzy is haunted by the mystery of her father's death and frustrated by her mother's refusal to talk about him. Once in her parents' native village, she begins to find answers to her questions about his life and death%E2%80%94 and her own birth. Colorful characters%E2%80%94 an orphaned six-year-old girl; a prophetic storyteller; a handsome 13-year-old neighbor%E2%80%94accompany Izzy on her quest for her heritage; mouthwatering descriptions of her grandmother's culinary gifts waft tantalizingly through the tale. Cervantes fills her story with mystical possibilities%E2%80%94 talking with spirits, hearing what the wind whispers, gathering powerful herbs by moonlight%E2%80%94but also with the inescapable realities of illness, death, and mourning. The result is an imaginative yet grounded novel. Ages 8%E2%80%9312. (June)

School Library Journal (Tue Jun 01 00:00:00 CDT 2010)

Gr 5-7 Twelve-year-old Izzy is dismayed to learn that her widowed mother will be finishing her studies in Costa Rica, and that she will spend the summer with her grandmother in New Mexico. Before she leaves, she uncovers a baseball that belonged to her father. It has a mysterious message scrawled across it, "Becausemagic," and, like all things relating to her late husband, Izzy's mother won't explain. Nana warmly welcomes her granddaughter to her remote village, a place that seems frozen in time. Izzy meets Nana's friends and neighbors, learns to make tortillas, and watches her grandmother, a curandera , prepare folk remedies. She also begins to uncover the mystery surrounding her father's life and death. Cervantes's prose is lean and lightly spiced with evocative metaphor. Unfortunately, the plot feels all too familiar: the wise grandmother, the loving mother who refuses to speak of the past, and the melodramatic resolution. The characters are gracefully limned yet fail to rise above convention. This gentle family story may hold appeal for those who have enjoyed the works of Pam Muñoz Ryan and Toby Johnston. Marilyn Taniguchi, Beverly Hills Public Library, CA