In this clunky sequel to Curse of the ChupaCabra, Rosa, a Latina professor, finds herself again battling the vicious monster of folklore. The story takes a science-fiction twist, throwing genetic engineering and invading aliens into the mix. Becoming increasingly far-fetched and hokey with each chapter, the text disappointingly fails to make effective use of the chupacabra's rich legend.

Gr 9 Up-Professor Rosa Medina, a folklorist teaching at a Southern California university, is plunged again into her pursuit of aliens and monsters in this sequel to Anaya's Curse of the ChupaCabra (Univ. of New Mexico, 2006). She's awakened at 2 a.m. by what seems to be a ChupaCabraone of the bloodsucking monsters of Mexican folklorecreeping into her house. She narrowly escapes, and soon hits the road to Roswell, NM, famous in UFO lore, to discover whether the evil scientist Saytir is succeeding in his plans to terrorize the Earth with cloned creatures that are genetic blends of aliens and ChupaCabras. Unfortunately, the book is written in a style that is far too melodramatic to go down easily, with lots of shocks and dramatic statements, complete with exclamation points. Purchase only if the first book is popular. Walter Minkel, Austin Public Library, TX