Starred Review ALA Booklist (Wed Jul 05 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Starred Review Santiago's debut is a beautiful ode to Puerto Rican history, helmed by a curious protagonist seeking knowledge of her heritage. Named for the island's Taíno people, whose lives and culture shaped what Puerto Rico is today, Taína Perez has always wanted to know more about the meaning behind her name. Unfortunately, her anxiety over several stressful family situations leaves her with little time to research her background. Though only 14, Taína has been tasked with taking care of her grandmother while her mother works long hours to keep the family afloat, and her brother, who recently got into serious trouble, is no longer home. It's Abuela who jumpstarts Taína's familial investigation by revealing the astonishing fact that Taína is a descendant of Anacaona, a Taíno poet, warrior, and tribal leader brutally killed by conquistadores in 1503. Readers will be fully invested in Taína's story as she discovers that her family tree is deeply rooted in magic as well as the island's painful colonial history. Santiago's writing sparkles, even as it draws upon hard realities that Puerto Ricans can face in their everyday lives and sense of cultural identity. Filled with arresting prose and historical stories, this novel brings Puerto Rican history into the present, mixing in realistic themes to which most readers will relate. The Spanish edition (Claro de luna) publishes simultaneously.

Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews (Mon May 08 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

The 14-year-old descendant of a Taíno leader finds the strength in ancestral roots to help her present-day community.Taína, who goes by Ty, has a lot on her plate. Her parents have been separated since her father got out of jail. She takes care of her grandmother, who has Alzheimer's, and her little brother, who's in first grade, while her mother works two jobs. Her mom just kicked her older brother out of the house for getting into a fight at school. Childhood friends, including her crush, have felt pressured to join a violent gang. Her neighborhood is gentrifying, and Ty, whose brown-skinned family is Puerto Rican, encounters racism and prejudice everywhere, from the teacher who shames an English language learner to the welfare officer who made her mother feel terrible for applying for affordable housing. One night, Ty's grandmother gives her an amulet and a zemi, a sacred carving, created by their ancestor Anacaona, a Taíno leader, warrior, and poet. Abuela tells Ty that knowledge of her birthright is her power. As Ty learns more about her heritage, one crisis after another ensues. Readers will cheer for the bold, resourceful protagonist as she uses her newfound power to bring everyone she cares about together to save loved ones and create positive change in her neighborhood. Mayle's evocative black-and-white art and interstitial chapters centering Ty's ancestors through the centuries round out the contemporary storyline.Deeply moving, beautifully written, and inspiring. (author's note, ancestors, historical timeline, inspiring Boriqueños, references) (Fiction. 13-18)

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

The 14-year-old descendant of a Taíno leader finds the strength in ancestral roots to help her present-day community.Taína, who goes by Ty, has a lot on her plate. Her parents have been separated since her father got out of jail. She takes care of her grandmother, who has Alzheimer's, and her little brother, who's in first grade, while her mother works two jobs. Her mom just kicked her older brother out of the house for getting into a fight at school. Childhood friends, including her crush, have felt pressured to join a violent gang. Her neighborhood is gentrifying, and Ty, whose brown-skinned family is Puerto Rican, encounters racism and prejudice everywhere, from the teacher who shames an English language learner to the welfare officer who made her mother feel terrible for applying for affordable housing. One night, Ty's grandmother gives her an amulet and a zemi, a sacred carving, created by their ancestor Anacaona, a Taíno leader, warrior, and poet. Abuela tells Ty that knowledge of her birthright is her power. As Ty learns more about her heritage, one crisis after another ensues. Readers will cheer for the bold, resourceful protagonist as she uses her newfound power to bring everyone she cares about together to save loved ones and create positive change in her neighborhood. Mayle's evocative black-and-white art and interstitial chapters centering Ty's ancestors through the centuries round out the contemporary storyline.Deeply moving, beautifully written, and inspiring. (author's note, ancestors, historical timeline, inspiring Boriqueños, references) (Fiction. 13-18)

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

After getting suspended for fighting in school, Puerto Rican 14-year-old Ty Perez’s older brother Alex is sent to live with their father. Now, Ty alone must help care for her younger brother and her grandmother, who has Alzheimer’s, while her mother works long hours. Worse, a gang has been stirring up trouble in the family’s rapidly gentrifying neighborhood. When Abuela reveals that Ty is a descendant of an Indigenous Taíno leader, Ty assumes Abuela is hallucinating. But Abuela persists, entrusting her with two family heirlooms—an amulet and a zemi—and claiming that they will provide Ty with the power she needs to overcome obstacles. Meanwhile, Ty struggles to navigate racism and classism from prejudiced schoolteachers, as well as police brutality and escalating gang violence. As she begins to uncover more about her heritage, she resolves to use her ancestors’ strength to help better her community. Mayle’s elegant b&w art appears throughout and historical interstitials center Ty’s forebears as they endured harrowing events such as genocide and colonization. Via evocative third-person prose, Santiago proudly showcases Taíno culture in this empowering debut that is at once educational, realistic, and speculative. Ages 13–up. (May)

School Library Journal (Sun Oct 01 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Gr 6 Up —This debut novel deftly reaches into the graveyard of history to address the lore of Ta&7;no (Indigenous peoples of many Caribbean islands) extinction. This contemporary YA centers around Ty, a 14-year-old girl whose neighborhood is in the throes of gentrification. Ty and other children of color in her community have to confront the failings of public education, the over policing of schools, the humiliation heaped on poor women who have to ask for public assistance, and all manner of other injustices that mushroom under a structure of oppression. Her story parallels that of Anacaona, the warrior leader attempting to save her Indigenous people from first contact with colonizers. The two time lines and storylines bring history and realistic fiction to a tense intersection. Hundreds of years later, these stories and Ty's life finally weave together. Ty's grandmother passes on a small handheld zemis that contains the names of all the mothers going back to Anacaona. The unlocking of this charm gives Ty and her community the ancestral strength and power needed to save lives and bring justice to heartbroken mothers. Santiago's text, while tackling unsavory history, does not soften the content for the middle grade reader. Simple sentence structures and comprehensive language still deliver a goldmine of story telling. With compassion and tenderness, this same structure brings to the page the upheavals that Ty confronts. Looming large over all of the conflicts is Ty's inspirational courage and love for her family. VERDICT An excellent choice for all YA shelves.—Stephanie Creamer