Published: 2021
Series: The Last Cuentista
Author: Donna Barba Higuera
Genres: Dystopia, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Latinx
Audience (Grade Levels): Middle Grade; Grades 5-8
Number of Stars: 5-Stars
Goodreads Link: The Last Cuentista
Triggers: Genocide, death of a family member
Review By: Deb McHugh
Publisher’s Summary
There lived a girl named Petra Peña, who wanted nothing more than to be a storyteller, like her abuelita.
But Petra’s world is ending. Earth has been destroyed by a comet, and only a few hundred scientists and their children – among them Petra and her family – have been chosen to journey to a new planet. They are the ones who must carry on the human race.
Hundreds of years later, Petra wakes to this new planet – and the discovery that she is the only person who remembers Earth. A sinister Collective has taken over the ship during its journey, bent on erasing the sins of humanity’s past. They have systematically purged the memories of all aboard – or purged them altogether.
Petra alone now carries the stories of our past, and with them, any hope for our future. Can she make them live again?
Review
In The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera, Petra Peña is young girl who is going on a journey after a meteor has destroyed Earth. The government has chosen a few hundred scientists and their children to leave Earth to travel to a new planet hundreds of years away. Each person on the journey plays a specific role in the future with some staying awake to care for those who will be placed in suspension to awaken at journey’s end. But something goes wrong when the port is attached to Petra and she doesn’t get all of the programming that she expects when she is put in stasis. When she awakens, she realizes quickly that something changed and she is the only person with memories of Earth because a group known as “The Collective” has taken over and erased everyone else’s memories. Petra remembers the stories of her grandmother and hopes to use these stories and science to create a better society. But can she overcome all of the obstacles The Collective puts in her way?
This is the first Newbery winner in a long time that I truly enjoyed and would not be surprised if a sequel comes out. Petra was brave, smart, and compassionate main character. The other Zetas aren’t as well written and fully developed but they were a strong supporting cast for Petra. The Mexican folklore was woven effortlessly into the story and helped bring the story to life. The descriptions of the planet Sagan and the spaceship were vivid and brought the setting to life. If I had to complain about something, it would probably be that there wasn’t enough of a back story on the Collective to help explain their extreme views. The themes of embracing differences, the dangers of conformity, and remember your family history are all relevant to today.
“Equality’s good. Equality and sameness are two different things.” ~Petra’s dad
This science fiction and dystopian book was a page turner full of suspense and emotional intensity. I enjoyed learning the Mexican folklore and how familiar it is to many of the stories in my own folklore. I can only hope that Petra survives and thrives on the planet Sagan.
Classroom & Curricular Connections
- ELA / Folklore & Oral Traditions: This novel serves as an excellent resource for investigating how oral history, mythology, and family folklore preserve culture and shape individual identity during crises.
- Social Studies / Government Structures: Highly applicable for analyzing the distinction between strict totalitarian conformity (“The Collective”) and true democratic equality, using quotes from the text to drive deep classroom debates.
- SEL (Social-Emotional Learning): Focuses on themes of embracing differences, cultivating immense personal bravery, and preserving empathy and family legacy when facing immense societal pressure to conform.
Diversity & Representation
The book offers wonderful, authentic representation by seamlessly weaving rich Mexican folklore and cultural inheritance directly into a high-stakes science fiction narrative. It powerfully demonstrates how diversity, individual differences, and ancestral heritage are vital tools for human survival rather than traits to be scrubbed away for the sake of forced sameness.
Readalikes
- The Giver by Lois Lowry
- Echo Mountain by Lauren Wolk
- The Canyon’s Edge by Dusti Bowling
- Amira & Hamza by Samira Ahmed
