👍The Last Cuentista (2021)

By Donna Barba Higuera

4Rbooks                                           4/6                   grades          6-10

Amazon                                             4.5/5              grade level   5-9

Goodreads                                      4.05/5          

Common Sense Media               4/5                  ages 10+

314 pages

Synopsis

            Earth is in danger.  A comet is coming which may destroy every living organism on the planet. Specific groups of people have been chosen to leave earth before it is too late and travel to another planet to keep the human race alive.  The new planet is named Sagan. The people were chosen for their scientific expertise, but Petra is planning to become the cuentista, story teller, for the people of the new settlement.

            Petra Pena, 12, and her family, including her younger brother Javier, 7, have been chosen to escape on one of the last ships leaving earth. They are placed in pods filled with a gel which will keep them alive for the 200 years it will take to reach the planet. Monitors have been hired to live on the ship for the duration of the flight, turning over the job of protecting the people in stasis, handing the job over to their children, grandchildren, and future generations.

            Petra finally wakes up to discover some horrible truths. The ship was taken over by the evil “Collective” who are planning to create a new and improved society, according to their plans and desires. The Collective be the leaders of the new settlement. The original settlers will be used and then discarded. (Star Trek fans, think of the Borg)

Petra should have had all of her memories wiped during the journey, but a glitch has kept her memories intact.  She knows what was supposed to happen, realizes what is happening, and learns what happened to those deemed non-useful, including her mother and father. She fears the same for her brother, too.

Petra begins to plot an escape for herself and the other members of her Zeta team. She is helped by Epsilon-5, an older scientist she has been working with, to get her safely to the surface, undetected by the Chancellor. She takes her team (Feathers, Rubio, Suma, and the stow away Voxy) to the surface, hoping to find the original ship of settlers and start a new life on planet Sagan.

Parental Guidelines:    high

The book contains no inappropriate language or content and no graphic violence.  I give it a high warning because the story is dark and could be disturbing for many young readers. (more info in the recommendation section).

Suma has two moms,

The collective members drink tonics on a regular basis to control their mood.

Petra wonders if praying to Jesus still works when you are on another planet.

There are many words and phrases in Spanish throughout the story.  Bilingual readers will enjoy the inclusion, but it will be a challenge for English only speakers.  They will either have to ignore the Spanish or look up every word/phrase to discover its meaning.

Recommendation

               This was the Newberry Medal winner of 2022. I enjoyed the story, but it is very dark and I don’t think it is appropriate for elementary-aged children without parental guidance. Spoiler alerts, but here are some of the darker events:

The book begins with the imminent destruction of Earth by a comet. Petra has to say goodbye to her grandmother and aunt knowing they will not survive the disaster.

As the settlers are leaving on the ship, other people are surging toward the liftoff wanting to be rescued, too, only to be left behind.

As Petra is placed in her pod, she is supposed to be put to sleep.  There is a glitch and she remains awake but unable to let the others know.  She faces the possibility of hundreds of years of consciousness while trapped in the pod. (She does seemingly go unconscious for most of the trip).

After being awakened, Petra learns that her memory is intact, even though it was meant to be erased.  She pretends not to remember anything so she won’t be put in stasis again.

Petra goes looking for her parents and learns they were purged as were many of the original colonizers.

Petra is assigned to work with an older scientist.  She figures out that it is her brother who was brought out of stasis earlier and is no 50-60 years older than her.

The collective knows that a ship with settlers arrived earlier, non-collective controlled, and devises a plan to eradicate them from the planet.

I’m sure I could list more, but this should provide enough evidence that sensitive readers could struggle with this story. Considering the Newberry Medal’s bent toward rewarding books that push the envelope, I’m not surprised it won.  It is a good story and I think many adults and teenagers would enjoy it.  I just don’t think it’s a great book for children.

One other problem with a science fiction dystopian novel like this, from a Christian perspective, we know that this is not how the earth is going to end.

There is a sequel available, Alebrijes, but it is not a continuation of Petra and her friend’s story on Sagan.  It explores what happened with the survivors on earth.