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It's not a good start to the new school year when Pablo's abuela drags him out of bed to save their nonexistent goats. Once he remembers he's in his hometown of Columbus, Ohio, he realizes that doesn't make things any better - his sister is insisting he learn to waltz for her quinceanera, his parents won't get him a phone, he runs into a weird new kid, and he's still unpopular at school, due to... the incident. Oh, and he's gotten stuck with a haunted locker in the haunted basement.
Pablo's plan is to lie low and just make it through middle school, but it's getting harder and harder to do that as things just keep happening! When an inky black monster named Obie pops out of his locker and offers to help him summon monsters from mythology to solve his problems, he's hardly even surprised. He is surprised and overjoyed when he finds a phone in his locker - his parents finally got him a phone!? Nope, turns out it's a trick and the next thing he knows Pablo has summoned Coatlicue and she is NOT happy. She's decided it's time for all the ungrateful humans to pay for what they've done, starting with Pablo's middle school, the firefighters who show up (his mom gets transformed into an armadillo), and everyone she can get her stone jaguar claws on.
Readers are in for a wild ride, as one moment Pablo is debating the merits of tacos with his new friends, and the next minute he's using D&D rules to try and plan a strategy for saving his hometown. There's a sharp reality to the story, despite the mythical monsters, as the students deal with racism and hostility in their own ways and Pablo finds a way to honor his heritage and still be himself. At the same time, the story never takes itself too seriously, with Pablo's hilarious interactions with his abuela (where has she even been keeping those bones!?) and his determination to save his new friends, his family, but maybe not the bullies... Every kid is a unique character, showing all the drama, awkwardness, and struggle of middle schoolers, from Pablo's former best friend, who falls back on threatening to call I.C.E. on the Hispanic kids, to his new friend Maggie who has declared war on all technology because she's tired of dealing with the girls' group chat.
Verdict: For a story about ancient mythical beings returning to unmake the world, this is real, funny, and hits home in all the right ways. I've been looking for books that center Hispanic experience in the Midwest for a long time and never expected to find the perfect book in a fantasy graphic novel starring a nerdy short kid and a bloodthirsty goddess. Aguirre hits every point for the classic middle grade audience and I highly recommend this for all public and school libraries.
ISBN: 9781250749734; Paperback on Baker & Taylor for $9.44
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