Jennifer Cervantes
Tortilla Sun
Chronicle Books, 2010.

Ages 9-12

Upon moving with her restless mother into yet another apartment in San Diego, Izzy discovers a box of mementos.  An inscribed baseball with some words smudged out suggests clues about her father who died before she was born, but Izzy’s mom still won’t answer any questions about him. The next day Izzy learns that she is to be sent away to spend the summer in New Mexico with a grandmother she hardly knows while her mom finishes doctoral research in Costa Rica.

The reluctant Izzy grudgingly boards the plane to Albuquerque, and from there rides 40 miles in a pick-up truck filled with onions to her mother’s ancestral home. The place is as foreign to her as any she can imagine, but it doesn’t take long to make friends and fall in love with the tiny village.  She learns from her grandmother how to make tortillas and light candles for the saints. She is surrounded by the simple beauty of the place, the villagers’ appreciation of magic and symbolism, and the unhurried pace of village life. From simply being in this seemingly enchanted land with its pink light, drooping cottonwoods, and whispering winds, she learns more than she ever imagined about the father she never met.

Tortilla Sun, Jennifer Cervantes’ first novel, captures the magic of the setting and the ghosts of Izzy’s past with convincing accuracy. The book is filled with quirky characters, like Frida, the cat who thinks she is a dog; Socorro, the town storyteller; Mateo, the intriguing boy next door, and of course, the whispering wind intent on leading Izzy to uncover the mysteries of her past.  This gentle coming of age novel has a likable protagonist who discovers magic just in time to keep believing in it while learning what it takes to truly feel at home.

Abigail Sawyer
December 2010