The Land of Stories meets Dominican myths and legends come to life
in Pilar Ramirez and the Escape from Zafa, a blockbuster contemporary
middle-grade fantasy duology starter from Julian Randall. Fans of
Tristan Strong and The Storm Runner, here is your next obsession.
"A breathtaking journey . . . readers better hold on tight." --Kwame
Mbalia, New York Times bestselling author of the Tristan Strong series
Twelve-year-old Pilar Violeta "Purp" Ramirez's world is changing, and
she doesn't care for it one bit. Her Chicago neighborhood is gentrifying
and her chores have doubled since her sister, Lorena, left for college.
The only constant is Abuela and Mami's code of silence around her cousin
Natasha--who vanished in the Dominican Republic fifty years ago during
the Trujillo dictatorship.
When Pilar hears that Lorena's professor studies such disappearances,
she hops on the next train to dig deeper into her family's mystery.
After snooping around the professor's empty office, she discovers a
folder with her cousin's name on it . . . and gets sucked into the blank
page within.
She lands on Zafa, an island swarming with coconut-shaped demons,
butterfly shapeshifters, and a sinister magical prison where her cousin
is being held captive. Pilar will have to go toe-to-toe with the
fearsome Dominican boogeyman, El Cuco, if she has any hope of freeing
Natasha and getting back home.
"Magic awaits around every corner in Zafa. Nonstop action and plenty
of heart create a story worth escaping into." --Kirkus Reviews,
starred review
