Pilar Ramirez and the Escape from Zafa

by Julian Randall Narrated by Amanda Alcántara

Overview

The Land of Stories meets Dominican myths and legends come to life in Pilar Ramirez and the Prison of 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

Everything in twelve-year-old Pilar Violeta “Purp” Ramirez's world is changing, and Pilar 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 disappeared in the Dominican Republic fifty years ago during the Trujillo dictatorship.

So when Pilar hears that one of Lorena's professor's studies disappearances under the Trujillato, she hops on the next train. After snooping around the professor's empty office, she finds a folder with her cousin's name on it . . . and Pilar literally falls 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 if she has any hope of freeing Natasha and getting back home.

Editorial Reviews

MARCH 2022 - AudioFile

Amanda Alcántara’s vivacious narration embodies the sarcastic voice of 12-year-old Pilar Ramirez in an audiobook that blends the poetry of images and the music of language. Growing up in a rapidly gentrifying Chicago, Pilar has heard stories of the horrors of Dominican dictator Trujillo and myths of the fictional boogeyman called El Cuco. Listening to her mother’s and abuela’s stories, Pilar dreams of finding her missing cousin, Natasha, and recording that story as a documentary. She never imagines being magically transported to Zafa, a supernatural world where she discovers Natasha, teams up with fantastical creatures to take on El Cuco, and saves the enchanted island. Alcántara makes dialogue sparkle, humor warm, action speedy, villains threatening, and Pilar an unforgettable, bighearted heroine. S.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

Publishers Weekly

★ 01/31/2022

Vividly built Dominican mythology distinguishes Randall’s (Refuse, for adults) middle grade debut, an epic adventure that effectively interweaves historical and current affairs. Pilar Violeta Ramirez, 12, lives with her Dominican Mami and Abuela in a quickly gentrifying Chicago neighborhood. Dreaming of becoming an Oscar-winning filmmaker, the rising eighth grader wants to capture untold stories—for a summer project, she’s making a documentary about her mother’s cousin, Natasha, who disappeared as a young teen in 1957 during Trujillo’s dictatorship. When her university student sister encounters a visiting sociology professor who studies Trujillo-era disappearances, Pilar hops on the chance to meet with him. But when he’s nowhere to be found, she enters his office, finding a folder with Natasha’s name on it that sucks her into an alternate island realm, Zafa, where her Abuela’s stories come to life. As Pilar meets its inhabitants, she learns that El Cuco, the Dominican bogeyman, is not only powerfully real and menacing, but may hold the answer to Natasha’s disappearance. Fusing a vibrant, self-assured narrative voice; subtly wrought intergenerational concerns; and rich, Dominican-inspired worldbuilding, Randall creates an undeniable page-turner. Ages 8–12. Agent: Patrice Caldwell, Howard Morhaim Literary. (Mar.)

From the Publisher

"A breathtaking journey through a world teeming with fantasy and history—readers better hold on tight as Pilar swings into her next adventure." —Kwame Mbalia, New York Times bestselling author of the Tristan Strong series

“Randall takes history and myth and weaves a tight fantasy that is as funny as it is poignant. This novel is sure to delight and awe.” —Elizabeth Acevedo, National Book Award Winner

* "Magic awaits around every corner in Zafa. Nonstop action and plenty of heart create a story worth escaping into." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

* "Fusing a vibrant, self-assured narrative voice; subtly wrought intergenerational concerns; and rich, Dominican-inspired worldbuilding, Randall creates an undeniable page-turner." —Publisher's Weekly, starred review

"I love this book so much. Julian Randall is a brilliant, refreshing new voice in young people's literature and he has imbued this story with a whole mountain of love, humor, honesty, and adventure. ¡Pa'lante!" —Daniel José Older, New York Times bestselling author

"Incredible voice that jumps right off the page. Pilar is the hilarious hero we need right now. My Dominican heart BURST reading this story, but in the best way." —Claribel A. Ortega, author of Ghost Squad

"A superb addition to the fantasy genre, particularly those grounded in world history." —Booklist

School Library Journal

★ 03/11/2022

Gr 3–7—Twelve-year-old Domincana Pilar "Purp" Ramirez is going to be an award-winning director some day. So when her older sister lines up the perfect interview for the documentary Pilar's working on—a documentary on Trujillo's dictatorship and the disappearance of her mom's cousin Natasha—she jumps at the opportunity. But when a file with Natasha's name on it sucks Pilar into the mythical world of Zafa, she's faced with a terrifying answer to the mystery she's been investigating. Set partially in a modern, rapidly gentrifying Chicago and partially in a world of Dominican legend, this first title in a new fantasy duology seamlessly intertwines the magic of Spirited Away and the danger of Jumanji with Dominican history and myth. Pilar is fierce, honest, and funny, a heroine readers are sure to love. VERDICT Action-packed and engaging from start to finish, this is a great next read for fans of Rick Riordan and Alane Adams. Recommended first purchase.—Kaitlin Frick

MARCH 2022 - AudioFile

Amanda Alcántara’s vivacious narration embodies the sarcastic voice of 12-year-old Pilar Ramirez in an audiobook that blends the poetry of images and the music of language. Growing up in a rapidly gentrifying Chicago, Pilar has heard stories of the horrors of Dominican dictator Trujillo and myths of the fictional boogeyman called El Cuco. Listening to her mother’s and abuela’s stories, Pilar dreams of finding her missing cousin, Natasha, and recording that story as a documentary. She never imagines being magically transported to Zafa, a supernatural world where she discovers Natasha, teams up with fantastical creatures to take on El Cuco, and saves the enchanted island. Alcántara makes dialogue sparkle, humor warm, action speedy, villains threatening, and Pilar an unforgettable, bighearted heroine. S.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

★ 2021-12-07
Magic awaits around every corner in Zafa.

Pilar Ramirez grew up hearing stories of the Dominican boogeyman El Cuco—alongside accounts of dictator Rafael Trujillo, whose ruthlessness forced her abuela to flee the country with Mami long before Pilar was born. A sharp-tongued resident of Chicago living in a neighborhood that seems to be gentrifying overnight, Pilar aspires to be a documentary filmmaker and share untold stories of silenced voices, including that of her cousin Natasha, who vanished in 1957 during the Trujillo regime. Pilar can’t believe her luck when Lorena, her annoyingly perfect college student sister, arranges for her to interview a sociology professor who happens to be studying missing persons from this era. Pilar arrives at the professor’s office, notices a file folder with her missing cousin’s name on it, and before you can blink an ojo, she is magically pulled into the file and whisked away to the supernatural island of Zafa. Pilar must team up with its scrappy, otherworldly inhabitants to unravel the mystery of Natasha’s disappearance and help save the island from dark forces. Spanish words and phrases are woven into the English text in ways that enhance the character development and anchor the Dominican culture that permeates the story. Pilar’s humorous, authentically tweenage voice shines as she makes astute observations about the world around her.

Nonstop action and plenty of heart create a story worth escaping into. (Adventure. 9-13)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940178909942
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	03/01/2022
Series:	Pilar Ramirez Duology , #1
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

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