Lotería

By: Karla Arenas Valenti

Narrated by: Frankie Corzo

Vermont Golden Dome Book Award

The turn of a card could change your destiny in this captivating middle-grade adventure based on the Lotería card game and perfect for fans of Coco. While searching for her missing cousin, a young girl is transported to a mythical kingdom, becoming entangled in a perilous game of chance.

“A magical, philosophical tale rooted in Mexican lore.” (School Library Journal, starred review)

In the hottest hour of the hottest day of the year, a fateful wind blows into Oaxaca City. It whistles down cobbled streets and rustles the jacaranda trees before slipping into the window of an 11-year-old girl named Clara. Unbeknownst to her, Clara has been marked for la Lotería.

Life and Death deal the Lotería cards but once a year, and the stakes could not be higher. Every card reveals a new twist in Clara’s fate—a scorpion, an arrow, a blood-red rose. If Life wins, Clara will live to a ripe old age. If Death prevails, she’ll flicker out like a candle.

But Clara knows none of this. All she knows is that her young cousin, Esteban, has vanished, and she’ll do whatever it takes to save him, traveling to the mythical Kingdom of Las Pozas, where every action has a price, and every choice has consequences. And though it seems her fate is sealed, Clara just might have what it takes to shatter the game and choose a new path.

Karla Arenas Valenti weaves an adventure steeped in magic and mythology, exploring the notion of free will in a world where fate holds all the cards.

©2021 Karla Arenas Valenti (P)2021 Listening Library

Critic reviews

“Clara’s unexpected decisions lead to the story’s heart: “Even when you have no choice about what has happened to you, you can still decide what you’re going to do about it.” The tale is a scaffolding for this debate, and what a lush, verdant scaffolding it is.”—The Horn Book, starred review

“From the first line of this philosophical debut, Arenas Valenti demonstrates a gift for interweaving immersive, sensory-rich storytelling (“Life sauntered into town on a wave of heat”) with a thoughtful discussion of fate vs. determinism. Fans of Coco will savor this tale and Sanmar’s occasional illustrations, which visualize Clara and Esteban’s journeys and the Lotería cards as the game progresses.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

“The magical realism employed adds a warmth and imaginative quality to the world-building that is only enhanced by the rich feast of language Valenti offers up . . . A magical, philosophical tale rooted in Mexican lore that will hold readers from beginning to end with its verdant language and setting.”—School Library Journal, starred review

nice storyline

a little hard to focus on certain parts of the book good translation a little confusing

Maybe Not Written For Me?

Teacher here. I listen to a lot of middle grade books, and almost always enjoy them. But I did not enjoy this one. Could it be cultural, and I'm just too much of a white lady to enjoy a book predicated on the Mexican culture's more mature outlook on death? Possibly. I'll just say, and, spoiler alert here..
...
... the ending had a lot in common, feeling-wise, with the ending of the original story of The Little Mermaid. I don't want to give too much away, but I don't feel that the ending is the triumph for the main character that the author considers it.

I was disappointed, because I'm always on the lookout for Latino stories for my Latino students, and I don't feel that I can recommend this one. I could be wrong, but I don't think they would care for the ending, either.