
Reach for this book when your teen is navigating the complex emotional aftermath of a traumatic event, relocation, or deep-seated anxiety that feels like a 'shadow' following them. It offers a powerful metaphor for the way trauma can linger and the courage it takes to trust someone new when you feel fundamentally broken. Through a modern, Afro-Latino reimagining of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth, the story explores Eury's struggle with the literal and figurative demons following her from Puerto Rico to the Bronx after Hurricane Maria. It is a high-stakes, atmospheric romance that validates the weight of grief while celebrating the healing power of music and community. Parents will appreciate the respectful handling of mental health and the rich cultural tapestry of the Dominican and Puerto Rican diaspora in New York. It is best suited for readers aged 13 and up due to some intense supernatural peril and mature emotional themes.
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Sign in to write a reviewFrequent references to the loss of life and property during Hurricane Maria.
Characters face life-threatening danger in a supernatural underworld.
Sweet, age-appropriate teenage romance including kissing.
The book deals directly with PTSD and survivor's guilt following a natural disaster. The approach is a blend of realistic psychological struggle and supernatural metaphor. While secular in its narrative structure, it draws on Caribbean spiritualism. The resolution is bittersweet and realistic regarding trauma, yet hopeful about the human spirit's resilience.
A teenager who feels 'different' because of a past hardship or move, particularly one who finds solace in music or mythology and needs to see that their scars don't make them unlovable.
Parents should be aware of the intense scenes involving the Ato, which can be genuinely scary, and the depictions of the devastation of Hurricane Maria. Reading the original Orpheus myth together could provide great context. A parent might notice their child withdrawing, experiencing nightmares, or expressing a fatalistic view that 'something bad is always going to happen' regardless of their current safety.
Younger teens will focus on the 'supernatural thriller' and romance elements. Older teens will better grasp the nuance of the Ato as a manifestation of Eury's clinical depression and PTSD.
Rivera succeeds in making a millennia-old myth feel urgent and contemporary by grounding it in the specific, lived experience of the Puerto Rican diaspora and the rhythmic soul of bachata music.
Set in the Bronx, this novel follows Eury, a girl haunted by the 'Ato,' a malevolent spirit that has followed her from Puerto Rico after the devastation of Hurricane Maria. She meets Pheus, a charismatic bachata singer who believes he can charm anyone or anything. As their romance blossoms, the Ato's power grows, eventually forcing Pheus to journey into an underworld realm to rescue Eury, mirroring the classic Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice with a vibrant, Latinx lens.
This overview was generated by AI based on the book's content and reviews, and may not capture every nuance.