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The Cursed Moon by Angela Cervantes- 5 stars!



The Cursed Moon by Angela Ervantes- 5 stars!

Today's Tea Choice: Starbucks Peppermint Mocha (need the energy and I'm still in Christmas mode!)


Trigger Warnings: some child death implications (subtext, not shown) parent abandonment issues


Genre: Horror/Supernatural


Pages: 224


Summary(goodreads.com):

Celebrated author Angela Cervantes' brand new novel combines a chilling ghost story with her award-winning, heartfelt storytelling style. One two, the Caretaker’s coming for you. Three-four, you’ll breathe no more. Five-six, you’ll float like sticks. Seven, eight, you’ll meet your fate. Rafael Fuentes isn’t easily scared. He loves writing ghost stories, reading scary books, and entertaining his friends with terrifying tales he creates on the spot. Rafa has come up against enough real-life scary situations that fictional hauntings seem like no big deal. Rafa’s incarcerated mom is being released from jail soon, and will be coming to live with him, his sister, and their grandparents. For the first time in a while, Rafa feels a pit of fear growing in his stomach. To take his mind off his mom’s return, Rafa spends an evening crafting the scariest ghost story he’s ever told. As an eerie blood moon hangs in the sky, Rafa tells a group of friends about The Caretaker. The Caretaker is an evil ghost who lures unsuspecting kids into the neighborhood pond. . . and they don’t ever come out. Rafa is really proud of his latest creation, until strange things start to happen around him. With a sinking feeling, Rafa realizes the Caretaker is real. Rafa has brought the ghost to life―and only he can stop him.


My Review:

Since my last post, I wanted to feature more Latin authors that write insanely awesome horror or supernatural books. I first found out about this book through my trip to the library around Halloween. Immediately, I was captured by the creepy smiling paranormal character on the front and knew I had to check this out. With the nuanced characters and in-depth horror elements, this is an excellent novel to study or simply enjoy!

 


What I loved:


Plot: The story begins in media res with a problem, immediately kickstarting the plot and events. Rafi, the main character, isn't focusing on school and his grades are slipping. His teacher is trying to be kind, but Rafi has a pessimistic and resentful attitude; we later learn this is because his mother is being released from prison, and he doesn't forgive her neglectful treatment. He refers to her as Nikki, showing that he no longer views her as a mother. As Rafi and his little sister head home after school, we also learn they were homeless for a while because of Nikki's implied substance abuse issues, showing a rough and realistic upbringing that so many kids still go through. Although this is a sad and difficult issue to read, I appreciate Cervantes's portrayal of authenticity. The author also utilized foreshadowing to create a sense of doom, and when an elderly neighbor warns Rafi not to tell scary stories on the night of a blood moon and he doesn't listen, well... we start to see those consequences real quick!


POV:  The POV of this novel is in third person and describes the character events and emotions really well. I feel like this novel would've been better in Rafi's POV, since he is the main character.


Setting: Each setting was also described well with good subtextual detail to highlight different tones and build tension. For example, Cervantes used dark color and foreboding adjectives when describing the haunted woods. Weather was also used to describe the suspenseful atmosphere. See my post here about the importance of weather on a scene.


Characters:  Rafi is a complex and nuanced character, showing maturity at an early age since he had to grow up quick in order to protect his sister. In one scene, we see what he would do for his sister Brianna and learn that he once sold the shirt he wore just to buy her food! He also uses writing as a way to convey his troubled feelings, and loves to scare others with his horror stories. But one of the stories comes alive on a stormy night! While he does have a rough exterior through the novel (mostly because he learns his mother is getting out of jail to live with him and his grandparents), we see the lengths he would go for Brie, even chasing after this demonic ghost creature in order to save her.


Brie was also another excellent character! While Rafi's heart is troubled and learning to adjust to his new life, Brie is ready to forgive their mother and is more emotionally mature compared to others her age. This often causes the siblings to fight but still love each other, no matter what.


But my absolute favorite character was Balam, the neighborhood cat; no spoilers on this one! Balam is also a good indicator for the rising tension in certain parts of the plot, and warns Rafi and Brie when something evil lurks near their home.



While I can't reveal too much, the ending provided a cathartic experience for Rafi. Alongside this character, we learn to face those dark moments in our lives with courage, determination, love, and support.



Authors Can Learn:

How to build suspense in a horror novel and create original antagonists

How to create nuanced characters

The importance of starting in media res

How weather impacts the setting

 


Readers Will Love This For: An original dark horror story with a diverse cast of Latin characters who each face their problems together. Plus, the story had excellent creepy scenes!

 

 

I give this book 5 stars.

 

Kyla

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