The setting in a  small town where the public library was one of the only places to go was believable, but the connections with locals and the tension as Lily stood her ground made for a wonderful read.

The Last Cuentista (2022) by Donna Barba Higuera, couldn’t have been more different from the setting in Trap a Tiger. It was set in 2061 in New Mexico, where 12-year-old Petra, her parents and younger brother were among a select few to escape Earth before it was destroyed by a comet. Petra and her family were to sleep through 300 years of travel and reunite on a distant planet. That didn’t happen, with betrayals having dreadful consequences. Both Tiger and Cuentista had wonderful grandmothers. It was memories of Lita’s stories and foods that helped Petra cope with the loss of good times with family on beautiful Earth.  Her love of Earth lingered long after I finished reading it.

The idea to blog about 100 Newbery Award books was one way to escape pandemic restrictions. Like a scoop of vanilla and one of strawberry, each book was a treat, but never did I foresee nearing the end of this project with a second bout of covid. Bittersweet. Two more to go.

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