The Witches of El Paso by Luis Jaramillo

 

Title: The Witches of El Paso

Author:  Luis Jaramillo

Narrated by:  Raquel Beattie

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Length: Approximately 9 hours and 50 minutes

Source: Review Copy from Simon & Schuster Audio.  Thank you!

Do you like to read books for the Halloween season?  If so, what are your favorites?

The Witches of El Paso is a brand-new book that was just published in October.  It features a family that can travel through time with their inherited magic.  Nena is a teenager in 1943 El Paso, Texas.  She takes care of her sisters’ children, but she longs for her own life and adventure.  She prays for help and the mysterious Sister Benedicta arrives in response.  She then travels back in time to 1792 where her gift of “La Vista” is calling her.  There she lives in a convent until the day that a mysterious illness kills many and she is sent to care for a sick family member of one of the nuns and her life is changed forever.    

In the present day, Marta is a civil rights attorney living in El Paso with her husband and children.  She helps her old aunt Nena on her quest to find her missing child.  Marta also finds her own “La Vista” along the way.

My thoughts on this novel:

·       This was a multigenerational family drama, and I greatly enjoyed it.

·       I loved the magical realism of the story.  There wasn’t too much magic, but I did enjoy how both Marta and Nena found themselves and their magic.

·       I enjoyed the glimpse into Hispanic culture and the history of El Paso.

·       I really enjoyed Nena’s time in the convent in the 1700’s.  The history and day to day life was fascinating to me. 

·       I also enjoyed Marta.  As a mother, wife, and attorney, she feels herself pulled in many directions. She also cares for Nena and through Nena, Marta is finally able to find her authentic self. 

·       It was also interesting comparing the life of a woman in the 1700s, 1940s, and current day.

·       Raquel Beattie was an excellent narrator and made the story very enjoyable.

Overall, The Witches of El Paso was an interesting magical realism, family drama, and time slip novel that was perfect fall reading.

 

Woman of Light by Kali Fajardo–Anstine

 

Do you ever have moments of déjà vu?  Have you ever had your fortune told?

I definitely have déjà vu, but have never had my fortune told.

Woman of Light was the February pick for the Page-turners Book Club at the Kewaunee Public Library.

Woman of Light is a family drama set in the American West.  Luz Lopez is a tea leaf reader that has inherited a gift for seeing the future that has passed down through her family.  This story is told through shifting timelines as you learn about different generations of the family from the 1860s through the 1930s through Luz’s visions.  Luz also starts a new job to support her and her Aunt after her brother Diego is driven out of town.  She becomes involved in a love triangle between her boss and a musician.  Who will she choose?  How will the family memories be preserved?

My favorite storyline was actually Luz’s grandparents as her grandmother was a sharpshooter who lost her first husband when she accidentally shot him during an act when she was attacked by a performance bear.  I loved how spunky she was but was sad for what happened to this generation of the family.

I thought the look at racism was very interesting in the story as well.  The family has native and Mexican heritage, but even though they have lived for several generations in America, they are still considered foreigners. 

I liked the nonlinear approach to the novel and that it was so different from books that I usually read.  I wasn’t very keen on the ending.  I’m still thinking about it.  I like that the family traditions will be carried on and that Diego was back, but I didn’t like Luz’s life choices.

I liked the list of the generations at the start of the book.  I flipped back and forth to it a lot to try to make sure I knew who certain characters were.

Favorite Quote:

“She had never had a true suitor, and waiting for love felt like searching the horizon for a figure in the distances, walking toward her from the darkened clouds.” – I just thought this sentence was beautiful.

Book Source:  Kewaunee Public Library.  Thank-you!