Paola Santiago

Space-obsessed 12-year-old Paola Santiago and her two best friends, Emma and Dante, know the rule: Stay away from the river. It's all they've heard since a schoolmate of theirs drowned a year ago. Pao is embarrassed to admit that she has been told to stay away for even longer than that, because her mother is constantly warning her about La Llorona, the wailing ghost woman who wanders the banks of the Gila at night, looking for young people to drag into its murky depths. Hating her mother's humiliating superstitions and knowing that she and her friends would never venture into the water, Pao organizes a meet-up to test out her new telescope near the Gila, since it's the best stargazing spot. But when Emma never arrives and Pao sees a shadowy figure in the reeds, it seems like maybe her mom was right...Pao has always relied on hard science to make sense of the world, but to find her friend she will have to enter the world of her nightmares, which includes unnatural mist, mind-bending monsters, and relentless spirits controlled by a terrifying force that defies both logic and legend.

Six months after Paola Santiago confronted the legendary La Llorona, life is nothing like she'd expected it to be. She is barely speaking to her best friends, Dante and Emma, and what's worse, her mom has a totally annoying boyfriend. Even with her chupacabra puppy, Bruto, around, Pao can't escape the feeling that she's all alone in the world. Pao has no one to tell that she's having nightmares again, this time set in a terrifying forest. Even more, troubling? At their center is her estranged father, an enigma of a man she barely remembers. And when, Dante's abuela falls mysteriously ill, it seems that the dad Pao never knew just might be the key to healing the eccentric old woman. Pao's search for her father will send her far from home, where she will encounter new monsters and ghosts, a devastating betrayal, and finally, the forest of her nightmares. Will the truths her father has been hiding, save the people Pao loves, or destroy them? Once again, Tehlor Kay Mejia draws on her Mexican heritage to tell a wild and wondrous story that combines creatures, from folklore with modern-day challenges. Complete your middle grade collection with these best-selling fan favorites: • Rick Riordan Presents Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi • Rick Riordan Presents Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia • Rick Riordan Presents Sal and Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez • The Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan • The Trials of Apollo series by Rick Riordan

Paola Santiago has recently returned from Oregon, where she defeated the Hitchhiker ghost, saved her father from the vengeful spirit that was possessing him, and learned that she is the granddaughter of La Llorona. The poor girl deserves a rest! But first she has to rescue Dante from the void, where he's been imprisoned by some unknown force. Even though Dante has turned against Pao, she can't just leave him there-they've been friends for too long. Paola's prophetic dreams seem to have dried up, so she has to rely on one of her father's inventions to find a new rift where she can enter the void. His machine pinpoints a magical convergence in San Antonio,Texas-but how is she going to get there from New Mexico? It just so happens that Emma's new group of politically active friends, the Rainbow Rogues, are planning a bus trip to New Orleans, which will take them through Texas. It's the perfect ruse for Paola, if she can stand being with the judgmental girls for that long....With scientific assistance from her father, training from the Ninos de la Luz, and the emotional support of her best friend Emma, Pao makes it into the void. Once there she must face down not just one but two enemies: El Cucuy, the bogeyman...and someone even scarier who looks a lot like Pao herself.