The Last Cuentista (2022)

Petra loves her grandmother's stories inspired by their Mexican heritage. When her grandmother, or Lita, tells a story she always adds something new and exciting, and she's even been known to change the ending. Petra has always wanted to be a storyteller just like Lita. But Petra's world is ending. Petra Pena, her brother, and her parents embark on a praying mantis-like spaceship in order to escape the destruction of the Earth by Halley's Comet. Hundreds of years later, Petra wakes to this new planet and the discovery that she is the only person who remembers Earth. A sinister Collective has taken over the ship during its journey, bent on erasing the sins of humanity's past. As Petra navigates the perils of her new world, she uses her memory of Lita's stories and her own storytelling abilities to comfort, inspire, evaluate situations, remember her heritage and her past life, and convince others to join her. Without her stories and gift of storytelling, Petra would be lost to the uniformity of the Collective.

Winner of the 2022 Newberry Medal Award