Amparo OrtizRezensionen

Great message of 'knowing when to let others help you' with a wholesome set of characters in PR. I enjoyed the art style and how it wasn't afraid to get cartoony at times.

At first, I enjoyed the story. I thought the main character’s corpse-robbing job was unique. I liked the author’s take on elf lore (also, an elf boy with a sweet tooth? I love that), the focus on environmental racism, and Sevim’s narrative voice (she ran her mouth a lot. like, girl stop talking), but the ending felt like it jumped the shark. Yes, an unexpected plot twist, but at the expense of the story in my opinion.

Also, Feyn couldn’t keep a consistent personality for anythinggggg. It felt like his character kept flip-flopping to me. Are you a brooding, ruthless killer? A grouchy prettyboy? Or a vulnerable, emotional prince? Pick one!

(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through Netgalley.)

After Hurricane Maria touches down in Puerto Rico, Violeta's Abuelita comes to stay with her family in Florida. Although Abuelita's home and business - a restaurant called La Casita - are thankfully left standing, they aren't without damage and are nevertheless uninhabitable without water or electricity. Several months later, as the island is rebuilding, Violeta and her parents accompany Abuelita back to Puerto Rico, to help her get settled - and get La Casita back up and running again.

As excited as Violeta may be, she quickly learns that the adults don't have much use for a pint-sized helper. Luckily, she becomes fast friends with Diego and Lorena, the most delightfully geeky pair of besties you've ever seen: Diego is a mechanical engineer, while Lorena is a computer wiz. Their current project? Building their own bike, called the Direna Cycle. That, and helping the adults hunt down a chupacabra, whether they know it or not.

Complicating the island's recovery is a series of strange livestock attacks - the animals' necks are severed, and their bodies drained of blood - that's hitting Abuelita's meat supplier especially hard. Lorena's uncle, Señor Soto, is the resident monster-hunter on the island - but, naturally, he won't accept any help from his niece, a kid. Tired of watching the adults struggle, the trio vows to find the chupacabra on their own. Never mind that Violeta doesn't believe in chupacabras - that is, until one saves her life!

Chupie is nothing like the savage, blood-thirsty monster of legend. Really, he's more of a puppy than anything else - if a scaly one, at that. Rather than turn him over, Violeta decides to hide him in Abuelita's shed. But, wracked with guilt over lying to her newfound friends, Violeta quickly comes clean - and her secret threatens to tear the trio apart. When Chupie goes missing - a possible victim of mythological creature trafficking - can Violeta, Lorena, and Diego come together to rescue him?

SAVING CHUPIE is an absolute delight - easily one of my favorite reads of 2023. The artwork is adorable AF, and the story line is a real tear jerker. In the advance praise on the inside cover, Yehudi Mercado likens SAVING CHUPIE to "E.T. in Puerto Rico" - but I think HARRY AND THE HENDERSONS might be a more apt comparison, with a touch of Rachel Vincent's MENAGERIE sprinkled on top. (I'm a huge fan of all three, so.)

There are so many threads that pulled at my heart. First and foremost, Chupie: dear, sweet Chupie, loyal to a fault, a boopable lil' guy who just wants to get back to his family, demonized for nothing other than his otherness. (Spoiler alert: Chupie is not the monster in this book.)

One of my favorite parts of HARRY AND THE HENDERSONS is the scene where Harry buries George's hunting "trophies" - along with Grandma's mink stole and the evening's roast - in a shallow grave in the back yard, recognizing that these animals are not that much different from him - and the Hendersons. While there isn't such an explicitly animal-friendly thread in SAVING CHUPIE - for example, the status of the "livestock" is never called into question - hopefully some readers will connect the dots.

(The very end, when ALL the mythical creatures escape into the wild? For me, this underscores the fact that Chupie is not the only nonhuman animal who deserves to live his life free from exploitation. Perhaps some readers will widen that circle of compassion even further.)

Violeta is a compelling protagonist; a bit of an outsider, she arrives in Puerto Rico desperate to make friends - and she finds fellow "weirdos" in Lorena and Diego. While Chupie - or rather, economic anxiety - creates a rift in this friend group, all is right by story's end. Each kid is adorable to a fault, and I love how they lift each other up. Violeta's relationship with her parents and Abuelita is beautiful as well - especially how the whole family (and community, really) rallies around Abuelita.

SAVING CHUPIE is a wholesome story - comfort food, really - about loneliness; family, both found and blood; the power in accepting help when you need it; loyalty and bravery; and compassion, of course.

Well at least the dragons were amazing!

I enjoyed that the story explored the idea of 'family' and how diverse and inclusive this can be. The concept of 'belonging' was also addressed in a meaningful way. Unfortunately the plot was a bit hectic as the author tried to weave in too many subplots and sub-subplots.

In my opinion all the ingredients were already there:
Dragons. Check.
Magic involving dragons. Check.
Tournament involving magical dragons. Check.
Diverse characters in a tournament involving magical dragons. Check.
And lastly, a sinister person trying to ruin everyone's lives. Check.

All other elements needed to be removed so we would have a tighter, more engaging plot.
Still a lot to enjoy though so a solid 3 stars for me.

This one took some time to get through. I kept comparing it to Harry Potter. It was an interesting mix of the modern world and dragons and witches. It’ll be interesting to see if there’s a sequel.

First: I really enjoyed most of this, especially how much time was spent on the sport of Blazewrath itself and how diverse it was. And I appreciated that the MC is someone who doesn't have any magic or a dragon, and is a Latina who has others tell her she isn't Latina enough. And it read and moved pretty quick with lots of twists and turns. All great things. I wish there had been pictures of the dragons.

Despite that, I'm not sure it's going to age well. Lana and Samira are really into teen speak and current-day slang, which was a little cringey as I was reading it, but maybe middle schoolers won't care as much. But slang moves so quickly that it won't even be relevant anymore (and, I mean, I think it's relevancy isn't what it was even when Ortiz published). And Russia's team is made up entirely of LGBT members? Yeah right. And Lana is... well, I don't know if "annoying" is the right word (that's for Victoria LOL), but she acts way more mature than a regular 17-year old how is she the only one to figure out or even suspect that Andrew is Barnes's heir? That thought crossed literally no one's minds? (but of course this is YA and in YA lit all kids have to be smarter and more capable than adults).

Quidditch using dragons instead of a broomstick? Yeah baby. Too bad the rest of the plot could not keep up. Lana lives in the U.S., and her dream is to participate in the Blazewrath Games for her native Puerto Rico. She lives with her mother, who is adamantly opposed to dragons while her father works in another country in a dragon sanctuary. Displaying bravery in saving her cousin from a dragon, Lana gets to join the team. Meanwhile, there is a rogue villain and an ex-Blazewrath champion with an unknown agenda, staging protests and killing agents of the Magic Bureau. Sadly, there were too many things going on and the plot was not coherent. I think that Ortiz's (and Lana's) Puerto Rican pride was the other highlight of the book. 2.5 stars, rounded up.

Alumni Guest Reviewer: Hayley

Grade range: 8th Grade and up
Genre: Sports Fantasy
Literary Merit: Good
Characterization: Good

Lana Torres has only had one goal in her life, competing in the Blazewrath World Cup. The tournament is dangerous with both high risk and high reward. Luckily for Lana, a spot to be Puerto Rico’s runner, the one position without a dragon, has opened. Right before Lana has her chance to interview for it, a tragedy happens, causing her to miss what she thinks is her one chance to make the team. However, once the accident is over, she is formally invited to join the team because of her quick thinking and bravery. Lana believes all of her dreams have come true, until things begin going down hill once she signs herself away on the contract and she starts uncovering a scheme that will jeopardize her dream. Sire, a legendary dragon turned human, demands for the Cup to be cancelled, or else the dragon sanctuaries all over the world will go up in flames. Lana will have to do more than just compete for the Cup to protect everything she knows and loves.

Blazewrath Games holds excitement on every page as it delves deeper into the plot. The world building integrates magic into a modern society very well. Everyone knows about magic, it's even stated by Lana. Everyone learns about magic in school, no matter your status of being a wizard or a regular, a non magic person. At the beginning of each chapter, we are given tidbits of information that help us become more invested in the world. You get to learn a ton about dragons, the types, the history, and the bonds they create with their riders. Every character that was introduced within the book was multidimensional and had a distinct personality . Lana especially grows as a person, discovering what it means to be Puerto Rican and how it defines her. Each relationship within the book was developed, as seen with Lana and her Mother. In the beginning, their opinions clashed because Lana’s mother disliked dragons and the sport, but she still lets her daughter compete. Their strained relationship bloomed into something more positive throughout the book. The representation was wonderful to read, with lots of LGBTQ+ supporting characters and the main character being Puerto Rican.

Recommendation: If you like dragons and magic with the thrill of competition, this is the one for you!

There will be HP comparisons and they have some merit, but this stands alone extremely well. Great array of dragons, a worldwide competition that many readers would love to be in, plenty of action and suspense, loss, redemption and a really likable protagonist. All in all a very satisfying read.

This was uhhh... very YA?