The Cursed Moon
by Angela Cervantes (Author)
Celebrated author Angela Cervantes' brand new novel combines a chilling ghost story with her award-winning, heartfelt storytelling style.
One two, the Caretaker's coming for you. Three-four, you'll breathe no more. Five-six, you'll float like sticks. Seven, eight, you'll meet your fate.
Rafael Fuentes isn't easily scared. He loves writing ghost stories, reading scary books, and entertaining his friends with terrifying tales he creates on the spot. Rafa has come up against enough real-life scary situations that fictional hauntings seem like no big deal. Rafa's incarcerated mom is being released from jail soon, and will be coming to live with him, his sister, and their grandparents. For the first time in a while, Rafa feels a pit of fear growing in his stomach.
To take his mind off his mom's return, Rafa spends an evening crafting the scariest ghost story he's ever told. As an eerie blood moon hangs in the sky, Rafa tells a group of friends about The Caretaker. The Caretaker is an evil ghost who lures unsuspecting kids into the neighborhood pond. . . and they don't ever come out. Rafa is really proud of his latest creation, until strange things start to happen around him. With a sinking feeling, Rafa realizes the Caretaker is real. Rafa has brought the ghost to life--and only he can stop him.
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Kirkus Reviews
The power of words lies at the heart of this heartwarming story.
Booklist
Publishers Weekly
A tween with a penchant for crafting creepy tales must reckon with ghosts from his past and present in this haunting read. Mexican American 11-year-old Rafael Fuentes is dreading his mother's early release from prison. While living with his abuelos for the last two years during her incarceration, he's managed to cultivate a stable environment for his younger sister Brianna, and he worries that his mother's return will disrupt his established peace. When his neighbor Ms. Martin ominously warns him to not tell scary stories tonight during the blood moon lest he awaken a restless spirit, Rafa believes she's just another adult trying to control him. But after regaling his friends with his most terrifying yarn yet, about a specter who lures kids to their deaths in the local pond, strange things start happening: jaguar claw marks appear on Rafa's door, and he begins receiving sinister countdown texts and having ghostly visions of missing youths. Via sometimes choppy prose, Cervantes (Letty Out Loud) delivers a frightening adventure; Rafa and Brianna's close sibling dynamic, and his strained relationship with his mother, are the emotional center of this supernatural page-turner. Ages 8-12. (Sept.)
Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.JUV018000 - Juvenile Fiction | Horror
JUV011030 - Juvenile Fiction | People & Places | United States - Hispanic & Latino
JUV069000 - Juvenile Fiction | Ghost Stories
