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3.5 stars! This review will be spoiler free!
Synopsis: Zane is a young Hispanic boy who happens to live next to a volcano in New Mexico. He likes to traverse this volcano with his doggie companion Rosie and though that sounds fine and dandy, it’s not so easy when you have a bum leg, a limp, a cane... Zane has been homeschooled for the past year because classmates ridiculed him for his limp, but now his mother enrolled him in a private school. The night before his first day, Zane spots a plane circling his volcano. Low and behold, a crazy scary looking demon is the pilot and it crashes right into the volcano. Managing to protect both his dog and his mother, Zane evades the demon, but is scared on his first day of school. Thinks he’s going crazy. However, it’s at his private school that Zane meets Brooks and his whole life changes as she reveals dangerous destinies and surprising secrets that all surround Zane Obispo. Thoughts: What a fun middle grade story! I feel like if you liked the Kane Chronicles then you would like this book. Of the Riordan series, The Stormer Runner is most reminiscent of that series in my opinion. Which is a GOOD thing because I think Kane Chronicles is super underrated. This book has family dynamics, there’s some innocent romance, there’s action, and there’s magic! Zane was an incredible main character and I loved his character arc and growth. The quest was full of action and small twists. The side characters are interesting and unique. Altogether, would recommend. (*Also recommend the audiobook! Great narrator!*) I was first intrigued by this book because of its basis in Mayan mythology and Mexican culture. The Spanish elements were such a nice twist in the writing (though I wonder how other’s who do not know Spanish faired with that aspect, I don’t remember if there were translations in the book). As this book is published by Rick Riordan’s company, you can imagine that Cervante’s writing is very reminiscent of the classic Riordan formula everyone loves. We’ve got a demigod main character who’s life is turned upside down when he realizes he’s got to save the world, but with only so much time to figure everything out. Zane was an adorable main character. He was very relatable and I liked that we had some disability representation in this story with the fact that Zane has a underdeveloped leg and has to use a cane. I’m not 100% sure on how well people with the same disability were represented through this, but I absolutely loved the Zane’s character arc. I loved how something he thought was holding him back his whole life became one of Zane’s strongest attributes. Family was so important to me for this book. I really wanted to have Zane’s family actually have a role in how the story was going to play out because family is extremely important in Hispanic culture and that’s what I got. Zane’s uncle was pivot in helping him get through his quest. Zane’s father also was extremely important (and not just because he’s a God...). All the foreshadowing about his father came together perfectly in the end. The romance in this story as very very very innocent. It was adorable and these youngin’s barely even understand their feelings. Romance of course was not the forefront of this plot, hardly ever is in middle grade because it’s all about the action and the quest, but Zane’s feelings did become a catalyst for some of the major plot points in the story. I liked the world building for the most part. Cervantes does an amazing job of creating her settings. I was able to picture Zane on his travels and in his battles perfectly. The one thing I wasn’t too keen on with he world building was the introduction of the different Mayan Gods. I don’t actually know anything about Mayan Gods. Generally I like to end these books feeling like I’ve learned a good amount about the Gods these kind of books are based on, but for this one, I still feel pretty foggy on all the main Gods, their powers, their influences. If this series continues, I hope we get more in-depth information on the important Gods, their hierarchies, and how their worlds work. The ending was my favorite part! Everything came together so well. Very satisfying ending. What a twist! If this was a standalone, I’d be very content. But I still want to get to know more about the Mayan Gods, Zane’s father, what becomes of Zane and Brooks... All of it! Overall: If you need a Riordan demigod quest formula fix, this is a good one. Especially if you connect with Hispanic/Mexican culture and/or are interested in Mayan mythology. Just be prepared to sound out some interesting names for these Gods!