A fun adventure, currently a Sasquatch Award nominee. I enjoyed experiencing Pilar’s perspective as her neighborhood morphs into something recognizable to many students and young persons.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

This book was a unique concept for me. It was almost bilingual because the main character said Spanish and English equally. Some of it I didn’t know what meant, but google comes in handy. I love that it is a mythology I wasn’t familiar with. I’ve heard of the ciguapas before but didn’t know much about them. I liked that Pilar was into making movies and finding her cousin that went missing years ago.

An immersive fantasy with a feisty main character and lots of sentimental family moments. I’m not a huge fan of middle grade but I’m glad I picked this up. I really enjoyed Randall’s essay in Wild Tongues Can’t Be Tamed, and his voice really shines in this novel. This was a wild ride of a book that was surprisingly emotional for me. I loved all of the culture and Spanish that was included as well, and related to a bit of it. Highly recommend to any MG fans looking for some adventure!

I am not sure if it was the writing, world building, or if it was me. But this did not work for me. It started off strong and made me feel so happy to see my culture represented. But it just lost me somewhere near the middle. I just couldn’t get behind the story anymore.

Violeta finds herself in an ever changing world she wish would just stop. When she discovers there maybe more to a kidnapping of her cousin, she finds herself on a wild adventure to find out the truth. Pilar Ramirez and the Escape from Zafa is a fantasy book that takes immigration and tragedy to the jungle. Pilar is a strong and hard headed protagonist that must learn her past and combine it with her passion. Learning that change may not be a bad thing. The world building some times seemed to faulted and not be as consistant as when it started, it was the plot line that felt weak. Pilar is faced with heavy topics in her real world and you would think that would also be worked out in the magical sphere but sadly it is not. Immigration and colonization is prevalent and understanding other is the corner stone to the plot. I would have liked more interpretation and inclusion of her photography

There were a lot of things this novel did well: it was fast paced, great representation of Dominican culture and a whole lot of girl power.. But something was missing... bad world building? It also bothered me that her home life didn't matter to the story... Like it would have been okay if she lived Zafa forever.

This book was not my favorite. I do like how it combined fantasy and historical events and I do think that many of my students will enjoy this book.

“I was just trying to finish my movie, inform the masses, and maybe score some extra credit to start off eighth grade…but now? Everything is upside down.”
Twelve-year-old Pilar is an aspiring documentary filmmaker. She doesn’t need to look very hard to find the perfect subject for a film: her cousin Natasha who mysteriously disappeared during the Trujillo dictatorship. But finding answers takes an unexpected twist, when the file she finds with her cousin’s name on it pulls her into another world full of magic and fantastical creatures inspired by Dominican mythology that come to life on the island of Zafa. In a race against time, Pilar must figure out how to save her cousin from a magical prison before it destroys the land and neither of them can escape.

From history and mythology coming together to the blending of culture and language, this story does a great job of bringing important aspects of Pilar’s world to life and proves her to be an interesting multi-dimensional character. Though at first it may seem that Pilar isn’t interested in any world that can’t be made into a captivating film, she really steps into an extraordinary role to help her cousin when everything around her is turned upside down… literally. I really enjoyed the way Randall brought Dominican mythology to life! I was very unfamiliar with this form of mythology and culture, and I really enjoyed learning about it alongside Pilar as she navigated the odd but beautiful world of Zafa. For a magical adventure full of fantastical creatures, culture, laughs, and an empowering young female lead, check out Pilar Ramirez and the Escape from Zafa!

(Pine Reads Review would like to thank NetGalley and Henry Holt and Co. Publishing for sending us an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change upon final publication.)

PRR Writer and Editor, Taylor Quinn

Combining historical events with fantasy elements to help educate middle graders.

I absolutely loved to see the Spanish language mixed into the story in a natural way.

While this story is inspired by true events, it was fun to read how the author incorporated these events into a fantasy world with the idea that it would make it digestible for the targeted age range.

Highly recommended for all readers!

Thank you to #netgalley and #macmillan for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

Twelve-year-old aspiring documentary filmmaker Pilar’s family moved to Chicago from the Dominican Republic after the disappearance of her cousin Natasha during the Trujillo dictatorship many years before. Her family won’t talk about Natasha’s disappearance and Pilar is determined to unravel the mystery behind it. While waiting to meet with a college professor who may have some important information to share with her, Pilar opens a file with her cousin’s name on it and finds herself transported to the supernatural land of Zafa. She will need to team up with the inhabitants of Zafa to both solve the mystery of Natasha’s disappearance and help to save Zafa from the villains threatening to destroy it. The action is fast and furious and will keep readers engaged as the author weaves Dominican history and mythology into the events. Pilar is a strong female protagonist with a humorous, authentic voice that will resonate with readers. Spanish words and phrases are integrated into the dialog, adding to the characters, and further anchoring the book in Dominican culture. A great read for middle grade fantasy fans!

Unfortunately this book just was not my favorite...DNF at 25%....I wanted to love Pilar but I really didn't feel rooted in her character by the time she was transported to Zafa and she came off really brash in a way that I couldn't connect with. I'm sure younger readers will enjoy her personality but it just was too grating when I didn't care about her situation or the world of Zafa.

I wish I enjoyed this book way more than I actually did. I enjoyed the history and the cultural aspect of the story. The use of Dominican folklore added to the store and the characters. The Spanish did mess up my reading at the beginning but I was able to adjust and understand the story after reading some more. My biggest issue was the way it was told. I could not get into tense it was being told in which almost made me DNF it multiple times. The story as a whole wasn’t bad but I don’t think I would be able to recommend it to someone considering that.

The book started out strong and I loved the Spanish sprinkled throughout. I understand enough Spanish that I understood what was being said. However, another reviewer said it felt like the same three Spanish words and by the end I knew exactly which three words they were referring to.

I liked the story, but it did not hold my attention as much as I had hoped.

Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I love Pilar and I can't wait to see what other things she gets up too in the future. This was such a fun adventure, I literally laughed out loud at work a few times. I know there are a lot of reviewers saying there is
"to much spanish" but there really isn't. It was easy for me a non spanish speaker to follow along and it does not take away from the story at all, and if you aren't sure what a word means maybe use google. Pilar goes on a journey not only learning more about her family, culture and heritage but also herself. It is rich in Dominican folklore and history, which for me is twice is fun since I have 0 knowledge of it and I get to learn some while reading too.

Pilar Ramirez and the Escape from Zafa is a dynamic series opener that introduces us to a spunky, unforgettable heroine who is ready to kick some butt and take some names. Pilar is a determined, opinionated, whip-smart young Dominican-American girl, who is not afraid to go toe-to-toe with El Cuco himself if it means saving her family and defending the people she loves.

To start off, I think Pilar Ramirez is perfect for fans of the Tristan Strong series. Both stories are set in fantasy worlds that are inspired by distinctive cultural myths, and they're also both driven by inquisitive young narrators who aren't afraid to tell you how they really feel about encountering magic for the first time. Much like Tristan, Pilar isn't afraid to openly interrogate aspects of this new-to-her fantasy world as she discovers them, and hearing her recount the story has the same feeling of sitting across from a close friend as they tell you what they've been up to lately. Her voice is personable, entertaining, and distinctive, and I think it perfectly captures that very specific flavor and rhythm of Dominican Spanglish.

This is a fast-paced, captivating fantasy-adventure story, and I think it has a lot to offer young readers. First and foremost, I appreciate how Julian Randall has created a fantastical middle grade story to help young people process the horrors and trauma of the Trujllo dictatorship. There's a traumatic legacy that comes with that, one that many people are unable to talk about, and so it's powerful to have a young heroine like Pilar being able to confront her culture's history and grapple with it in way that's tangible and immediate. In a way, she's discovering her family's culture and history directly for the first time, and figuring out how to navigate it in a very literal sense as she takes on this epic journey to free her long-lost cousin.

With Pilar discovering this world of magic, there's also an interesting narrative thread exploring the reclamation of power. Even though her ancestors and her family were victims of a horrendous dictatorship that essentially rendered them powerless, Pilar is still able to dig deep and find magic within herself that she can use to fight against the literal evils of this fantasy world.

There's also a line that gets repeated in this story about "becoming a threat," and I think that can be a powerful mantra for young marginalized folks who are battling against oppressive systems that don't want them to exist. The idea is that if someone out there is going to invest resources into your destruction, it's because they fear your power and they see you (and potentially your community) as a threat. So if someone believes you to be threat, why not become one and bring about the very destruction they fear? That is an incredibly powerful call to action.

As you would expect, this story is also a rumination on the power of stories. Stories and myths passed down from her family are what has prepared Pilar to face and understand this fantasy world she finds herself in, and in listening to the stories of people currently living in Zafa and suffering through this war, she's able to better arm herself for the battle ahead. The magic that moves through Zafa is also powered by memory itself, and it draws on the collective power of Zafa's people as well as the humans who were abducted there during the war. That is another worthwhile message: that forgetting or erasing tragedies of the past does not lessen their impact, but remembering what your community has endured can make you a stronger person going forward.

If I'm being honest, I wanted a little bit more from the world-building. In terms of the actual portal that transports Pilar to Zafa, it's never made clear whether her sister's professor had anything to do with it or whether it was just pure coincidence. There also doesn't seem to be any long-lasting consequences to Pilar's fantastical adventure, especially because everything wraps up just a little bit too neatly. In fairness, maybe that's something that will be further explored in the second book, but only time will tell. I also wish we could've seen even more of Zafa itself, because the story is primarily focused on a few key locations, and we don't get a strong sense of how big this fantasy world truly is by the end.

Even with that said, I still really enjoyed this. I love that this story is so voice-y, I appreciate the blend of the historical and the fantastical, I enjoyed the humor and the adventure, and the stakes also feel incredibly real for the characters. The author's poetic background also comes through in the thematic resonances of the story, which makes it stand out. What's more, there's *possibly* a sapphic dynamic being set up between Pilar and Carmen as well, and I'm super interested to see how (and if) that unfolds in the final installment. Overall, I think this is a great addition to the shelves of any middle grade fantasy reader, and I cannot wait to see what else Julian writes in the future.

23% and I'm having to force myself to keep reading. This book is just not for me. The protagonist comes off as a bit too much of a know it all and I feel like 1/4 into the book I am still clueless as to what is happening. Unfortunately a DNf for me.

I absolutely loved Pilar Ramirez and the journey she went on in this book! I wrote a blog post about it and am attaching the link because All that I needed to say was in there! I'm hype for the next book!

Pilar Ramirez's family left the Dominican Republic, while it was under the control of dictator Rafael Trujillo, to live in Chicago and she wants to know more about that history including why her Mami's cousin, Natasha, disappeared. When her sister arranges for Pilar to meet with a professor who may be able to provide her with information, Pilar is mysteriously transported to the island of Zafa where she hopes she can find Natasha. This book has action, magic, insight into Dominican myths, and a brave heroine.

A great MG Read that explores and introduces Dominican myths and legends. I love reading and learning about more myths and legends from around the world. Pilar's cousin, Natasha, disappeared many years ago from the Dominican Republic, and when Pilar hears that her sister's professor studies disappearances, Pilar goes to talk with the professor about the disappearance of her cousin.
In the professor's office, Pilar opens a folder with her cousin's name on it and gets sucked in, and comes out in a place called Zafa. On this island of Zafa Pilar finds that her cousin is trapped in a magical prison and she has to go up against the Dominican boogeyman to try to get her cousin freed.
I enjoyed this story a lot and am always one to love an MG read with Mythology in it from around the world. It's always interesting and great to see a different side of the world, life, culture, and mythologies and I enjoyed this one a lot. If you like Dominican Myths and Legends, MG reads, and portal fantasy adventures then I'd recommend checking this one out. It is a bit different with the bilingualism, but I can see how it would be great for others though and I did understand it as I know Spanish.
Thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Children's Publishing Group/Henry Holt and Co. for letting me read and review this fun MG read. All thoughts and opinions are my own.