A celebration of Latine culture and coming of age. The crossing of identity and appearance is well explored through a tween girl's encounters with a jaguar in the woods behind her new house, a mysterious mirror, and a man who often tell her ancestral stories of Mexico. Ultimately, this middle-grade contemporary fantasy reiterates the intergenerational power of stories.

Thank you to NetGalley, author Alexandra V. Méndez, and publisher Levine Querido for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

This was a sweet MG read! I thought the storytelling was beautiful, and several descriptions of setting or stories truly took my breath away. I loved all of the cultural elements found through storytelling, especially the emphasis on how important oral storytelling is throughout generations. I feel that young readers will be able to relate to Jade in many ways, as the book does a great job of navigating growing up and the challenges that come with being a pre-teen. The book was a bit dense at times, and it does seem like the author tries to fit in a lot of different topics that younger readers might not always get a full grasp on. I also didn't realize that this book was set around 9/11 until the event happened, so that might be a factor that doesn't resonate as well with a true MG audience, but it is relatable enough in other aspects for it to work. I did enjoy this read over, and it was a great step outside my comfort zone, since I don't read a lot of books with fantasy elements!

What the Jaguar Told Her is a middle grade novel about a young girl coming of age in Atlanta Georgia. As she gets used to her new city, Jade comes in contact with an elderly storyteller named Itztli who at times transforms into a jaguar. This story is filled with magic, culture and folklore that explores storytelling, family and identity. I think that middle grade readers will enjoy this book and would recommend it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book!

What the Jaguar Told Her is a lovely debut OwnVoice coming-of-age novel about growing up in the midst of change and a magical cultural homecoming. I liked seeing Jade's exploration of storytelling, family, and identity, as well as her interactions with those around her. I was particularly taken with the family dynamic and Jade's relationship with her family. It's a nice and hopeful story.

However, I thought the pacing was a little slow, making it difficult to fully immerse myself.

An evocative and emotional story about stories: ones about family, friendship and identity that weave together. Beautifully crafted.

This is an ownvoices novel about the day to day life of a Latinx middle school girl and her family. It is a story about stories – the stories of a family and the stories of a culture, with a dominant theme of storytelling through art.

The book is hopeful; however it is slow paced and addresses a number of unpleasant issues that might not be suitable for all middle grade audiences (racism, age related health issues, the Twin Towers bombings, still birth, environmental destruction, etc).

3.5 stars rounded up.

A lovely coming-of-age story about a young girl that, due to life circumstances, has to move to the city of Atlanta, Georgia, and struggles to acclimatise and create a life for herself in her new environment.

I could relate with this aspect of Jade's life, as someone who was uprooted very young and had to live in new places that were so foreign to me, and that's what drew me to the book. I have heard other tales of this nature, of talking jungle animals that are wise people that help the young, it's a common archetype both in Native American folklore and Latin American mythology. Brazil, Peru, Colombia, etc., have similar tales to the one "What the Jaguar Told Her" is based on, but the appeal is universal even if this might be more relatable to those familiar with Latino folklore.

The only think I didn't care much for was that, sometimes but not always, Iztli's wisdom was too generic, too feel-good, too self-help talk show. That might be just me, of course, as I'm way older than the target audience and rather averse to this kind of well-intentioned spewing of nice generalities. The target audience might not dwell on it as much as I did, and enjoy the story itself as well as the friendship between the Jaguar man and the young girl.