The Last Cuentista

Winner of the Newbery Medal—a brilliant journey through the stars, to the very heart of what makes us human.

“Gripping in its twists and turns, and moving in its themes — truly a beautiful cuento.”—New York Times

Había una vez . . . 

There lived a girl named Petra Peña, who wanted nothing more than to be a storyteller, like her abuelita. 

But Petra’s world is ending. Earth has been destroyed by a comet, and only a few hundred scientists and their children — among them Petra and her family — have been chosen to journey to a new planet. They are the ones who must carry on the human race. 

Hundreds of years later, Petra wakes to this new planet — and the discovery that she is the only person who remembers Earth. A sinister Collective has taken over the ship during its journey, bent on erasing the sins of humanity’s past. They have systematically purged the memories of all aboard — or purged them altogether.

Petra alone now carries the stories of our past, and with them, any hope for our future. Can she make them live again?

P R A I S E

“Clever and compelling … wonderfully subversive.”
—The Wall Street Journal

★ “This tale packs a wallop. Exquisite.”
—Kirkus Reviews (starred) 

★ “Gripping, euphonious, and full of storytelling magic.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred) 

★ “A strong, heroic character, fighting incredible odds to survive and protect others.”
—School Library Journal (starred)

WINNER 

John Newbery Medal - Pura Belpré Award 

BEST OF THE YEAR

TIME - Wall Street Journal - Minneapolis Star Tribune’s - Boston Globe - BookPage - Publishers Weekly - School Library Journal - Kirkus - Bank Street - Chicago Public Library - New York Public Library