The Ghosts of Rancho Espanto
by Adrianna Cuevas
Intermediate, Middle School    Farrar    304 pp.   
4/23    9780374390433    $17.99

Cuevas (The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez; Cuba in My Pocket, rev. 11/21) presents another humorous, sensitive, and compelling story, with hints of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. Rafael, a twelve-year-old Cuban American from Miami, likes to lose himself in role-playing games with his friends. These extended fantasy adventures help him forget how much his life has changed since his mother became ill. After a game-based prank goes badly, his father sends him away for the summer to Rancho Espanto in New Mexico. There Rafa makes new friends while working as a ranch hand, but still living mostly in his fantasy world. When he encounters what he believes is a ghost and has glimpses of alternate realities, Rafa must confront his own “ghosts” and deal with his fears in real life. The character experiences northern New Mexico through a newcomer’s eyes, and Cuevas’s descriptions of grooming horses, hiking in canyons, and eating green chilies are vivid and immediate. The author incorporates Cuban Spanish words and phrases naturally into the narrative. Topics of illness, death, anxiety, and PTSD give this book some depth but do not overwhelm the story or detract from its appeal to a diverse ­audience.

From the March/April 2023 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.