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We’re so excited to unveil the cover for Anika Fajardo’s sophomore middle-grade novel, MEET ME HALFWAY, which is set to be released in May 2022.
But first, a little about the book... When new classmates Mattie Gómez and Mercedes Miller meet and realize they have the same dad, the two reluctantly team up in this Parent Trap–inspired misadventure. Determined to meet the father they’ve never known, these polar opposites suddenly have to work together to fake sleepovers, evade their friends, and plot daring escapes from school field trips in an effort to track down him down. If only they could stop bickering long enough to get the show on the road. With echoes of the themes from Anika’s first novel, WHAT IF A FISH, this sharp and poignant middle grade adventure examines the bonds that make a family. And now for the gorgeous cover art designed by the talented EJ Chong, who perfectly captured the personalities of the two unlikely new sisters: A huge Las Musas happy book birthday to Christina Diaz Gonzalez on the release of her latest middle grade novel, Concealed. What does it feel to be on the run, always changing your name and identity, barely remembering who you once were? What if everything you knew… turned out to be a lie? These are questions Christina Diaz Gonzalez explores in this "gripping” story, “brimming with knotty twists and eccentric turns" (Kirkus Reviews). Alyson Gerber, critically-acclaimed author of Taking Up Space, calls Concealed, “A masterful adventure with an authentic middle-grade voice about the power of identity and the journey to figure out who you really are.” ¡Felicidades! Alexandra Alessandri interviews Christina about her novel, but first, here’s a quick look at Concealed:  This week, we've got a fantastic interview between Musas Karla Valenti and Donna Barba Higuera, in honor of Donna's latest novel, THE LAST CUENTISTA! Scroll on to learn where she got her inspiration from, her research process, what else she's got in store, and more! Karla Valenti: To borrow from Betsy Bird's review of the book: A delicious mix of dystopian fiction, Mexican folklore, and good old-fashioned high drama, this is the kind of science fiction that has the potential to lure in even those people that don’t usually indulge in futuristic fantastical imaginings. What was the inspiration for THE LAST CUENTISTA? Donna Barba Higuera: The idea came from a simple writing prompt. “Take a traditional fairy tale and make it Sci-Fi.” I decided I didn’t want to use those stories that get tons of airtime: Snow White or Cinderella, The Little Mermaid or something that gets tons of airtime. So instead, I chose The Princess and the Pea. Then came the…“So how do I make a story about a girl that couldn’t sleep because there was a pea under her pillow Sci-Fi?” I decided the “pea” would be the “P.E.A” or pellet of extended animation. (I know… I know… cheesy) that would put the character to sleep for her journey through time and space. But of course, the P.E.A. would malfunction, so she’d be awake for the journey that took hundreds of years. When the girl arrived, humans would be very different than when she was supposedly put to sleep hundreds of years before. It was just short story without a lot of detail. But I liked the premise. I explored the idea further. How would I feel if I knew I was leaving Earth for a journey to another planet that took hundreds of years. What would I take with me? What would I value most? And what if, when I arrived at the new planet centuries in the future, humans no longer valued those things? I had the beginnings of my novel.  KV: That’s’ a fascinating origin story! A great example of running with a story prompt. So, what were some of the challenges you faced in crafting a world set almost four centuries into the future?
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