Paola Santiago and the Forest of Nightmares by Tehlor Kay Mejia || Mexican Folklore And Feels

Paola Santiago and the Forest of Nightmares

Six months after Paola Santiago confronted the legendary La Llorona, life is nothing like she'd expected it to be. She is barely speaking to her best friends, Dante and Emma, and what's worse, her mom has a totally annoying boyfriend. Even with her chupacabra puppy, Bruto, around, Pao can't escape the feeling that she's all alone in the world.

Pao has no one to tell that she's having nightmares again, this time set in a terrifying forest. Even more troubling? At their center is her estranged father, an enigma of a man she barely remembers. And when Dante's abuela falls mysteriously ill, it seems that the dad Pao never knew just might be the key to healing the eccentric old woman.

Pao's search for her father will send her far from home, where she will encounter new monsters and ghosts, a devastating betrayal, and finally, the forest of her nightmares. Will the truths her father has been hiding save the people Pao loves, or destroy them?

Once again Tehlor Kay Mejia draws on her Mexican heritage to tell a wild and wondrous story that combines creatures from folklore with modern-day challenges.

Content Tags:

Perfect for readers who want:

• Mexican mythology and folklore brought to life.
• Fast-paced adventure that sweeps you along for the ride.
• An overarching mystery that’ll keep you guessing.
• Lots of pre-teen sarcasm that’s super relatable (and funny!).
• Struggles to be a good friend (whatever that means) and find one’s self.
• Danger and doggos (sometimes even at the same time!).

Many thanks to Rick Riordan Presents and Rockstar Book Tours for a copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

I knew the moment I finished Paola Santiago and the River of Dreams that I was going to read this book. I was nowhere near done with Paola’s story and this world Mejia has created. I’ve waited foreverrrr to see Mexican folklore used in an adventure like this, and I haven’t been disappointed yet. I confess, I was a little concerned with where this series was going after that first book, but I shouldn’t have been. This was a fantastic sequel that not only brought back old, beloved characters but introduced some thrilling (and chilling) new folklore!

Paola Santiago and the Forest of Nightmares ups the stakes from the first book on both the mythological and emotional level. The threats are bigger, badder, and harder on the feels, with some new thrilling supernatural creatures and some unexpected help along the way.

Not gonna lie, did not like Dante in this one, from the very beginning, and that’s really my only complaint. Of course, this is book two, and it’s obviously going to come up again in book three. Still, all I can say is if Dante was one of your favorite characters, you will be crushed without knowing why until the next book (I hope) because nothing is explained here.

This review may contain minor spoilers for the first book in the series.

Just when you finish Paola Santiago and the River of Dreams and think there’s no way Mejia will be able to top herself in terms of adventure, character building, and folklore . . . she does.

I absolutely loved seeing the folklore Mejia brought to life in the first book, and I was a little unsure what would pop up in this book, but I wasn’t disappointed! Between cadejo and duendecillos and other folklore that shall not be named, there are plenty of fun new entities for readers to discover! I’m actually even more excited about what the third book will bring now, because this one raises the stakes so much on the lore and the creatures Paola finds herself faced with.

Paola did a lot of growing up in the last book, especially around understanding what it means to be a good friend, but she’s not quite done yet.

I don’t remember Paola being this funny in the first book, okay? I mean, it’s been a while since I read it, so she probably was, but I legit snort-laughed at several moments. Mejia really captures the twelve-year-old attitude here. I see a lot of my ten-year-old in Paola, and it made me laugh. Because who doesn’t love a protagonist with a bit of an attitude? Middle grade readers will especially find this relatable, I’m sure!

You’d think that with everything she had been through in the first book, Paola was super confident in herself. That isn’t the case at all, though. And thank goodness, because that’d be kind of weird. There’s still a lot of soul-searching and personal growth that happens throughout this book, and I look forward to seeing how Paola grows even more in the next book, too.

Paola finds herself faced with some new (likely relatable) threats, like her old friends finding new friends and her mother getting a boyfriend. At the end of the day, Paola is just trying to find where she fits in.

And if that’s not an entirely relatable struggle, I don’t know what is. Paola struggling with her mother’s new boyfriend is especially relatable, because been there, done that. Had many of the same thoughts as Paola. It’s even funnier to know everything that Paola went through already and the fact that she’s waylaid by something like mother troubles is especially reassuring and really helps ground her character, in my opinion. I appreciated the balance between the mythical/fantastical challenges along with the mundane.

Something’s up with Dante . . . and it’s not just maybe-girlfriend/boyfriend awkwardness. His grandmother’s acting weird, too. What’s up with that?

I mean . . . I’ve read it, so I know. But you don’t. On the one hand, I appreciated the tension of this situation, especially considering how close they grew in the first book. Friendship is hard, and sometimes things go awry in weird ways. On the other hand, I’m a little annoyed that there wasn’t more explanation or build up or grounding to this? *shrug* In any case, Paola finds herself struggling yet again to decide how to be a good friend, but in an entirely different way from the first book. It’s easy to see how she’s grown, even while she’s still trying to decide who she wants to be.

There’s a really solid mystery and adventure element to this story, alongside all the folklore and personal growth, which hooked me right from the start.

Mejia knows how to grab a reader’s attention! I didn’t want to put this book down until I’d solved the mystery with Paola, and there were plenty of surprises along the way to keep me guessing. There was action in the first book, but I feel like this one ups the stakes. You know, as sequels will do. There were plenty of times I was very concerned for Paola and her friends, and the creatures she faces feel much scarier. This book just flew by it, and before I knew it, I was sitting there sad that I didn’t have book three in my hands already (which, if I’m honestly, is almost a regular state of being for me at this point!).

About Tehlor Kay Mejia

Tehlor Kay Mejia is an Oregon native in love with the alpine meadows and evergreen forests of her home state, where she lives with her daughter. When she's not writing, you can find her plucking at her guitar, stealing rosemary sprigs from overgrown gardens, or trying to make the perfect vegan tamale. She is the author of Paola Santiago and the River of Tears and the YA fantasy novels We Set the Dark on Fire and We Unleash the Merciless Storm. Follow her on Twitter @tehlorkay.

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3 winners will receive a finished copy of PAOLA SANTIAGO AND THE FOREST OF NIGHTMARES,
US Only.

Week One

Week Two

Week Three

Week Four

Week Five

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