Charlie Hernández Series (#1 – 3) by Ryan Calejo || Indiana Jones Meets Hispanic Folklore

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Perfect for readers who want:

• Books similar to the Rick Riordan Presents series.
• Hispanic culture and mythology.
• Nonstop action and adventure, Indiana Jones style.
• Smart as a whip female sidekick.
• Slightly hopeless (but well-intentioned) funny protagonist.
• High stakes and world-ending danger.

Not gonna lie, the moment I saw these covers, I knew I had to have the books. Pictures just don’t do them justice. They’re absolutely gorgeous. In fact, when I got book three, my brother-in-law saw it come in, and he immediately stopped what he was doing and had to come look because it caught his attention. Book covers almost never do that (because he’s weird). I’ve actually been meaning to start this series for some time now. I even bought books one and two so they could sit on my shelf and judge me. However, when I saw that book three was in the pipeline, I thought I’d just go ahead and wait so I could read them all together, and what a good choice that turned out to be!

The Charlie Hernández trilogy is a set of fast-paced fantasy adventure books that feature fun (and dangerous) quests, an interesting squad, a hopeless (but well-meaning hero), a strong female sidekick, and a whole host of creatures straight out of Hispanic folklore.

This series is absolutely packed chock full of action and adventure. At times, it became a little overwhelming, but I for sure didn’t want to put it down, either. While all the books tie together in general, each one also has its own little subplot that wraps up neatly by the end, which I rather appreciated. I mean, I’m not against cliffhangers in general, but it’s kind of nice to find books that don’t end on massive cliffies. I absolutely loved this world, and frankly, I’m kind of disappointed to have to leave it. Oh, sure, it’s full of danger and mayhem, but aren’t all the best worlds?!

Charlie Hernández and the League of Shadows

The Lightning Thief meets the Story Thieves series in this middle grade fantasy inspired by Hispanic folklore, legends, and myths from the Iberian Peninsula and Central and South America.

Charlie Hernández has always been proud of his Latin American heritage. He loves the culture, the art, and especially the myths. Thanks to his abuela’s stories, Charlie possesses an almost encyclopedic knowledge of the monsters and ghouls who have spent the last five hundred years haunting the imaginations of children all across the Iberian Peninsula, as well as Central and South America. And even though his grandmother sometimes hinted that the tales might be more than mere myth, Charlie’s always been a pragmatist. Even barely out of diapers, he knew the stories were just make-believe—nothing more than intricately woven fables meant to keep little kids from misbehaving.

But when Charlie begins to experience freaky bodily manifestations—ones all too similar to those described by his grandma in his favorite legend—he is suddenly swept up in a world where the mythical beings he’s spent his entire life hearing about seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Hispanic folklore and into his life. And even stranger, they seem to know more about him than he knows about himself.

Soon, Charlie finds himself in the middle of an ancient battle between La Liga, a secret society of legendary mythological beings sworn to protect the Land of the Living, and La Mano Negra (a.k.a. the Black Hand), a cabal of evil spirits determined to rule mankind. With only the help of his lifelong crush, Violet Rey, and his grandmother’s stories to guide him, Charlie must navigate a world where monsters and brujas rule and things he couldn’t possibly imagine go bump in the night. That is, if he has any hope of discovering what’s happening to him and saving his missing parents (oh, and maybe even the world).

No pressure, muchacho.

Rating:

Meet Charlie Hernández, who is about to have his entire world turned upside down as he learns that all the stories his abuela told him growing up are actually true.

Obviously, he figured that all the tales about mythical creatures and magic and folklore and things that go bump in the night (or any other time, really) were just made-up. Why wouldn’t he? But that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Charlie learns this the hard way. You know, when he starts sprouting horns and feathers in the middle of class. Which is always how you want to find out that magic exists, right?

Charlie is a veritable treasure trove of knowledge about folklore thanks to his grandmother’s stories. He just never realized they would be so necessary. Or helpful. So Charlie has a little more insight into the world he’s thrust into than the reader. Still, it’s exciting and rather thrilling getting to discover this whole other world that exists along with Charlie!

The way Calejo writes is funny and relatable. Charlie is a very realistic hero (despite the magic) in the fact that he’s far from perfect and not always ready for the challenges he faces.

Some heroes are born for greatness; some are thrust into it. Charlie sort of trips over his untied shoelaces and falls face-first into it. As far as heroes go, he’s not particularly impressive. Other than his profound and impressive knowledge of Hispanic folklore, he’s just your average preteen boy: not all that graceful, not particularly skilled at anything specific, and definitely not ready to save the world.

I absolutely loved this about Charlie, and it’s what endeared me to him so quickly! He feels so realistic in that aspect. He tries (goodness does he try), but things don’t always pan out the way he expects them to. I appreciated the realism of Charlie being thrown in over his head and just barely able to tread water, thanks to all the help he receives. After all, no one saves the world alone, right?

Charlie’s partner in crime (sometimes literally) is the no-nonsense, highly capable Violet, whose passion for investigative journalism has left her with a rather impressive skillset.

Which she needs, of course, to offset Charlie’s absolute hopelessness. I mean that in the best possible way, because it’s utterly adorable. Face it, though . . . Charlie wouldn’t get anywhere without Violet’s quick thinking and preparedness.

There are definitely times when Violet struck me as a Mary Sue. She’s a little too perfect. She always knows exactly what the story needs her to know to move it along, regardless of how specific or niche it is. Also, have I mentioned that she’s not like other girls? Nope, she’s super smart and capable and very popular and suuuper attractive and everyone loves her. See where I’m going with this?

Despite that, I couldn’t help but like Violet. She’s a go-getter. She’s a take-action kinda girl who gets the job done and isn’t afraid to get dirty doing it. There’s a lot to respect about her character, and I enjoyed how capable she was. It wasn’t like she was just tagging along with Charlie as the pretty damsel in distress. No, her role in the story is a critical one. Charlie literally wouldn’t be able to do it without her.

This book is chock full of creatures straight out of Hispanic folklore! You never know what you might encounter on each new page.

I thought I knew a bit about Hispanic folklore, but ha! As it turns out, I know about Mexican and Puerto Rican folklore pretty much exclusively and not much else. This book (and series, even) churns out folklore from the entire Spanish (and Portuguese) speaking world, many of which I hadn’t heard about (or had heard about and never knew the name of!). I had so much fun with it and couldn’t wait to see what new creatures would appear!

Be forewarned: these creatures aren’t all for the faint of heart. They’re not always warm and cuddly. Aww, who am I kidding? As Charlie finds out, they’re rarely warm and cuddly. Which is half the fun of it! Some of these legends are messed up, and I absolutely love them!

The plot was a little all over the place, jumping from one mythological creature to another, to the point where it felt a bit disjointed.

This was Calejo’s debut novel, so I sort of took that with a grain of salt. It definitely wasn’t as tightly plotted as the two, which means he improved in this aspect! This book, however, felt like the characters just hopped from one situation to another. Mythological creatures were thrown in willy-nilly, one after another, without any real effect or consequence, and not always necessarily moving the plot forward, either.

There also wasn’t a lot of emotional impact or any real oomph to this story, which isn’t always a bad thing in adventure stories. Some middle grade readers actually prefer that. However, this meant that I felt distanced from Charlie and Violet, who face traumatic events (whether it be sad, terrifying, or otherwise) and just brush it off without a thought. I definitely wanted more reaction from them to all the things they were going through!

Charlie Hernández and the Castle of Bones (Charlie Hernández, #2)

Inspired by Hispanic folklore, legends, and myths from the Iberian Peninsula and Central and South America, this bold sequel to Charlie Hernández & the League of Shadows, which Booklist called “a perfect pick for kids who love Rick Riordan” in a starred review, follows Charlie as he continues on his quest to embrace his morphling identity.

Charlie Hernandez still likes to think of himself as a normal kid. But what’s normal about being a demon-slaying preteen with an encyclopedic knowledge of Hispanic and Latino mythology who can partially manifest nearly any animal trait found in nature? Well, not much. But, Charlie believes he can get used to this new “normal,” because being able to sprout wings or morph fins is pretty cool.

But there is a downside: it means having to constantly watch his back for La Mano Peluda’s sinister schemes. And when the leader of La Liga, the Witch Queen Jo herself, is suddenly kidnapped, Charlie’s sure they’re at it again.
Determined to save the queen and keep La Liga’s alliances intact, Charlie and his good friend Violet Rey embark on a perilous journey to track down her captors. As Charlie and Violet are drawn deeper into a world of monstruos and magia they are soon left with more questions than answers—like, why do they keep hearing rumors of dead men walking, and why is Charlie suddenly having visions of an ancient evil: a necromancer priest who’s been dead for more than five centuries?

Charlie’s abuela once told him that when dead men walk, the living run in fear. And Charlie’s about to learn the truth of that—the hard way.

Rating:

Calejo’s writing style continues to be funny and delightful, easy to read and pulling me forward from one page to the next.

These books are on the larger end of middle grade, especially this one. I hardly even noticed, though, as the whole thing just flew by. Charlie’s narrative is quippy and funny. Sure, sometimes the puns and jokes with his friends are a little groan-inducing, but that’s half the fun, isn’t it? (Plus, have you ever heard preteens talk with their friends? Can confirm, it’s a bit cringey.)

Charlie is back, with his same barely-capable self, getting into trouble that he can’t always get out of again. What can I say? It’s part of his charm. I really enjoy how easy Calejo’s writing style is to read, and I think it’ll be a big win for middle graders who have trouble getting into books.

Charlie finds himself smack dab in the middle of danger . . . again. This time, though, the whole world is at stake. And he won’t be able to do this one alone.

Do you have a deep-seated love (or fear) of zombies? Well, strap in, because they’re getting a bit of a remake. It’s not necessarily zombies in their traditional sense that’s the big threat in this book. It is, however, a necromancer. Because how cool is that?! The stakes are so much higher than the first book, because the Big Bad isn’t necessarily coming just for Charlie. It’s coming for the world. No pressure, right?

Since the stakes are so much higher, the tension of this book is ratcheted up, and the obstacles are much bigger. Charlie has a lot more to contend with, but he doesn’t have to do it alone. Violet is still there, of course, offering her much-needed assistance and guidance. But there’s also La Liga offering their magical assistance, as much as they can. Everything isn’t entirely as straightforward as that, though, because the entire magical world is divided now. Meaning Charlie has no idea whom he can trust. Not even La Liga is safe.

This book is absolutely jam-packed full of action from page one, and it doesn’t let up until the very end. It’s got a very Indiana Jones or maybe even National Treasure vibe to it.

This can be good and bad, of course, depending on what you’re looking for in a book. If you’re a hardcore fan of adventure and want something high stakes that’ll get your blood pumping with one big, crazy challenge after another, this is perfect for you. The flip side of that, of course, is that it doesn’t give the reader much chance to come up for air, and it lacks a certain emotional impact (though there are certainly emotional scenes scattered throughout it!). This really boils down to personal preference, of course, but for me, I really enjoyed the high-intensity, fast pace of the story.

This book introduces a new character named Saci pererê, who is definitely one of my favorite characters in this series!

Saci is actually a trickster from Brazilian folklore, and boy does his character reflect that. He can definitely be meddlesome and annoying with his “pranks” (which are definitely not always funny). But okay, I’ll give him some credit, it’s sometimes funny.

Despite his penchant for mischief (or maybe because of it?), he quickly won my heart. Especially as the trickster becomes the tricked and he’s forced to help Charlie against his better judgment. Particularly because the “help” isn’t always so helpful. But hey, what do you expect from a trickster? Saci definitely keeps the group on his toes, and his sarcasm and crankiness was pretty darn funny, too.

Charlie Hernández & the Golden Dooms

Inspired by Hispanic folklore, legends, and myths from the Iberian Peninsula and Central and South America, this third book in the Charlie Hernández series follows Charlie as he fights against an army of the dead.

After hitchhiking across Central and South America to rescue the Witch Queen and face off against La Mano Peluda, Charlie Hernández is pretty much grounded for life. But after all he’s been through, some quiet time at home with his parents might be nice. Though it would be better if he didn’t have to share his room with his obnoxiously perfect cousin Raúl, who’s staying with them.

But quiet is hard to come by when you’re the fifth and final morphling, and it’s not long before death walks back into Charlie’s life. Or at least, the dead do, starting with a mysterious young calaca who corners him at school, dropping cryptic hints about trouble brewing in the 305. With the League of Shadows focused on repairing fractured alliances and tracking gathering armies, this one’s up to Charlie to solve.

Following the clues only leads to more questions, and not even teenage investigative journalist extraordinaire Violet Rey can figure out how a sudden rooster infestation, earthquakes, missing persons, and a pet-napping gang of lizard-men—whom Charlie doesn’t recognize from any legend—are all connected. Most concerning of all is when they learn a map has been stolen that reveals the locations of the Golden Dooms, the twelve ancient calaca watchmen who form the magical barrier between the realms.

To stop the impending invasion, Charlie and Violet must outwit an ancient evil and unravel the most sinister of schemes. That is, unless they’d rather watch the Land of the Living get overrun by the dead.

Rating:

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

Charlie finds himself smack dab in the middle of trouble again (surprise, surprise!). This time, however, he’s been told to sit it out . . . which, as it turns out, he’s also not very good at.

After the chaos and danger that was the second book (not to mention the betrayals), La Liga is all the more aware of how young and untrained Charlie is. He still can’t even manifest on demand, which is kind of the most basic thing of Morphlings, obviously. So they ask him to do the unthinkable: sit this one out.

In Charlie’s defense, he doesn’t have to go looking for trouble; it finds him, every time, without a problem. In this case, it’s sort of a mix of the two. Violet, sensing a mystery, refuses to let it go, and Charlie, being the adorable soul he is, truly wants to help. Plus, they’re preteens. Since when are preteens particularly good at doing what they’re told?

While the problem in this book seems like a lot lower stakes than the previous book, it’s about to get real . . . fast.

Charlie makes the mistake of assuming that this problem will be a fairly easy fix. Bwahahaha. What an adorable, naïve child, right? Because nothing’s that easy, and in the course of exploring a seemingly simple problem, things get complicated quickly. The whole magic world is under threat again. Only, this time, they don’t know it. Which makes it all the harder to solve the problem!

I don’t want to say much more about this, because I thought the mystery was really compelling! It’s not at all straightforward, and the kids have to do some investigative journalism (much to Violet’s pleasure) to get to the bottom of everything. Not to mention trying to decide who they can trust! I enjoyed the twists and turns as the mystery unraveled.

Charlie’s team has grown yet again—this time to include his cousin, Raúl. Needless to say, he’s not quite what Charlie had expected.

In fact, Charlie’s mother and aunt had been distant and hadn’t talked in years, until recent events changed his mother’s priorities and perspective. So he didn’t even know he had a cousin around his age. Surprise! A good-looking, equally charming cousin who happens to be the opposite of Charlie: buff, totally capable, and seemingly unaware of magic. Charlie isn’t the only member of the family keeping secrets, though.

One thing I’ve really appreciated throughout this whole series is the role Charlie’s mother plays (not so much his father, even though he is present in the story).

While the first book did follow the traditional “parents are gone” trope, that isn’t the case with the second and third books. Charlie’s parents are very much present. They’re also not especially “letting” Charlie go on all these dangerous adventures. They’re just not very good at stopping him. But oh boy does his mother try! After all, what mother doesn’t worry about their child? Especially when they find out that magical creatures are out to kill him.

Charlie’s mother is a fierce force to be reckoned with. She seems to understand the role her son plays in everything and how crucial he is to the magic world, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t prepared to lock him in the basement until he’s 80 if he doesn’t start using his brain and taking precautions. At the end of the day, she just wants what’s best for him and to keep him safe, even if they have no real control over the fact that he’s thrust into a dangerous world that keeps taking swipes at him.

While I’ve enjoyed Violet’s role in the previous books, and she always bordered on being slightly too capable to believe, she bordered on a deus ex machina in this book.

Violet herself is a tough character for me to grasp, because she’s always been too good to be true, but she’s also been a lot of fun. Need someone semi-competent to balance Charlie’s hopelessness, right? And Violet was always up to the task! In this book, though, it felt like her character went a little too far in terms of what she’s capable of. Basically, she knows whatever the plot requires her to know, even if it’s extremely far-fetched (like being able to hotwire a boat and then successfully drive said boat on a high-speed chase). I mean, I get it . . . this book is filled with mythological creatures and magic, which is probably more unbelievable than a preteen hotwiring a boat . . . maybe? I dunno, I have a preteen, and it’s basically a miracle if I can get her to remember to put on deodorant in the morning, so my vote might just be on the mythology being more believable here.

About Ryan Calejo

Ryan Calejo is the author of the Charlie Hernández series. He was born and raised in south Florida, where he graduated from the University of Miami with a BA. He teaches swimming to elementary school students, chess to middle school students, and writing to high school students. Having been born into a family of immigrants and growing up in the so-called “Capital of Latin America,” Ryan knows the importance of diversity in our communities and is passionate about writing books that children of all ethnicities can relate to.

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