Mari and the Curse of El Cocodrilo introduces us to Mari who is both proud of her cultural heritage and completely embarrassed by some of the rituals that are part of her "Cubanity." Mari is being bullied by the next door neighbor - a girl in her class at school.. So when Mari decides to skip one of those New Yearś Eve rituals by refusing to burn the effigy her grandmother made for her, she becomes cursed by El Cocodrilo. Throughout the book Mari comes to terms with being proud of her Cubanity and her family and realizes that her cultural heritage is an important part of her life. Thanks to Netgalley for giving me an advance copy to review.
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Mari would so rather be spending her New Year's playing video games with her friends rather than participating in tired Cuban traditions with her family. Sure enough, her nosy neighbor and classmate is watching as her abuelos burn effigies, and when it's Mari's turn, she can't bring herself to participate, knowing that if she does, a video of her peak Cubanity will circulate on the school social media. But That turns out to be a mistake because when she doesn't burn the effigy, Mari unwittingly releases El Cocodrillo, a malevolent spirit intent on bringing bad luck to everyone he touches. Mari must seek out her family history and traditions, risking being seen as very Cuban, if she doesn't want to spend the rest of her life with the worst luck possible.

Mari is the least superstitious book character I've ever read about. Most protagonists, upon seeing magical realism, shake their heads and try to convince themselves it can't possibly be real. Mari goes through no such phase and instead simply knows it can't be real. Until it is. That felt weird to me and threw off a lot of the first half of the book, but I can appreciate the other elements, including friendships breaking under the strain of so much bad luck, family being overprotective and embarrassing, Mari learning how to define a microaggression, and a really cool magic system. This wasn't a perfect read for me, but it was fun and thought-provoking.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Thank you HarperCollins, Harper Audio, and NetGalley for the advanced electronic audio review copy of this wonderful book. I really enjoyed this fabulous story based on Cuban mythology. I am so happy to see more mythology books becoming available not just to the YA, but also to the middle grade readers. The book focuses on family, culture, traditions, and learning who you are as part of the family’s culture and traditions. A fun read I definitely recommend!

Mari has decided this year she is not going to do the burning of the effigy her Abuela makes for her at new year’s. She is tired of being teased for her Cuban decent and ways. But when she doesn’t burn her effigy she and her friends start having bad luck, really bad luck. So, the clock is ticking for the friends to break the curse but Mari learns of a special gift some in her family posses as does she of being able to call on her ancestors, but can they help Mari fight of the curse of El Cocodrilo before Mari loses everything including her friends.
This was a fun book to listen to I really liked the characters a lot. I also love learning about different places and their lore, ceremonies and ways of life through these books. This one will be good for reluctant readers as well but does have some Spanish words mixed in. I hope we see Mari and her friends again.

This was a very nice middle grade book on the acceptance of yourself and culture. I loved the main character and her journey to discover that she is enough. I also really enjoyed the Cuban heritage pieces and getting to learn about different cultures.

Cuevas, Adrianna, Mari and the Curse of the Cocodrilo. Pgs.256. HarperCollins, 2023
12-year-old Maricela feels embarrassed by her family ’s Cuban American traditions. Her neighbor’s racist bullying of her doesn’t help. As a result, on New Year’s, Maricela refuses to participate in one of her family’s traditions. When Cocodrilo shows up as a mark on her arm, she soon starts having nightmares, she finds maggots in her food, starts having really bad luck, and a creeping shadow starts leaving her ominous messages. Then her friend, Keisha, has the same mark appear. Soon, she discovers that she can communicate with her ancestors through writing. Can Maricela and Keisha find a way to stop the curse of the cocodrilo once and for all?

The dynamic, action-filled plot is well-written and engaging. The characters are easy to relate to and sympathize with. The plot twists and turns caused by the curse escalate and keeps readers wanting to see what happens. The main character is Cuban American and the other characters are diverse. Fans of Rick Riordan, mythology, fantasy, and horror will want to pick this one up. Gr 5 to 9, 5 stars

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE the uptick in middle grade mythology from all over the world. This is the first Cuban culture/mythology that I have had the pleasure of reading and I LOVED it. If you want a wild misadventure that is riddled with bad luck, this is the novel for you! If you liked A Series of Unfortunate Events, this is a novel for you for sure.

Mari is tired of defending her Cuban culture to the bullies at school. But no one at school is a bigger bully than her own neighbor McKenzie. When Mari sees McKenzie about to record her family's tradition of burning effigies at midnight on New Years, Mari would rather chock on 12 grapes that be caught on camera. Mari pockets her effigy and things start to get twisted from there. Can Mari team up with her friends and family to learn more about her family' magic and defeat the curse of el cocodrilo or will she be subject to bad luck the rest of her life?

What I loved most: the use of Spanish - Mari speaks English back when her family speaks Spanish to her. It's a super well balanced Spanish inclusive text. Mari is an angsty teen and I can appreciate that in a protagonist. The culture and folklore in this story mixed with historical events and based off real tragedies. For example, one of Mari's ancestors drowned trying to get from Cuba to the United States. Generational voices are heard in this novel and I love and appreciate it!

Mari and the Curse of El Cocodrilo is a great adventure book with a slight twist of spooky. It was a great book and I learned about a culture that was different than mine. I feel like many of our students would enjoy picking up this book to uncover the mystery of the curse that Mari and a friend are going through.

An imaginative story with am engaging, relatable main character! Maria's journey to find herself and her identity is one we can all connect with. A great mix of family, warmth, and style creepier moments mixed in.

Did not finish at 43%. Unfortunately this book was just not for me. I don't think the author did anything wrong per se, but I just couldn't connect with the story or the characters. I also think it would have been helpful for the author to explain some of the Spanish dialogue more. I loved that this was included and was a great way to show the expression of the family's culture, however I felt like I was missing out on parts because I did not know what was being said. I think explaining what was said in Spanish would have helped clue me in more.

When Mari doesn't fulfill a Cuban New Years Eve tradition out of embarrassment, she unwittingly brings El Cocidrilo and a bad luck curse into her life. She also discovers she can call forth dead relatives by writing about them. Together, with her ancestors and best friends, Mari means how to embrace her peak Cubanity.

I loved this. It was just a little creepy while also having a lovely family centric message.

This book was FANTASTIC! IT is perfect for any middle grade classroom. It was fantasy that would engage many students with the suspense and incorporation of fantastical elements. It was also just the right amount of scary at times without being too much for the target age. It included multiple layers and examples of Cuban culture and Spanish words and phrases. This cultural element would create a space for Cuban American readers to make connections and everyone else to learn about this amazing culture and history. The Spanish words and phrases add a lot to the stories authenticity. The theme of identity and loving yourself, your family, and your culture even when it is different than the majority was done so well. Trying to figure out where you fit in and what parts of you to show your peers is a universal middle grades feeling and many readers will connect to that part of they story. The author taught culture, history, and life lessons without the reader really knowing they were learning those things because the action and suspense of the story was so well done. Highly recommend and think this will become a middle grades favorite.

“What the frijoles?”
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Mari Feijoo is all for celebrating the New Year; she just wish her Cuban family wouldn’t do it so loudly. In an act of rebellion against her family’s tradition, Mari doesn’t burn the effigy her abuela makes for the new year. Instead she hides it away and this is marked with the curse of El Cocodrilo. Bad luck now follows Mari around and she can’t seem to shake it, even with the help of her friend Juan Carlos and Keisha. It’s not until Mari learns more about her heritage, ancestors and Cuban culture can she begin to heal and love herself.
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For those who don’t know this is an @adriannacuevas stan account now and forever. Her latest MG book reminded me a lot of her first release The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez, which I loved. Fans of the Charlie Hernandez series will enjoy this one as well. However the reason I loved it the most is because you could see Adriana on every page. From Mari’s love of hockey to the fencing elements to the Cuban traditions and history, this novel seemed to be a very personal homage to Adriana’s upbringing and her family’s Cuban lineage. But like Mari, Adriana is so much more than just where her family is from. She also makes sure to include the things she loves that kids love as well: gross bugs & animals, a spooky story and a strong female lead that I adored. The inclusion of Spanish in this book is also going to be a big hit with my students. This title releases October 3. Preorder now!

CW: bugs/insects/snakes, etc., microaggressions, racism, violence, bullying