I loved this book! I have many Latinx students in my school that love the legend of La Llorona and I can't wait to share this book with them. Paola, the MC, along with her best friend Dante, fight all sorts of legendary beasts and demons from Latinx lore to save their friend Emma who has gone missing.

I love these Rick Riordan Presents books, and this one did not disappoint! Paola is a scientific mind who is embarrassed by her superstitious, tarot reading mother. But when her friend Emma goes missing and Pao is visited by a ghost, she realizes things may not always make sense. Maybe her mom was on to something after all. But can Pao and her friend Dante save Emma? Or will they die trying?

Paola Santiago and her mother live in a flat on the poor side of town, her mother is always telling her stories of La Llorana and other Hispanic myths. Paola is not supposed to go to the Gila river, but she and her friends like to hang out by the river. Then her friend, Emma, doesn’t show up when she is supposed to meet up with them and it appears that she has been kidnapped. Paola has a weird dream and then she and her friend Dante, are sent off on an adventure to save their friend, by his grandmother with a bag of gifts one on which includes her house slipper. Will they be able to find Emma and save her in time?
#PaolaSantiagoandtheRiverofTears #NetGalley

Paola is rigorously scientific, so she finds her mother's obsession with hokey rituals and folklore deeply embarrassing. Paola's own obsessions (everything from space travel to algae) mean she has precisely two friends: Dante and Emma. Then Emma becomes the latest in a series of children to vanish along the Gila River. All the adults think she drowned or was kidnapped, but Paola soon learns that the Gila leads to supernatural dangers. La Llorona. Chupacabras. Paola and Dante will have to face nightmares worse than any her mother recounted if they want to find Emma and keep their souls. Paola's application of logic to mythological horrors is a fun approach.

This latest entry from the Rock Riordan Imprint will appeal to a wide variety of readers, particularly fans of his Percy Jackson series. Mejia does a fantastic job weaving Latinx mythology with real world issues that will resonate with young readers. The multilayered, engaging story will have students eager for another book. Highly recommended.

When it comes to Mythology, the best stories have had heart, they’ve had compelling characters, and they’ve also tended to be longer reads. From Percy Jackson to the Kane Chronicles, from Dragon Pearl to Tristan Strong, I’ve been around the world and back with so many different cultures, so many characters, and so many traditions that I’ve felt overwhelmed more than once.

With Paola Santiago and the River of Tears, author Tehlor Kay Mejia did something different. Sure, I connected with Paola, Dante, and Emma from the first instant, but this book really raced along at breakneck speed. I’m trying so hard not to spoil some of the more delightful, shocking, and emotional moments in this book, but I was incredibly surprised by the level of fulfillment that such a relatively quick read could accomplish.

Unlike some of the other books in the Rick Riordan Presents imprint, this book didn’t overtly set up a sequel through its third act. However, because of the characters, the heart, and the charming nature of this book, I would love to return to this world in the future..

I feel extremely confident in recommending such an entertaining and moving middle-grade novel. Sometimes, a story just worked and there’s nothing else to say.

Turns out that reading about a child murdering ghost in the middle of what feels like a genuine apocalypse (hi there, COVID-19!) is a terrible idea. What I read of the book was perfectly fine (although I found the romance element tedious) , but it was just not the right book for me to be reading in the middle of all this fear, uncertainty, and sadness.

I LOVED this book. It’s exciting, has great characterization, it’s funny, and it hits that sweet “7th-9th” grade spot.

I highly recommend for any reader of fantasy, mythology, and magical realism.

I'm usually a fan of the Rick Riordan presents books...we have almost all of them...but this one just didn't do it for me. For the same mythology, the Charlie Hernandez series is actually a bit better.

I really enjoyed the beginning of this book. I found it hard in the middle but then it picked up at the end. Overall a fair book but not one of my faves in the Riordan presents.