Although I am unfashionably late to the Paola Santiago party, Tehlor Kay Mejia has written an incredible character and given a whole new audience of readers a mirror in which they can see themselves, their culture, and their heritage reflected. I thoroughly enjoyed taking this adventure with Paola and will be purchasing all three of her novels for my middle grades collections. A perfect companion for the fans of Percy Jackson or Tristan Strong, Pao will be a mainstay of the middle grades fantasy genre for years to come.

The second installment - My class and I just loved the first, and after a slower start, this book was just as enjoyable. The kids loved listening and found it rather scary. Excitement preceeded lunch time every day while we completed it!

Paola is not ready for another adventure. Her friendships are teetering, her mother is busy with a boyfriend, and the Dante's abuelita becomes ill. Paola must embark on another dark quest to help save her. Great magic and scares.

Tehlor Kay Mejia really knows how to write a book and drag you deep into the world. Paola is one of my favorite MG reads since the first book came out. I was sad when the split between her and her friends became such a huge thing and how she was left to deal with so much alone from her friends Dante and Emma, it broke my heart.
I was pulled in by the adventure and story with this edition of the Paola Santiago books, I can't wait to read the 3rd one soon.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me an advanced copy of this book to read and review.

This review is for two of the books in the series so will be reusing it for each one.
Another series that takes readers on fascinating adventures and a wonderful merging of folklore, mythology, and the modern world!! What I loved about them (and the next in the series as well):

oh-so relatable characters (flaws and all)
fast-paced and full of page-turners that will keep you reading
that merging of folklore, mythology, and the modern world (did I already mention something like that? Sorry!)
science vs superstition or how they can co-exist:)
La Llorona, chupacabras, visionary dreams that are too real for comfort, and more
spookiness all around yet comforting too
and so much more to enjoy
Pick up this series now…

thanks to netgalley for the digital review copies of the books

Oh how I LOVE Paola! And yes, I know this is a "middle grade" book, but I just can't stop with the Rick Riordan Presents line! After devouring the first book I couldn't wait to dive into this one and it did NOT disappoint! Being a South Texan I'm familiar with a lot of Mexican culture and tradition but each time I pick up these books I learn something new. Paola and her friends and their adventures never cease to draw me in and I can't wait for another book in this series! The focus on the inequality of gender, race, and socio-economic status is a welcome addition as it seems to be glossed over in a lot of other fiction books but is important when dealing with the true context of a people so I appreciate the author's inclusion of it. Overall this is an amazing book in an amazing series and I heartily recommend it!

Thank you to NetGalley, Disney Publishing Worldwide, and Rick Riordan Presents for the ARC in exchange for my unbiased review!

I really enjoyed this second book in the series. The pacing was a little slow at times but things were happening throughout the book that kept my attention.

I was sad at first to see how far apart Dante, Emma, and Pao had drifted from the first book. I was glad to see Emma be there for Pao when she needed her though and was so supportive throughout the rest of the book.

We were able to get some answers about Pao's dad in this book and Pao was able to get some answers to some questions she had about herself.

I'm looking forward to seeing where things will go in the next book.

I received this last year but never got to it because it was released the day after I got home from the hospital with my baby. I definitely overestimated my ability to read at the end of my pregnancy 🤣

I'm so glad I finally got to it though! I ended up buying a copy since I'm trying to collect and read all the books in the Rick Riordan presents series. I already read the first book in the series (Paola Santiago and the River of Tears) with book club. I ended up loving this one so much, I immediately ordered the third book (Sanctuary of Shadows) which just came out this month!

I definitely recommend this series, especially if you have a middle schooler! It deals with some serious topics like immigration, trauma/PTSD, absentee parents, coming out, and more with such care. I loved the way the series wrapped up.

I thought this was a super fun instlement in this series. Sort of like the last fallen star series. This book 2 def changed the game. It was a very informed read so much info was given to the audience in a very digestable away. In addition to the quest like element that was at the heart of this read. Like so many other books in this imprint this book also had a balance of friendship and family issues. This story also deals with the fall out from book 1. I am super excited for book 3!

Overall

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.

My Thoughts

- 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!).

A wonderful middle grade series. Have recommended it for order at multiple libraries. Looking forward to the third book in this series. The audiobooks are fabulous. Featured both novels on my middle grade summer reading list for 2022.

The second installment in this series was so good! I really enjoy Tehlor Kay Meja's writing and cannot get enough of Bruto (we definitely talk about Bruto).

This book was a huge WOW!

First off, I know it's a middle grade book, but it is genuinely scary.

And full disclosure, I didn't read the first book. I need to, because this one was pretty amazing. But I also feel I didn't need to because I figured out what was happening pretty quickly.

Pao is a seventh grade scientist who was swept into a supernatural adventure last summer. But now she just feels lonely. Her two best friends have become strangers, and her mom has started dating. Pao doesn't feel like she belongs. Everything is completely normal, except for the strange dreams she has been having ...

Suddenly, she and her friends are thrust back into a supernatural world of monsters and ghosts, a journey that thrusts Pao into an unsettling past.

I can't really tell you more without spoilers, but let me just say it was a well-paced, heartbreaking, scary read. I can't wait to read the next book in this series.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

A fun adventure story full of mythology! Paolo learns more about herself and her family in this page turning sequel. Questions are finally answered but even more are left unanswered leaving me wanting to read the final book in the trilogy!
The only problem that I have with this book is the same that I had with the first. If you dont have a basic understanding of the mythology and the lore, you will be confused. I was lucky to already have some knowledge but I feel that anyone who does not will be left wanting.
You could read this book without reading the first one but that would be a shame because you would be missing out on another great story.

No one word can describe this book! Like DAMN this book had me pull an all-nighter cause of all the action and drama. I was at the edge of my bed instead of my seat😂 The way the characters describe the world above made me laugh. Not that what I'm saying what Wren and Eve go through is funny cause it wasn't. What happens to them, in the beginning, is crazy wild but because it made me think of the Croods when they find out that there is a whole other world in the world they live in and their reactions to everything new. And that's how Wren and Eve were, bewildered and in awe of everything they were seeing. Throughout this entire book, I just wanted to hug Eve. Everything current and everything that had happened to her over the years had finally broken her. But instead of letting it all out by crying it all out or talking to someone, she let it out through violence. Not that I blame her because I too do the same thing. Not that I'm punching or beating people up but I do take my anger out on a wall or someone or completely ruin the room. And I know it's okay to cry but easier said than done. Same with Eve. She needed someone and she didn't have someone or she did but couldn't bring herself to tell Wren cause after years of keeping all that shit to herself and sucking it up it's not easy. And Wren I'm not saying what he told Eve at the Oracle was ok but I do see where he is coming from. He too has had a horrible life and the revelations that this book gives us are shocking but he also had advantages Eve didn't have. He didn't have to worry about survival as much as Eve did. She had to become something she didn't want to survive. As you can see I have a lot to say but this is a review not some 5-page essay for school.😂
Anyway,

Thank you Entangled Teen and Netgalley for the eARC!

(P.S And Jerri when I said don't kill Eve as Veronica did to Tris, I didn't mean that it was ok to practically kill the other character! Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!)

Also, I apologize for the review being so late I thought I posted it but U guess I only did in my dreams!😅

Tehlor Kay Mejia has made my childhood dreams come true by writing Paola into being!! I will read everything by this author. I love her stories! a great sequel!

I thought I reviewed this a while back. Oops. I really enjoyed this book. I am not familiar with Mexican folklore, so this book is a treat for me. It picks up where the first book left off. Themes in this book include socio-economic and racial differences with regard to healthcare treatment and treatment by the police. One of the characters -Emma- has come out and this brings in the gendered bathroom issues, along with other LGBTQ+ issues. This also brings up issues with Emma and Paola as Emma starts hanging out more with a new group of people. This book is appropriate for middle grades who might be struggling with any of these issues or to help them understand the issues from another point of view than their own.

The first installment of Paola Santiago was one of my favorite MG fantasy reads of 2020, so I was REALLY excited for the sequel! And Tehlor Kay Mejia definitely did it again. The way the characters are developed, the way their inner worlds come to life on the pages, the adventures they find themselves in, the way Mejia incorporates family and heritage and culture, the ways in which issues that face youth are incorporated into these fantasy worlds, the world-building itself: all brilliant. I have literally nothing even remotely critical to say about this one, and I remain a staunch supporter of everything Tehlor Kay Mejia touches. I can’t wait to see what’s next, for Paola and her friends and whoever else Mejia decides to create.

Thank you endlessly to the publisher and NetGalley for this advance copy!

How did I forget to review this? Better late than never. Paola Santiago and the Forest of Nightmares has just the right amount of suspense, mythology, and scares for most middle-grade readers.