The death of loved ones is not just a loss to Isla Sanchez, but the trigger for some other bad or undesirable circumstance. As loved ones die in her life, she braces herself for whatever terrible thing is coming next. . .an expectation that makes one rather jumpy.

Since her father's death in her childhood in New Jersey, Isla has been trundled off to Puerto Rico where her mother's people live. She stays with relatives every summer while her mother returns to her job and "freedom" from being a mother. Resentment against her less than maternal mother grows within Isla as her bonds with her culture and extended family members grow, creating a rift that seems wider with every year. By age 18 she's sure that reach is unfixable. . .and then the "Storyteller" - her grandmother (abuela) dies.

This is where Isla's gift is received, and the story truly begins.

An enjoyable read, which fell into line with my own beliefs of stories that pass down from ancestors - memories that live in our dna and genes and shape who "we" were, are and will be, unless we do something about it. Intentionally.

*A sincere thank you to Ana Davila Cardinal, Sourcebooks Landmark, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and independently review.*

The Storyteller's Death, set in New Jersey and Puerto Rico, is a novel of magical realism, culture, and murder. As Isla's widowed mother comforts herself with rum in their New Jersey home, Isla is shuttled between her home and long summers with her mother's family in Puerto Rico. When Isla's grandmother passes and Isla turns 18 she begins to hear and see her grandmother's stories come alive, Mystery enters the plot when one of Isla's images includes a gun shot. The Storyteller's Death is a detailed coming-of-age-novel that embraces family.

This was a captivating family saga filled with lush writing and full characters. This book is perfect for people who love family focused stories that really highlight how imperfect families can be and how family secrets--when delved into--can really bring people together.

I enjoyed this novel. It kept me engaged and the main character was likable. I would definitely read more by this author.

The Storyteller’s Death by fellow Puerto Rican, Ann Dávila Cardinal, is a family saga with magical realism elements about identity and heritage, grief, generational trauma, as well as oral tradition and the importance of storytelling to preserve legacy and history. Something that stood out to me about this book was the way that the topic of the diaspora experience didn’t overshadow the struggles of Puerto Rico as a whole. I tend to be a little hesitant when picking up books that center the Puerto Rican diaspora experience because, while the feeling of not belonging neither here nor there, or of leaving the island in pursuit of a dream, is a very real and valid experience, oftentimes it can come across as ignorant to the struggles that Puerto Ricans that remain on the island face on a daily basis, like the battle against colonization and gentrification, and the myriad of problems that come with those two things, ranging from racism to poverty, lack of clean water and electricity, the displacement of locals and destruction of natural resources, etc. The Puerto Rican experience comes in many forms, but for me, one cannot remain ignorant to the struggles of Puerto Rico as a whole when talking about what is a personal experience/struggle. The Storyteller’s Death did a fantastic job at highlighting our culture and acknowledging the diaspora experience while also shining light upon the struggles of Puerto Ricans on the island and that is very special to me. I highly encourage you to give this book a read!

The Storyteller's Death was an interesting book full of magical realism and multi-generational lore. I found myself entranced with some parts of the book and the mystery aspect that Isla uncovered was an added bonus. This was a book out of my usual comfort zone and I still enjoyed it.

Isla loses her grandmother who was a storyteller and she receives the same family gift. Isla discovers what this gift is and we join her on this chaotic journey. Wonderful, passionate storytelling and excellent characters. A family saga about secrets and ties that bound a family together. A very creative and imaginative story.

Disclaimer: Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for this review copy and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The Storyteller's Death is a beautifully written mystery/family saga with a distinctly Puerto Rican cultural flavor written by Ann Dávila Cardinal. Released 4th Oct 2022 by Sourcebooks on their Landmark imprint, it's 336 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats.

There are a lot of interesting and appealing aspects of this YA(-ish) novel. Isla is a relatable and engaging young woman. She's certainly written sympathetically, acquiring a blessing/curse of visions with the death of her grandmother when she turned 18. The prose is sublime, often poetic, and precise. The book touches on Puerto Rican culture, and MC Isla is half PRican, through her mother's family. As is, apparently, the author. She has a foot in both worlds, spending most of her life in the USA and summers with her maternal family in PR.

There's an interesting tie-in subplot. Isla's visions give her glimpses of the past, including an unresolved death from long ago. My only complaints (and they're minor) are how straightforward the action and plot development are. There are almost no missteps, no red herrings, and whenever she needs to find a piece of information, it presents itself without delay or frustration.

Four stars. This would make an excellent choice for a book club group read, and indeed the author and publisher have included numerous discussion prompts for readers' use. Also recommended for public library acquisition.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

A coming-of-age story that explores a family's inability to reckon with the past, The Storyteller's Death is a beautifully written work of magical realism.

Isla Sanchez has never really felt like she had a home. So when she's taken to her great-aunts in Puerto Rico after her father's death, it's a chance to develop community - but not with a young boy named Jose, who her great-aunt discourages her from seeing. Why? Because his skin is dark.

As the novel unfolds, you start to find out WHY she acts this way and the racism Afro-Latinos experience from Puerto Ricans of European descent is prominent throughout the book.

A story of redemption, I would certainly read more of Cardinal's work in the future.

This book has one of the most interesting and intriguing storyline/plot's I've read in years. It's a quick read, and easily devoured in one or two sittings (pending on your reading style). This book gave me fantasy, a little mystery, and all in all just an enjoyable read. Would definitely recommend.

3.5 rounded up.

Ann Cardinal is a brilliant storyteller. I loved this book. The voice is particularly strong and it's a beautifully crafted story.

Mystical, masterful storytelling by award-winning writer Ann Dávila Cardinal. Her first adult novel, the Puerto Rican magical realist mystery “The Storyteller’s Death” explores themes of loss, blessings, ancestry and mystery.

Oh, how I wanted to love this book. The plot was great, but the execution did not do it justice. Too many cooks spoil the broth, which was the case in how The Storyteller's Death ended. The book started off really well but fell flat towards the middle. The way the concept of racism was introduced also felt forced to me. I rated this a 2.5 star.

A big thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an arc of this book.

This title just didn't work for me. I have several reading friends who loved it and hope it will be well-received. The underlying premise is wonderful, but I just couldn't feel connected to the narrator's voice.

An excellent, intriguing, and well written book with magic realism and coming age elements.
I loved it since the first pages and was enthralled and kept turning pages.
A story about storytelling, a young woman meeting her gift and her future.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Real Rating: 4.5* of five, rounded down

A young-adult fantasy-with-mystery that utterly charmed me. When Isla's unusual ability to recall, if that's the word, the stories of her family's past. If it involved one of her ancestors, she can see it! Like she was there! What a fascinating, and honestly useful, paranormal ability to have. She's got a window into her family's past that could be hugely important because, well, History is nothing but His Story and isn't it the greatest thing ever when Her Story can be told?! I was so excited!

"Reality" had to intervene, stupid boring reality!, just like it always does...not everything that happened in the past was pretty. We know this, but Isla can see it because her abuelita, on her death, passed the mantle of being a cuentista, Story-Woman, to her. Suddenly Isla's mother's sad descent into alcohol abuse and her consequent abandonments of Isla with her grandmother in Puerto Rico made more sense...it's never explicitly said, but Isla's mother seems like someone who really couldn't handle the very dark gift of becoming a cuentista. Isla's painful childhood of betrayal and loss and coping with mental illness's consequences uniquely prepares her to cope with the true burden of Remembering her family's history. And it gives her the strength to right old wrongs.

What a great idea, right?! And what a great market to target with this message, that everything that happens to you can be used to build something wonderful if you use it that way; something I truly wish more people were taught from little on up to spike the victim gun we tend to hold at our own heads. Isla's struggles with grief...her own, her mother's...at her father's early death were not dwelt on or minimized. Her mother's ongoing struggles with alcoholism are honestly, forthrightly presented as the major issue they can't help but be, yet aren't sensationalized or pounded into dust as the hobby-horse gets ridden. I was completely delighted with the storytelling voice, as well. In all, this sounds like a five-star rave, doesn't it...so why's there a "4" in front of the "5"?

Because, in service of speed I suppose, Isla faces next to no obstacles in her quest to understand the decidedly mixed blessing of becoming a cuentista. Anyone she needs to speak to, they're still alive and they're available now and they're eager to help. Hmm, that's a bit too easy...then there's the underexamined role of colonialism (internalized and not) inherent in stories about Puerto Rico's past and how that impacts her grandmother's growing up, her mother's choices, the whole kit and caboodle. The stories and their injustices were, it's true, redolent with the issues of racism and colorism, but these factors could have benefited from some further reflection in Isla's viewpoint's evolution. It's a small niggle. And it's way more than outweighed by the delight I felt in immersion into a family whose language world is Spanish-inflected English. This is something I very much enjoy and, while I'm bringing it up to you as a positive, there are readers who won't feel comfortable with it and thus might make their decision to read the story or not on that factor.

On the whole I wish they would take the plunge and get the book from the library. Try the waters! There's nothing to lose except a small investment of time in that case. The strong possibility, in my view, of broadening one's horizons a bit more is well worth the risk. It's a lovely story and Cuentista Dávila Cardinal has the chops to bring you along on one really excellent ride.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark, Netgalley and the author for an ARC of this book. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is a intricate story, culturally enlightening and with a little mysticism thrown in. I thought the beginning was a little slow but, once the story got going, it was interesting. The writing is very evocative and the depictions of Puerto Rican society and culture were revealing in a way I was not expecting.

There are themes of family, belonging and secrets. A well-written and engaging story.

Such a rich story to get lost in. I enjoyed it! I enjoyed how everything tied together by the end. Watching a character grow is always one of my favorite things.

This was my first read by Cardinal and she truly immerses you into the culture and life of Isla. This story is about stories and is told so beautifully. You truly feel like you are transported and forget to even set the book down. One of my tops reads this year.

The Storyteller's Death captured some of my favorite things in a book - coming of age tales, family strife, and a little mystical realism. Even though Isla was a younger narrator, I liked her voice more than I usually enjoy YA narrated books. The connections with family, the story arc surrounding a family mystery, and the history of the island's people were all things I enjoyed reading about.