You are about to read stories keenly true to time and place, yet so universal in theme that they are timeless. Superstitious townspeople, greedy men, a young girl looking for fame and love, a conflicted priest, and a reluctant husband live out their follies in the dusty villages and teeming cities of northeastern Brazil, home of rising Brazilian-American writer Luana Montiero.

A guitar-strumming young girl triumphs over her male opponents in a competitive ancient version of a poetry slam, only to find herself ensnared in a romantic trap. A luminous fish appears in an impoverished desert village and proceeds to perform questionable miracles on its desperate citizens. A handsome, sexually conflicted priest hears voices after drinking the water in a mining town. A city doctor finds that rural traditions get him into trouble of his own making. And a young Brazilian girl enamored of American television discovers that the United States is more complex than Saturday morning cartoons.

Little Star of Bela Lua announces the debut of a whimsical, wise writer whose lyrical prose and playful inventiveness illuminate a profound understanding of the human heart.