Tightly paced, Tor’s adventure concludes with a promise of more to come. Pages from The Book of Cuentos fill the gaps between each chapter, providing island lore for flavor and context. What sets this series opener apart is the author’s exquisite use of real Latin American folktales to broaden her fiction, bolstering the particulars of the world she creates here. Aster’s debut includes the fruitful elements of a riveting tale: lovable characters, thrilling heroics, and villainous fiends. With two companions-Engle, his comically brave best friend, and Melda, an intelligent, cunning girl-Tor embarks on an adventure charted in The Book of Cuentos, a collection of folklore based on the various enchanting, cruel inhabitants-Emblemite and beast alike-of Emblem Island. Now the young boy must travel across Emblem Island to confront the wicked Night Witch and reverse the curse.

It’s the Night Witch’s mark, a black eye marked upon his skin. Alas, his wish backfires when he awakens the next day cursed with a shorter lifeline instead. New Year’s Eve has finally arrived on Emblem Island, and for 12-year-old Tor Luna, it means an opportunity to wish away the leadership emblem he so deeply loathes.Īmid the annual festivities, Tor casts his wish to the wish-gods in hopes of a new emblem-a marker on one’s skin-that will grant him the power to become a water-breather, forsaking the leadership path forged by his Chieftess mother.

Curse of the night witch by alex aster