Starlight Book Review – Ann Dávila Cardinal’s The Storyteller’s Death 🇵🇷

Cover of The Storyteller’s Death on a dark chartreuse background | Image Source: Goodreads

Regional U.S.A. (RUSA) Tour Stellar Reading Challenge – Bonus – Puerto Rico

3.8/5 After I posted my last review for the World Tour Stellar Reading Challenge (SRC), I realized I still owed my Gnomies one more Starlight Book Review (SBR) for the RUSA SRC. Initially, the idea of reading something set in a U.S. Territory thrilled me. Since the Book Girls’ Guide inspired this SRC region, I also looked to them for direction on reading. Check them out by clicking here. This, of course, led me to discovering Ann Dávila Cardinal’s The Storyteller’s Death. I chose to read with my ears with the copy narrated by Marisol Ramirez that I purchased on Audible.

Learn more about these 2023 SRC by clicking here.

Click here to discover more about 2024 SRC.

Trigger Warnings (TW): Mention of suicide, racism, colorism, classism 

“From International Latino Book Award-winning author Ann Dávila Cardinal comes a gorgeously written family saga about a Puerto Rican woman who finds herself gifted (or cursed?) with a strange ability.… There was always an old woman dying in the back room of her family’s house when Isla was a child…Isla Larsen Sanchez’s life begins to unravel when her father passes away. Instead of being comforted at home in New Jersey, her mother starts leaving her in Puerto Rico with her grandmother and great-aunt each summer like a piece of forgotten luggage… When Isla turns eighteen, her grandmother, a great storyteller, dies. It is then that Isla discovers she has a gift passed down through her family’s cuentistas. The tales of dead family storytellers are brought back to life, replaying themselves over and over in front of her… At first, Isla is enchanted by this connection to the Sanchez cuentistas. But when Isla has a vision of an old murder mystery, she realizes that if she can’t solve it to make the loop end, these seemingly harmless stories could cost Isla her life.”

Once I finished my library books and began reading The Storyteller’s Death, I read this book with ease. Isla passed the “Dad Test” of sympathetic character, so much so that I cringed right along with her at her mother’s various gaffes. I liked how the author showed Isla’s grieving process. Cardinal set the scenes well enough that I saw that parts took place in Puerto Rico. Yet, I found the ending too tidy. Yet, the author evoked a strong sense of both Puerto Rico and New Jersey. I recommend this to fans of magical realism.

Quotes come from book flaps/cover and are featured on color blocks.

RUSA Tour SRC Bonus Stop #2 – U.S. Territories/ Puerto Rico 🇵🇷 🇺🇸

Badge for RUSA Stellar Reading Challenge (SRC) Bonus Stop #2- U.S. Territories/ Puerto Rico| © Starry Night Elf

Our travels through Bonus category, the U.S. Territories, of the Regional U.S.A. (RUSA) Tour Stellar Reading Challenge (SRC) continue, Gnomies.

Click here to read more about RUSA Tour SRC.

We cruise from the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) to Puerto Rico, known as the “Island of Enchantment.” This territory earned its nickname for its “sandy beaches, palm trees, and tropical breezes make it a favorite getaway for the sun-and-surf crowd” (Moon Travel Guides). The U.S. acquired Puerto Rico from Spain in 1898 after the Spanish American War. Puerto Ricans became U.S. citizens in 1917 and President Harry S Truman signed the Puerto Rico Commonwealth Bill in 1950. Being a Commonwealth enabled Puerto Rico to create their own constitution as well as some say over local matters.

Read a book set in the Island of Enchantment to earn the badge within this post. If you selected a place in Puerto Rico as your spot in the Local Tour SRC, said book can count towards both challenges.

Learn more about the Local Tour SRC by clicking here.

What are some books set in the Island of Enchantment, Gnomies?

Only One Bonus Read ( 1 book) is needed to earn the Bonus Badge but feel free to read more.

Select Bibliography (Phrases Linked)

• The Book Girls’ Guide – Books Set in the U.S. Territories
• Moon Travel Guides – Puerto Rico, the “Island of Enchantment”

Starlight Book Review – José Andrés’ We Fed an Island…

Across the USA Stellar Reading Challenge — Spot #44 — Puerto Rico

3.9/5 I was thrilled to discover that José Andrés wrote We Fed an Island: The True Story of Rebuilding Puerto Rico, One Meal at a Time. As I was in the Houston area and working with those suffering in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, this gave me an opportunity to read something about the devastation wreaked by Maria in Puerto Rico for the Across the USA Stellar Reading Challenge (SRC).

“The true story of how a group of chefs fed hundreds of thousands of hungry Americans after Hurricane Maria and touched the hearts of many more… Chef José Andrés arrived in Puerto Rico four days after Hurricane Maria ripped through the island. The economy was destroyed and for most people there was no clean water, no food, no power, no gas, and no way to communicate with the outside world… Andrés addressed the humanitarian crisis the only way he knew how: by feeding people, one hot meal at a time. From serving sancocho with his friend José Enrique at Enrique’s ravaged restaurant in San Juan to eventually cooking 100,000 meals a day at more than a dozen kitchens across the island, Andrés and his team fed hundreds of thousands of people, including with massive paellas made to serve thousands of people alone.. At the same time, they also confronted a crisis with deep roots, as well as the broken and wasteful system that helps keep some of the biggest charities and NGOs in business… Based on Andrés’s insider’s take as well as on meetings, messages, and conversations he had while in Puerto Rico, We Fed an Island movingly describes how a network of community kitchens activated real change and tells an extraordinary story of hope in the face of disasters both natural and man-made, offering suggestions for how to address a crisis like this in the future… Beyond that, a portion of the proceeds from the book will be donated to the Chef Relief Network of World Central Kitchen for efforts in Puerto Rico and beyond.”

I admire Andrés’ passion and efforts to help those in need in Puerto Rico. I liked reading about the food he served and how he didn’t let much get in his way in order to aid. I agreed with many reviews regarding formatting, structure, and the actual book. Check Goodreads reviews here. I highly recommend his TED Talk which can be viewed here.

Quotes come from book flaps/cover and are featured on color blocks.