Winner of the Newbery Medal—a brilliant journey through the stars, to the very heart of what makes us human.
“Gripping in its twists and turns, and moving in its themes — truly a beautiful cuento.”—
New York Times
Había una vez . . .
There lived a girl named Petra Peña, who wanted nothing more than to be a storyteller, like her abuelita.
But Petra’s world is ending. Earth has been destroyed by a comet, and only a few hundred scientists and their children — among them Petra and her family — have been chosen to journey to a new planet. They are the ones who must carry on the human race.
Hundreds of years later, Petra wakes to this new planet — and the discovery that she is the only person who remembers Earth. A sinister Collective has taken over the ship during its journey, bent on erasing the sins of humanity’s past. They have systematically purged the memories of all aboard — or purged them altogether.
Petra alone now carries the stories of our past, and with them, any hope for our future. Can she make them live again?
P R A I S E
“Clever and compelling … wonderfully subversive.”
—The Wall Street Journal
★ “This tale packs a wallop. Exquisite.”
—Kirkus Reviews (starred)
★ “Gripping, euphonious, and full of storytelling magic.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred)
★ “A strong, heroic character, fighting incredible odds to survive and protect others.”
—School Library Journal (starred)
WINNER
John Newbery Medal — Pura Belpré Award
BEST OF THE YEAR
TIME — Wall Street Journal — Minneapolis Star Tribune’s — Boston Globe — BookPage — Publishers Weekly — School Library Journal — Kirkus — Bank Street — Chicago Public Library — New York Public Library