Review: Paola Santiago and the River of Tears by Tehlor Kay Mejia

I am so happy I picked this book off my shelf on a whim yesterday! Paola Santiago and the River of Tears by Tehlor Kay Mejia follow Pao, an almost 7th grader on summer vacation. She is planning on spending her summer hanging out by the river with her two best friends Emma and Dante, eating junk food and lecturing on her most recent scientific fixation, trying not to worry about the change that will come when they go back to school. Pao's summer plans are turned upside-down after Emma goes missing; Pao must accept that maybe the only way to get Emma back is to believe in the folklore her mom has always claimed as real.

This book is truly a delight. Pao is an excellent main character. Her mind is deeply logical, only occasionally offset by her grappling to deal with her hotheaded nature, and she is fiercely loyal. Watching her mind work in a very scientific way is really excellent for character building and is just an incredibly fun way to interact with a fantasy adventure story. Little me would have related to Pao very hard. I like that Paola is not made to abandon her scientific aspirations when it turns out that she is very much in a world where the mythic is real.

Being a part of the Rick Riordan Presents imprint, you get the mythology-based adventure with witty kids and lots of laughter that you would expect! This is my third book from this imprint, and I have liked everything I have read so far! I am excited to catch up! This world is based in Mexican mythology, specifically La Llorona's story, a mother who walks the banks of a river searching for the children she drown. There are lots of other elements from Mexican mythology at play here, many that I would guess most readers will be familiar with, along with Mejia's own fantastic worldbuilding.

I love middle-grade adventure so much because of the friendships being so central to the narrative. That is certainly the case with this book. Pao is grappling with the fact that she has boy-girl weirdness with Dante and the fact that he has been spending an increasing amount of time with the boys from the soccer team and not her and Emma. With her relationship with Emma, she holds some jealousy due to Emma's family being clearly well off, and that makes Pao disappointed in herself. Both friendships are so interesting throughout the book; they are strong relationships despite the tensions that live within them. I really look forward to seeing where these relationships go in later books!

This story also deals with some very real-world serious issues. Paola encounters a racist officer when she is trying to report her friend missing, and she deals with the realities of being poor as a child. She also has some less serious issues to one her mind, her mom won't let her get a dog, she is embarrassed a little bit by her mother, she wants her life to hold still where she is comfortable and not continue to change around her.

I gave this book 4 stars on Goodreads and The StoryGraph. I would completely recommend this book to anyone who likes a good adventure story, even if you (like me) are clearly not in the age range targeted. Obviously, I will be trying to get any middle schoolers I should encounter to read this book. Friendship and an awesome adventure to save your best friend/the world, an excellent mix.