Storyteller's Death
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International Latino Book Award Gold Medal Winner!
"A beautiful book about family, memories, and the power of stories." --BuzzFeed
"Mystical, masterful storytelling." --Ms. Magazine
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.
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Ann Dávila Cardinal
Ann Dávila Cardinal is a Nuyorican author with eight published books. Her novels include the punk rock thriller, Hear the Dead, The Storyteller's Death, and We Need No Wings. Her story, "Her First Cruise Ship" appears in the Latine anthology, Something Followed us Home coming from Primero Sueño in September 2026. She also writes for children and young adults and teaches in the University of San Francisco's newest MFA in Writing program. She is a competitive powerlifter and part-time bookseller in Vermont.
More by Ann Dávila Cardinal
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