The Way to Rio Luna

Author: Zoraida Cordova

Publisher: Scholastic Inc.

Release Date: June 2, 2020

A fantastic, fun adventure for middle grade readers that will let them travel across the world as they fly through the pages.

Danny Monteverde has always believed in magic and even as he ages, he still believes. The books and stories he read with his sister, Pili, helped show him how amazing pixie dust and rabbit holes can be. Pili disappeared two years ago, and Danny has searched for her. He now believes she is waiting for him in Rio Luna, the enchanted land from their favorite fairy tales. Danny has spent most of his life in foster homes and knows there must be someone that wants him, his sister. Years pass and Danny starts to doubt she will come for him and he’s been silly to believe in fairy tales all these years. When he finds his favorite book in a library, he also finds a map to Rio Luna and hopefully his sister. The map takes him all around the world and he will stop at nothing to find his sister.

The Way to Rio Luna is a fun magical adventure for middle grade readers. Danny is a great main character that you can’t help but want to root for and see succeed in his quest to find his sister. Each day he must stay with the foster family, and you see how harsh they treat him, which makes it even more important that he finds his sister, the one person that actually cares for him. Even when he is at his lowest, he knows that Pili is out there and he will find a way to get to her. The story moved quickly and was full of adventure, action, suspense and all written at the appropriate level for its intended readers. My only complaint would be a few mature themes, toward the end with one character I felt could have been left out. Most likely younger readers won’t realize what is being said but as a mother I felt it didn’t need to be included. Other than that, I highly recommend this to middle grade readers for a fun adventure they will breeze through and enjoy from beginning to end.