Quetzalli's Last Song | Book Review

“That which you understand you call science. That which you don’t, you call magic.” 

When President Orains gets re-elected for a third term in 2025, the nation plunges into a second Civil War. Doomed for the Brazos camp, Brum Hesles, her two siblings, and her mother flee their home in the Houston archipelago overnight, leaving her father behind. Assisted by the Unity Forces, a resistance group fighting the new Great Republic’s regime, Brum reaches the safety of her mother’s ancestral home in the Oaxacan town of El Nidal. There, in the relative safety of her mysterious great-aunt’s house, she discovers a library brimming with strange manuscripts, artifacts, and the “musical” key to a world she thinks is safer than her own. 

Who is the heiress of Mitla? And what in Beydo’s name is the Flow? The fate of the Realms and the entire world might unexpectedly rest on the shoulders of an olive-skinned, teenage girl: Brum Hesles, the Keeper of Resonance. 

Quetzalli's Last Song is an upcoming novel by the author Desiree Calderon de Fawaz. I received an ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review. The book is getting released on 28th June 2021 and is available for pre-ordering right now. It is the first book in the Brum Hesles series and is the perfect combination of dystopian, SF, and fantasy!

The story is about a young girl named Brum. It starts when her family, leaving her father, moves to Mexico to stay safe from the ongoing Civil War. She and her two siblings, Tara and Remi, discover this library full of mysterious things in which they find this organ that plays music that helps them travel across the realms. They find out secrets about their family and their great-aunt and go on adventures. The book ends in sort of a cliff-hanger, and I cannot wait for the next book in this series which I think is set to be out late this year.

I liked this book a lot and wanted to finish it as soon as possible. The author's descriptions are just magnificent all throughout the book though sometimes they are unnecessary. She paints a beautiful portrait in the mind of the reader with her descriptions. There are also some beautiful illustrations gracing many pages.

The introductory chapters were stretched more than they needed to, but once you reach the part where they cross the realms, it becomes so interesting. There were a few phrases in other languages, mainly in Spanish, French, and Nahuatl, which were hard for me to understand since I do not have knowledge of any of those languages. Still, there is also a glossary at the back of the book, which helps you. The writing style was a bit like the flowery languages used in the book you read in school, but mostly it was a fun read.

I love reading books where the main characters are POC (People of Color), and this was one of those fantastic books. One of my personal favorite characters in this book happens to be Master Chan-e-Keh, from whom the starting quote happens to be from as well. I always love the ancient-have-all-knowledge type of characters in books, and he was one of them. Bru,

The book has various different kinds of creatures and is filled with so many adventures. I think kids of the age 10 - 16 who love fantasy novels will love this book. It's intriguing, and children can relate to the characters because Brum is 15 years old, and her sibling also seems to be between those age groups too. It's such a fun read, and I definitely recommend checking this book out!