The Last Cuentista
By: Donna Barba Higuera
4.07
Format: 320 pages, Hardcover
There lived a girl named Petra Peña, who wanted nothing more than to be a storyteller, like her abu…
Want to Read $ 5.99"Suma's eyes are still closed, and I can't tell if she's trying to forget, or to remember. Maybe stories are there to help us do both. I know stories can't always have happy endings. But if there are chances for us to do better, we have to say out loud the parts that hurt the most."-Donna Barba Higuera, The Last Cuentista
If you liked the middle grade plot in The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera , here is a list of 21 books like this:
1. The Last Mapmaker
By: Christina Soontornvat
4.15
Format: 368 pages, Hardcover
A high-seas adventure set in a Thai-inspired fantasy world. As assistant to Mangkon’s most celeb… read more
Want to Read $ 2.99Similar categories in Christina Soontornvat's The Last Mapmaker book and Donna Barba Higuera's The Last Cuentista
- childrens
- adventure
- middle grade
- young adult
- fiction
- fantasy
- audiobook
"I couldn't see it then, but I could see it now. I opened my eyes, releasing another stream of tears. I had been trying so hard to run from my past. But the past was like mottlefish ink. Even if it fa…"-Christina Soontornvat, The Last Mapmaker
2. The Eyes and the Impossible
By: Dave Eggers
4.25
Format: 256 pages, Hardcover
The illustrated story of a dog who unwittingly becomes a hero to a park full of animals. Johanne… read more
Want to Read $ 10.99Similar categories in Dave Eggers's The Eyes and the Impossible book and Donna Barba Higuera's The Last Cuentista
- childrens
- adventure
- middle grade
- fiction
- fantasy
- audiobook
"What monster would turn up his snout at the thought-through help of all the friends he had?"-Dave Eggers, The Eyes and the Impossible
"Every reasonable creature knows that the worst thing any creature can do all day is think of themselves. If there are troubles in your mind, you should think first of the troubles of others; it is th…"-Dave Eggers, The Eyes and the Impossible
3. Freewater
By: Amina Luqman-Dawson
4.18
Format: 416 pages, Hardcover
A middle-grade novel about two enslaved children’s escape from a plantation and the many ways they … read more
Want to Read $ 7.99Similar categories in Amina Luqman-Dawson's Freewater book and Donna Barba Higuera's The Last Cuentista
- childrens
- adventure
- middle grade
- young adult
- fiction
- audiobook
"Lord only knows how many of us they keep from running. How many of us stay in these hateful places out of love. I used to think it was from scaring us - beating, cutting, or whipping us that did it. …"-Amina Luqman-Dawson, Freewater
4. Alone
By: Megan E. Freeman
4.14
Format: 404 pages, Hardcover
When twelve-year-old Maddie hatches a scheme for a secret sleepover with her two best friends, she … read more
Want to Read $ 8.99Similar categories in Megan E. Freeman's Alone book and Donna Barba Higuera's The Last Cuentista
- childrens
- adventure
- middle grade
- young adult
- dystopia
- fiction
- science fiction
5. The Mona Lisa Vanishes: A Legendary Painter, a Shocking Heist, and the Birth of a Global Celebrity
By: Nicholas Day
4.15
Format: 288 pages, Hardcover
A propulsive work of narrative nonfiction about how the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre, how t… read more
Want to Read $ 9.99Similar categories in Nicholas Day's The Mona Lisa Vanishes: A Legendary Painter, a Shocking Heist, and the Birth of a Global Celebrity book and Donna Barba Higuera's The Last Cuentista
- middle grade
- childrens
- audiobook
"Leonard da Vinci had painted the Mona Lisa. But Vincenzo Perugia had turned it into The Mona Lisa."-Nicholas Day, The Mona Lisa Vanishes: A Legendary Painter, a Shocking Heist, and the Birth of a Global Celebrity
"The Lourve, he concluded, with an insult designed to puncture French pride, "is less well protected than a Spanish museum."-Nicholas Day, The Mona Lisa Vanishes: A Legendary Painter, a Shocking Heist, and the Birth of a Global Celebrity
"If the Mona Lisa is the most famous face in art history, Les Demoiselles is a hatchet thrown at it. It's not a pretty painting. Its brutal and uncomfortable."-Nicholas Day, The Mona Lisa Vanishes: A Legendary Painter, a Shocking Heist, and the Birth of a Global Celebrity
"Word of his midnight activities gets out. 'The pope has found out that I have skinned three corpses,' Leonardo writes in his notebook. He gets off easy. He's simply told: please stop skinning corpses."-Nicholas Day, The Mona Lisa Vanishes: A Legendary Painter, a Shocking Heist, and the Birth of a Global Celebrity
6. The Lost Year
By: Katherine Marsh
4.50
Format: 368 pages, Hardcover
A middle-grade survival story that traces a family secret back to the Holodomor, a terrible famine … read more
Want to Read $ 8.99Similar categories in Katherine Marsh's The Lost Year book and Donna Barba Higuera's The Last Cuentista
- childrens
- middle grade
- young adult
- family
- fiction
- audiobook
7. A First Time for Everything
By: Dan Santat
4.39
Format: 320 pages, Hardcover
A middle grade graphic memoir based on bestselling author and Caldecott Medalist Dan Santat's awkwa… read more
Want to Read $ 9.99Similar categories in Dan Santat's A First Time for Everything book and Donna Barba Higuera's The Last Cuentista
- middle grade
- childrens
8. A Rover's Story
By: Jasmine Warga
4.28
Format: 320 pages, Hardcover
A middle grade novel about the journey of a fictional Mars rover. Meet Resilience, a Mars rover… read more
Want to Read $ 9.99Similar categories in Jasmine Warga's A Rover's Story book and Donna Barba Higuera's The Last Cuentista
- childrens
- adventure
- middle grade
- fiction
- science fiction
- audiobook
9. Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir
By: Pedro Martín
4.27
Format: 320 pages, Hardcover
A poignant, hilarious, and unforgettable graphic memoir about a Mexican-American boy’s family and t… read more
Want to Read $ 9.99Similar categories in Pedro Martín's Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir book and Donna Barba Higuera's The Last Cuentista
- middle grade
- childrens
- family
"It was like the driveway at Disneyland but with way more automatic weapons."-Pedro Martín, Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir
"I like to say that my stories are 100% true 90% of the time. My memory and my heart like to play tricks on each other. The results are what makes my stories."-Pedro Martín, Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir
10. Red, White, and Whole
By: Rajani LaRocca
4.43
Format: 224 pages, Hardcover
An #ownvoices novel in verse about an Indian American girl whose life is turned upside down when he… read more
Want to Read $ 9.99Similar categories in Rajani LaRocca's Red, White, and Whole book and Donna Barba Higuera's The Last Cuentista
- childrens
- middle grade
- young adult
- family
- fiction
- audiobook
"What does the sky do when the moon is gone forever?"-Rajani LaRocca, Red, White, and Whole
"We say goodbye to Amma. I am empty. I’ve been watching and saying goodbye for months."-Rajani LaRocca, Red, White, and Whole
"« We say goodbye to Amma. I am empty. I’ve been watching and saying goodbye for months. »"-Rajani LaRocca, Red, White, and Whole
"Her face is as bright as a full moon, always gentle, always changing, but predictable. Like our moon, she only shows us one face. The strong one."-Rajani LaRocca, Red, White, and Whole
11. Simon Sort of Says
By: Erin Bow
4.31
Format: 320 pages, Hardcover
Simon O’Keeffe’s biggest claim to fame should be the time his dad accidentally gave a squirrel a ho… read more
Want to Read $ 10.99Similar categories in Erin Bow's Simon Sort of Says book and Donna Barba Higuera's The Last Cuentista
- childrens
- middle grade
- young adult
- family
- fiction
- audiobook
"Dad picks Denver [to get his rabies shots], and he's totally fine, but he's going to be away for three days. "Just like Jesus," Mom says. I can hear the phone say, "Isobel!"-Erin Bow, Simon Sort of Says
"In the tabernacle did the [squirrel]--" "Eat the Host?" says Dad. "Yes he did." "And was it--" "Consecrated?" says Dad. "Yes it was." ... "What, uh, happened to the squirrel?" "That squirrel is now 3…"-Erin Bow, Simon Sort of Says
"The dog- Todd?- looks up from its leaking beer, puffs a sigh, then crosses the room to head-butt the fridge door closed. "Ummm" I manage "Did you see he got a--" "It's okay," she says. "He only has o…"-Erin Bow, Simon Sort of Says
12. The Last Cuentista
By: Donna Barba Higuera
4.07
Format: 320 pages, Hardcover
There lived a girl named Petra Peña, who wanted nothing more than to be a storyteller, like her abu… read more
Want to Read $ 5.99Similar categories in Donna Barba Higuera's The Last Cuentista book and Donna Barba Higuera's The Last Cuentista
- childrens
- adventure
- middle grade
- young adult
- dystopia
- fiction
- family
- science fiction
- fantasy
- audiobook
"Suma's eyes are still closed, and I can't tell if she's trying to forget, or to remember. Maybe stories are there to help us do both. I know stories can't always have happy endings. But if there are …"-Donna Barba Higuera, The Last Cuentista
13. Too Bright to See
By: Kyle Lukoff
4.13
Format: 192 pages, Kindle Edition
A haunting ghost story about navigating grief, growing up, and growing into a new gender identity … read more
Want to Read $ 8.99Similar categories in Kyle Lukoff's Too Bright to See book and Donna Barba Higuera's The Last Cuentista
- middle grade
- young adult
- fiction
- fantasy
- audiobook
"I've only known what that truth is for a morning, but can't imagine waiting another second to start the rest of my life as myself."-Kyle Lukoff, Too Bright to See
14. When You Trap a Tiger
By: Tae Keller
4.15
Format: 297 pages, Hardcover
Newbery Medal Winner (2021) Some stories refuse to stay bottled up... When Lily and her famil… read more
Want to Read $ 8.99Similar categories in Tae Keller's When You Trap a Tiger book and Donna Barba Higuera's The Last Cuentista
- childrens
- middle grade
- young adult
- family
- fiction
- fantasy
- audiobook
"I am a girl who sees invisible things, but I am not invisible."-Tae Keller, When You Trap a Tiger
"Does it get easier? Does the sadness go away? The sadness fades, yeah. Eventually. But the missing ... I don't know if that ever does."-Tae Keller, When You Trap a Tiger
"If you put things off for later, you'll never do them. They'll become harder and scarier, and one day you'll realize you've run out of time."-Tae Keller, When You Trap a Tiger
"It's hard to breathe. I know now: The moment when everything really falls apart--it's not during the big explosion. It's in the quiet after. And the feeling is not a shattering. Not quite"-Tae Keller, When You Trap a Tiger
15. Starfish
By: Lisa Fipps
4.46
Format: 256 pages, Hardcover
Ellie is tired of being fat-shamed and does something about it in this debut novel-in-verse. Eve… read more
Want to Read $ 8.99Similar categories in Lisa Fipps's Starfish book and Donna Barba Higuera's The Last Cuentista
- childrens
- middle grade
- young adult
- family
- fiction
- audiobook
"I'm a starfish, taking p all the room I want."-Lisa Fipps, Starfish
"I'm a starfish, taking up all the room I want."-Lisa Fipps, Starfish
"DNA doesn't make you family. Love does. Actions do."-Lisa Fipps, Starfish
"No matter what others say or do, embrace what makes you, you."-Lisa Fipps, Starfish
16. Maizy Chen's Last Chance
By: Lisa Yee
4.29
Format: 277 pages, Hardcover
Welcome to The Golden Palace! Maizy has never been to Last Chance, Minnesota. . . until now. Her… read more
Want to Read $ 8.99Similar categories in Lisa Yee's Maizy Chen's Last Chance book and Donna Barba Higuera's The Last Cuentista
- childrens
- middle grade
- family
- fiction
- audiobook
"When you're in a position to help, that means you're in a good place in your own life."-Lisa Yee, Maizy Chen's Last Chance
"Sometimes people don't know their dreams until they're in it. Other times, their dreams escape them because they are too busy being busy."-Lisa Yee, Maizy Chen's Last Chance
17. Iveliz Explains It All
By: Andrea Beatriz Arango
4.19
Format: 272 pages, Library Binding
How do you speak up when it feels like no one is listening? One girl takes on seventh grade while f… read more
Want to Read $ 7.99Similar categories in Andrea Beatriz Arango's Iveliz Explains It All book and Donna Barba Higuera's The Last Cuentista
- childrens
- middle grade
- young adult
- family
- fiction
- audiobook
"and it's important to stop, be kind to ourselves, and ask for help- ask for love."-Andrea Beatriz Arango, Iveliz Explains It All
"But you have to be somewhere I can find. You understand? Somewhere I can find. I nod, because I know what he is saying and what he is not saying. He can't find me if I'm not here. (p. 113 of the hard…"-Andrea Beatriz Arango, Iveliz Explains It All
"I am not okay, and sometimes I wish people wouldn't believe me when I say I am. I wish they would ask, just one more time, and I wish they wouldn't tiptoe around me like I'm a poem, so I could show t…"-Andrea Beatriz Arango, Iveliz Explains It All
18. Hummingbird
By: Natalie Lloyd
4.37
Format: 368 pages, Hardcover
Bestselling author Natalie Lloyd returns with her most personal book to date, a story about a girl … read more
Want to Read $ 10.99Similar categories in Natalie Lloyd's Hummingbird book and Donna Barba Higuera's The Last Cuentista
- childrens
- middle grade
- young adult
- family
- fiction
- fantasy
- audiobook
19. Jennifer Chan Is Not Alone
By: Tae Keller
4.17
Format: 277 pages, Hardcover
A story about a girl who is alienated by her friends . . . for believing in aliens. Sometimes m… read more
Want to Read $ 8.99Similar categories in Tae Keller's Jennifer Chan Is Not Alone book and Donna Barba Higuera's The Last Cuentista
- childrens
- middle grade
- young adult
- fiction
- science fiction
- audiobook
"I had to make her understand that this mattered--what people thought had everything to do with who she was. Because how do we know who we are without knowing our place in the world?"-Tae Keller, Jennifer Chan Is Not Alone
20. Unlawful Orders: A Portrait of Dr. James B. Williams, Tuskegee Airman, Surgeon, and Activist (Scholastic Focus)
By: Barbara Binns
3.62
Format: 320 pages, Hardcover
Barbara Binns presents the inspiring story of one man in his struggle for racial equality in the fi… read more
Want to Read $ 12.99Similar categories in Barbara Binns's Unlawful Orders: A Portrait of Dr. James B. Williams, Tuskegee Airman, Surgeon, and Activist (Scholastic Focus) book and Donna Barba Higuera's The Last Cuentista
- middle grade
- childrens
21. Ahmed Aziz's Epic Year
By: Nina Hamza
4.00
Format: 320 pages, Hardcover
An Indian Muslim #ownvoices debut about an underachiever who must start over in a new state with th… read more
Want to Read $ 9.49Similar categories in Nina Hamza's Ahmed Aziz's Epic Year book and Donna Barba Higuera's The Last Cuentista
- childrens
- middle grade
- family
- fiction
- audiobook
