Days of the Dead

By the critically acclaimed author of Tyger Tyger, a warm, magical story of a girl’s struggle to keep a promise to her dead mother.

Glorieta Magdalena Davis Espinosa is happy that Papi married Alice. She’s happy that he can smile again after years of mourning Mamá. But the urn containing Mamá’s ashes disappeared into a drawer the day Alice moved in.

If everything about Glorieta’s life is going to change, then she wants one thing to go her way: She wants to hear stories about her mamá when the family gathers on the last night of los Días de los Muertos. And that can only happen if Tia Diosonita will allow Mamá to be buried with the Espinosas in holy ground. If she will allow people to speak Mamá’s name.

With the help of her best friend, River, and her cousin Mateo, Glorieta sets out to convince Diosonita that Mamá is not burning in Hell. To do so, she’ll have to learn to let hate go—and to love the people who stand in her way.

In prose that sparkles with magical undertones, author Kersten Hamilton weaves a tender story about grief, faith, and the redemptive power of love.

Kersten Hamilton was born in a trailer in High Rolls, New Mexico, and has worked as a ranch hand, a lumberjack, a census taker, and an archeological surveyor, and is now a full-time writer. She is the author of several picture books and many novels, including the middle grade Gadgets and Gears series and the critically acclaimed young adult trilogy The Goblin Wars. She splits her time between her home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and her farm in Kentucky.

Praise for the Goblin Wars trilogy by Kersten Hamilton

"Laced with humor, packed with surprises and driven by suspense, the plot grabs readers from the start using the stylistic tactics of the best fantasy writing. . . . Buy this novel for readers of Franny Billingsley and Dia Calhoun as well as fans of urban fantasy."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Ancient Irish myths and legends mix and mingle with the modern world in this fast-paced fantasy. . . . Hamilton has created characters who are quirky and complex. Their stories are tightly woven together and riveting, and readers will look forward to the next installment in the series."—School Library Journal, starred review

"Hamilton seamlessly blends magic and realism....The searing chemistry between Tea and Finn will have romance fans swooning"—Bulletin?

"Brimming with heroism, violence, romance, and tragedy. . . . This will more than satisfy series fans—it will make them laugh, fill them with wonder, and uplift them in the end."—Booklist Online

Praise for Gadgets and Gears by Kersten Hamilton

A Winter 2013–2014 Indie Next Pick

"Fast paced and funny, with plenty of alliteration and word definitions provided by Noodles, it carries hints of both Lemony Snicket's wordplay and the absurdity of M. T. Anderson's Pals in Peril series. . . . Young, precocious readers and older readers looking for a shorter read will enjoy this first title in the Gadgets and Gears series."—Booklist

“Hamilton makes the comedic most of her premise. . . . Noodles's antics and droll, mannered narration make him the indisputable star of this show." —Publishers Weekly

"Steampunk with training wheels for the chapter book set. . . . Sly humor . . . nifty, gear-laden illustrations . . . [an] imaginative, engaging premise."—Kirkus Reviews