EL MUNDO DE ZAPHIRAH

A 10-year-old Mexican girl discovers that she has another identity and another destiny in this debut Spanish-language fantasy novel.

Jimenagui employs a layered narrative structure in which a young woman, Zayeminc Baudé, presents readers with tales that her mother used to tell her. The action opens in 1957 as the title character, Zaphirah, awakens after hearing her name whispered by a fairy, who leads her to a magic portal. Zaphirah, a curious, sensitive only child, greatly misses her deceased grandmother, Edugel, who plays a critical role in the story as a storyteller, a source of knowledge, and a keeper of secrets. To Jimenagui’s credit, she creates an impressive world on the other side of the magic portal—Lizandria, with a wide array of wondrous inhabitants with their own distinct features and powers (including hummingbirds the size of ducks). Zaphirah learns that she’s the only one who can rescue Princess Amaranta, so she undergoes necessary training to do so. The author then inserts a lengthy flashback that recounts Amaranta’s doomed romance with a man named Caleg and a betrayal by former best friend and current evil witch Nela. During a confrontation between the rivals, readers may be surprised to see Nela use the offensive word “zorra” (literally “fox,” but colloquially used in Mexico as “bitch”), which seems inappropriate for the book’s intended audience, though perhaps justifiable in terms of shock value. Just as the narrative returns to the current situation in Lizandria, where forces amass themselves for a potentially epic battle, the action comes to a screeching halt as the author interrupts and addresses the reader directly: “¿Aún estás ahí?” (“Are you still there?”). Aside from the unresolved storylines in Lizandria, there remains much to explore back on Earth, including Zaphirah’s relationships with friends and enemies at school, the mystery of her father’s gruff behavior, and Caleg’s whereabouts. Occasional errors—primarily missing accent marks and improper elision of the preposition “a” in verb phrases—might set a bad example for young readers by reinforcing bad habits of spelling and grammar. Illustrator González provides a few striking black-and-white images.

An unevenly edited debut, but one that promisingly sets the stage for future volumes.