A Second Chance on Earth

Starred review from July 15, 2024
In Vidal's YA debut, a grieving teen takes his father's ashes on a healing journey to Colombia. Marcos Cadena's life turns upside down when Papi unexpectedly dies in a motorcycle accident. On top of that, Marcos' closest friends leave Miami the summer before junior year of high school, and he struggles to cope with his grief. But resourceful, athletic Marcos soon finds solace in writing poetry and in the magical realism he finds in his father's old copy ofOne Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garc�a M�rquez. M�rquez lived in Cartagena, the city where Papi was born. Composed in verse, Marcos' story is warmly studded with memories of his loving dad--from the way Papi danced while he cooked to how he taught Marcos never to start a fight but to always defend himself. When Ma takes Marcos and his sister to Cartagena to pay a final tribute to his dad, Marcos meets Camilo, a teen cab driver with a tragic past who shares his affinity for Nobel laureate M�rquez. The boys become fast friends, exploring Cartagena and shooting hoops together--until a dark secret that Camilo initially hides from Marcos threatens their newfound bond, potentially putting both boys in danger. A responsible son, protective older brother, and caring friend, sensitive Marcos will win readers' hearts as he tries to navigate the complexities of both mourning and friendship with forgiveness and compassion. Heartfelt, moving, and beautifully written.(Verse fiction. 14-18)

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

August 1, 2024
Grades 9-12 Sixteen-year-old Marcos' papi is dead at 44, crushed in a motorcycle accident. Now the Colombian American teen finds himself en route, with his mother and sister, to Cartagena to scatter Papi's ashes. Once there, their taxi driver, 18-year-old Camilo, offers to give him a tour of the city. Reluctantly, Marcos' mother agrees, and off they go. The two bond after discovering they both love Gabriel Garc�a M�rquez's classic novel One Hundred Years of Solitude, which was also Papi's favorite book--a book, Marcos writes in his first-person voice, that "KO'[s] you Iron Mike Tyson style." As Marcos gets to know Camilo, Marcos discovers commonalities with the other boy: "a darkness inside . . . his sense of humor . . . his choice of books and songs." And he discovers Camilo is a storyteller like M�rquez: "listening to him is like getting drunk in a maze." Vidal himself is a talented storyteller, as he demonstrates in this sometimes poignant, accomplished novel in verse. To read it is an implicit invitation to read M�rquez. RSVP "yes."

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from August 19, 2024
Sixteen-year-old Marcos Cadena’s world is split in two when his father is killed in a motorcycle accident. One month after the incident, his mother suggests that their family scatter Papi’s ashes in his beloved hometown of Cartagena, Colombia; she hopes that the change of scenery and the opportunity to pay their respects will have a positive effect on Marcos. Upon arrival, Marcos meets Camilo, a young taxi driver who shares his love for the author of Papi’s favorite book, One Hundred Years of Solitude, and offers to show him around the city. Expressing caution, his mother allows Marcos to explore Cartagena with charismatic Camilo, who tells Marcos more about Gabriel García Márquez as well as the “slums” of Camilo’s own childhood. But when Marcos learns a dangerous secret about Camilo that could endanger them both, he must reckon with whether some actions are unforgivable. Through affecting verse, Vidal (Rap Dad, for adults) deftly examines themes of friendship, masculinity, grief, and redemption. The richly detailed Colombian background of this poignant exploration of the death of a parent is as alive and vibrant as its narrator. Ages 14–up. Agent: Alex Slater, Sanford J. Greenburger Assoc.

Starred review from October 4, 2024

Gr 7 Up-Still shaken by the sudden loss of his father, Marcos first copes by playing basketball nonstop. But after discovering an old copy of One Hundred Years of Solitude, he is inspired to write poetry, "trying to make sense/ of what I was feeling." Soon after, he travels from Miami to Cartagena, Colombia, alongside his mother and younger sister to scatter Papi's ashes in his hometown. There, Marcos befriends Camilo, an 18-year-old cab driver with a dark past, and the two bond over their love of Gabriel Garc�a M�rquez while cruising the city in Camilo's dented taxi. Marcos's narrative voice bears the cool mien of a teenage boy and intertwines with evocative stanzas that capture tender memories of Papi and bring the northern Colombian setting vividly to life through sights ("by the white sands/ blue-green waters") and sounds ("�Que chimba!"). The journey of a second-generation teen connecting with his parents' home country in his own right is underscored by ruminations on manhood ("only boy in a tribe/ of women and girls") and an ode to literature in Vidal's profound YA debut. VERDICT An introspective coming-of-age novel in verse that is a must-have for young adult collections.-Jessica Agudelo

Copyright 2024 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.