Published
Houston, Texas : Piñata Books, Arte Público Press, [2023].
ISBN
1558859659, 9781558859654
Notes
General Note
The English and Spanish language versions of this work are printed back-to-back and inverted.
Description
La música estridente despierta a Vincent en la madrugada y mira por su ventana que una pickup roja se ha estacionado al otro lado de la calle. Una niña pelirroja y un hombre vestido con un sombrero y una camisa vaquera brillante se meten a la casa vecina. Vincent ve que bailan al mismo tiempo, el hombre en el primer piso y la niña en el segundo. Sus movimientos son literalmente idénticos, y empiezan a dar más y más vueltas. De repente se ve como unos cuernos salen ¡de la frente del hombre! Al parecer hay otro misterio por resolver. Al día siguiente, Vincent conoce a una nueva estudiante, Lilith del Diablo, ¡la niña de la noche anterior! Ella pronto revela que su padre la obliga a ayudarlo a aterrorizar a las chicas en los bailes. Mientras tanto el muchacho encuentra el baúl de su madre en el garaje y se sorprende de que esté lleno de herramientas para luchar contra demonios--monedas de plata, una resortera, estaca de madera-- y un diario con datos sobre varias bestias. ¿Por qué habrá guardado esta información? ¿Será que él viene de una larga descendencia de exterminadores de monstruos? Con la ayuda del diario de su madre, Vincent elabora un plan para salvar a Lily del diablo bailarín, pero necesitará todo el ingenio de sus amigos para llevarlo a cabo. De un momento a otro se encuentran atrapados en una peligrosa batalla que incluye a ¡un diablo talentoso, una bruja lechuza y varios niños resueltos a ayudar a Lily!
Description
Loud music wakes Vincent up in the middle of the night, and he sees a red pickup truck pull in at the house across the street. A red-headed girl and a man decked out in a sparkly western shirt and cowboy hat get out, and he proceeds to two-step up and down the driveway before they go inside. Through the windows, Vincent can see them dancing in unison, the man downstairs and the girl upstairs. Their movements are virtually identical and they begin spinning faster and faster. Suddenly, he sees what looks like horns begin to sprout from the man's head! It seems there's another monster mystery begging to be solved! The next day at the library, Vincent reads about a border urban legend involving a handsome stranger who is really a dancing devil! He also meets a new student, Lilith del Diablo, who he saw the night before! Soon Vincent and his friends have gained Lily's trust and she tells them her biological father, Luciano del Diablo, is intent on forcing her to become his partner in crime terrorizing girls at dance halls along the US-Mexico border. Meanwhile, Vincent finds his mother's trunk in the garage and is shocked to find it's full of monster-fighting tools--silver coins, a slingshot, wooden stakes--and a journal with information on the various beasts. Why would she have this information? Does he come from a long line of ancestors who fight unnatural demons? Is that why evil creatures are constantly moving in across the street?! With help from his mother's diary, Vincent concocts a plan to save Lily from the dancing devil, but it's going to take all his friends' and cousins' wits to make it work. This bilingual book for intermediate readers, the fifth installment in Garza's Monster Fighter Mystery series, follows the dangerous battle between a seasoned devil and one unsure of her powers, a witch owl and several very determined kids!
Language
In English and Spanish.