An Edgar Award winning middle grade mystery by Adrianna Cuevas--author of the Pura Belpré Honor Book The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez--perfect for fans of Claribel Ortega's The Ghost Squad and Louis Sachar's Holes.
'
Rafa would rather live in the world of The Forgotten Age, his favorite fantasy role-playing game, than face his father's increasing restrictions and his mother's fading presence. But when Rafa and his friends decide to take the game out into the real world and steal their school cafeteria's slushie machine, his dad concocts a punishment Rafa never could've imagined--a month working on a ranch in New Mexico, far away from his friends, their game, and his mom's quesitos in Miami.
2024 Edgar Allan Poe Award Winner
2025 Rhode Island Middle School Book Award List
Vermont Golden Dome Book Award List
New Mexico Battle of the Books selection for Elementary and Middle School
"Adrianna Cuevas deftly weaves together friendship and mystery in a tale that is not just about the ghosts of the departed, but also of love, loss, and lingering grief." --Julie C. Dao, author of Team Chu and the Battle of Blackwood Arena