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Pilar Ramirez and the Escape from Zafa
(2022)(The first book in the Pilar Ramirez Duology series)
A novel by Julian Randall
The Land of Stories meets Dominican myths and legends come to life in Pilar Ramirez and the Escape from Zafa, a blockbuster contemporary middle-grade fantasy duology starter from Julian Randall. Fans of Tristan Strong and The Storm Runner, here is your next obsession.
"A breathtaking journey . . . readers better hold on tight." —Kwame Mbalia, New York Times bestselling author of the Tristan Strong series
Twelve-year-old Pilar Violeta “Purp” Ramirez’s world is changing, and she doesn’t care for it one bit. Her Chicago neighborhood is gentrifying and her chores have doubled since her sister, Lorena, left for college. The only constant is Abuela and Mami’s code of silence around her cousin Natasha—who vanished in the Dominican Republic fifty years ago during the Trujillo dictatorship.
When Pilar hears that Lorena’s professor studies such disappearances, she hops on the next train to dig deeper into her family's mystery. After snooping around the professor's empty office, she discovers a folder with her cousin’s name on it . . . and gets sucked into the blank page within.
She lands on Zafa, an island swarming with coconut-shaped demons, butterfly shapeshifters, and a sinister magical prison where her cousin is being held captive. Pilar will have to go toe-to-toe with the fearsome Dominican boogeyman, El Cuco, if she has any hope of freeing Natasha and getting back home.
"Magic awaits around every corner in Zafa. Nonstop action and plenty of heart create a story worth escaping into." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
Genre: Children's Fiction
"A breathtaking journey . . . readers better hold on tight." —Kwame Mbalia, New York Times bestselling author of the Tristan Strong series
Twelve-year-old Pilar Violeta “Purp” Ramirez’s world is changing, and she doesn’t care for it one bit. Her Chicago neighborhood is gentrifying and her chores have doubled since her sister, Lorena, left for college. The only constant is Abuela and Mami’s code of silence around her cousin Natasha—who vanished in the Dominican Republic fifty years ago during the Trujillo dictatorship.
When Pilar hears that Lorena’s professor studies such disappearances, she hops on the next train to dig deeper into her family's mystery. After snooping around the professor's empty office, she discovers a folder with her cousin’s name on it . . . and gets sucked into the blank page within.
She lands on Zafa, an island swarming with coconut-shaped demons, butterfly shapeshifters, and a sinister magical prison where her cousin is being held captive. Pilar will have to go toe-to-toe with the fearsome Dominican boogeyman, El Cuco, if she has any hope of freeing Natasha and getting back home.
"Magic awaits around every corner in Zafa. Nonstop action and plenty of heart create a story worth escaping into." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
Genre: Children's Fiction
Praise for this book
"Randall takes history and myth and weaves a tight fantasy that is as funny as it is poignant. This novel is sure to delight and awe." - Elizabeth Acevedo
"A breathtaking journey through a world teeming with fantasy and history-readers better hold on tight as Pilar swings into her next adventure." - Kwame Mbalia
"I love this book so much. Julian Randall is a brilliant, refreshing new voice in young people's literature and he has imbued this story with a whole mountain of love, humor, honesty, and adventure. Pa'lante!" - Daniel José Older
"Incredible voice that jumps right off the page. Pilar is the hilarious hero we need right now. My Dominican heart BURST reading this story, but in the best way." - Claribel A Ortega
"A breathtaking journey through a world teeming with fantasy and history-readers better hold on tight as Pilar swings into her next adventure." - Kwame Mbalia
"I love this book so much. Julian Randall is a brilliant, refreshing new voice in young people's literature and he has imbued this story with a whole mountain of love, humor, honesty, and adventure. Pa'lante!" - Daniel José Older
"Incredible voice that jumps right off the page. Pilar is the hilarious hero we need right now. My Dominican heart BURST reading this story, but in the best way." - Claribel A Ortega
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