Charlie, Charlie…
The cultural upbringing of the title character was in the hands of his grandmother. The woman, strongly inspired by Latin folklore, told her grandson stories about various monsters. Their presence in the real world was widely questioned, but the tone of the abueli (Spanish: abuela – grandmother) voice indicated the old woman’s involvement in the matters of tradition. However, the character’s reality changes day by day. When Charlie discovers that he has grown horns on his head and feathers on his torso and arms, he is not sure how to react. At the same time, he can only trust himself and Violet Rey, the boy’s platonic childhood love. The reader can easily ask: is it possible that Charlie is a morphant *?
But it was already?
Rick Riordan, an American fantasy creator , is the author of the series about Perseus “Percy” Jackson, published in 2005-2009. The story of a young demigod may resemble that of Ryan Calejo: a young, angry boy, ubiquitous magic, a world filled with mythological heroes, the plot of teenage love. Although the inspirations are undoubtedly, we will gladly pick up the book Charlie Hernández and the League of Shadows . Its colorful cover will surely catch our eye in the bookstore, and the word of encouragement will invite us to a world where magic is not a taboo subject. The book is dedicated to teenagers, but older readers will surely also like it. I am also smiling at the Krakow publishing house IUVI, thanks to which today I can hold this literary proposal in my hands.
From a Spanish perspective
Calejo took care of the reader not only in terms of the plot. At the end of the proposal, there is a glossary of Spanish words used in the book, but also a glossary filled with various names of monsters. El Justo Juez, La Cruz Mala, chupacabra, jentil – all these creatures are present in Ibero-American mythology and for fans of Spanish stories they will sound familiar. It is worth noting that despite the many names of creatures and Spanish inclusions, the book reads very quickly and the reader is eager to get to know the finale of Charlie’s story. We subconsciously believe that the boy will manage to control his contradictory fate and find out what his destiny is. I can assure you that the ending is not as obvious as it may seem at the beginning of reading.
* Morphant – a shape-shifting creature endowed with the ability to partially assume the form of any animal species in the world.
