Salsa Magic

Starred review from July 3, 2023
Marrero’s beguiling debut about a Latine 13-year-old uncovering her mystical ancestral power is profoundly magical. When she’s not playing soccer with her crush Kayla, who reads as Black, Maya Beatriz Montenegro Calderon spends most afternoons and weekends waiting tables at her family’s Brooklyn restaurant, Café Taza. One day, Maya notices a mysterious old woman who looks like a figure from her dreams. Maya learns that the stranger is Titi Yaya, Abuela Chacha’s sister, whom Abuela hasn’t seen in 20 years. Abuela reluctantly lets Titi Yaya live in the apartment above the café, sternly warning the family not to talk to her. But Maya won’t let that stop her; she sneaks upstairs to meet with Titi Yaya, who informs Maya that she’s been chosen by Yemaya, the Yoruban goddess of water, to succeed Yaya as a bruja. Maya’s lively voice dazzles amid a standout cast that includes her lovably unruly cousins as well as memorable neighbors and classmates of varied Black and Latine heritages. In this evocative multigenerational tale, Marrero cultivates a rich N.Y.C. setting that feels like a character in itself, bursting with even richer depictions of cultural traditions. Ages 8–12. Agent: Joy Tutela, David Black Literary.