The Ghosts of Rancho Espanto

Cuban American boy Rafa is sent to work for a month at Rancho Espanto in New Mexico after a school prank goes wrong. As he and his new friend Jennie investigate unsettling events at the ranch, this middle-grade mystery brings Rafa face to face with his family's pain and his own feelings.

family illness and lossfriendship and solving a mystery togetherCuban American identityguilt and growing upghost story and real-world anxiety

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Work Information

At a ranch known as a place of terror, Rafa follows a mystery of secrets closer to home than any ghost.

For Rafa, an imaginary role-playing game has been a refuge from his strict father and his mother's worsening illness. After a prank with his friends sends him to a New Mexico ranch, he meets Jennie and the ranch manager Marcus. When a stranger in a green jacket appears and the work is sabotaged, Rafa and Jennie begin to investigate Rancho Espanto's past. With a ghostly atmosphere, the novel explores grief, family, and finding one's place.

Review Summaries

The review values both the ranch mystery and the story's depth in addressing loss, grief, and identity. It presents the book as a warm emotional journey for Rafa as he confronts his mother's illness without losing the suspense of its eerie setting.

Book Information

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Published: 2023-04-04
Pages: 304 pages
Language: 英語
Size: 14.73 x 2.54 x 21.59 cm
ISBN-13: 9780374390433
ISBN-10: 0374390436
Price: 3729 JPY
Category: 洋書/Children's Books/Geography & Cultures/Multicultural Stories/Hispanic & Latino

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. Life at Rancho Espanto isn't as bad as Rafa initially expected, mostly due to Jennie, a new friend with similarly strong opinions about Cuban and Korean snacks, and Marcus, the veteran barn manager who's not as gruff as he appears. But when Rafa's work at the ranch is inexplicably sabotaged by a man (or a ghost) who may not be what he seems, Rafa and Jennie explore what's behind the strange events at Rancho Espanto--and discover that the greatest mystery may have been with Rafa all along. 2024 Edgar 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 is the author of Pura Belpre Honor book The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez and Edgar Award Winner The Ghosts of Rancho Espanto . She is a first-generation Cuban-American originally from Miami, Florida. After teaching Spanish and ESOL for sixteen years, she decided to pursue her passion for storytelling. Adrianna currently resides outside of Austin, TX with her husband and son where they enjoy hiking, traveling, and cooking lots of Cuban food.

Reviews

A story of friendship, gaming, horses, ghosts and full of fun and frights!

Ms Cuevas has created a story that’s full of frightening fun. Rafa is sent away from home to Rancho Espanto as a punishment for his pranks. He discovers new foods (yuck!), new friends (awesome if odd sometimes), mysterious ghosts (dangerous!), and adventures (exciting!). It ends in a twist you won’t guess, although it makes perfect sense. In short, *The Ghosts of Rancho Espanto* is a new favorite. Now I need to read the other books this accomplished author has written. But I ‘d like to include a Trigger Warning: —A child’s parent has cancer, another child’s parent has died in a car accident. —An important secondary character has PTSD. This book speaks of grief and healing in a way that is both genuine and sympathetic.
An imaginative story with humor and heart!

Humor and heart are intertwined in this imaginative story with a surprising and genre-bending ending. I particularly enjoyed the thoughtful character development (each character has unique and endearing quirks) and the wonderful representation—a mix of Cuban and Korean cultures authentically showcased. Read with an appetite—there are lots of snacks!
Easy read great for middle schooler

My son needed to read a scary book for a summer reading for his middle school . He really enjoyed the story and kept on engaged and interested.
A Tale of Friendship and Mystery

Adrianna Cuevas expertly tells a story set in New Mexico about friendship and mystery. The theme of lingering grief is expertly handled and the characters are extremely vivid. The food descriptions just jump right off the page and left me hungry for traditional Cuban and New Mexican cuisine! Great for lovers of role playing games and ghosts!