Alebrijes: Flight to a New Haven

After a run-in with the law that would banish his little sister to certain death, Leandro takes the blame and is given a secret chance at a second life. His consciousness is transferred into an Alebrije — a beautiful robotic animal. In his new form, Leandro tastes true freedom for the first time. 

He has one mission: find a Director’s daughter and bring her back. He finds her in a perfect paradise, with all of the kids sent to find her before him. Not everything is as it seems in this perfect place, Pocatelan ego still reigns over the Cascabeles – and Leandro is not willing to forget about Gabi back in Pocatel. By rebelling against the norms set here, Leandro manages to reunite the Director and her daughter, destroy the city of Pocatel and lead all the Cascabeles to Paradise to hopefully start a new life.

This book from Newberry Medal winner Donna Barba Higuera reflects on a lot of present social issues in many countries like racism, prejudice and social injustice, but it also shows young people hoping and working for a better future in a truly inspiring way. It’s also unique for a dystopian YA, mostly because of its setting: a country where people speak English and Spanish, and where your use of these languages marks you as either Pocatelan or Cascabel. With unique characters and character growth for all, every young reader will find someone to resonate and grow with within the pages of this book.