South America Fiction

The place is El Salvador in 1982, at the ghastly height of its civil war. The writer is Joan Didion, who delivers an anatomy of that country's particular brand of terror - its mechanisms, rationales, and intimate relation to United States foreign policy. As ash travels from battlefields to body dumps, interviews a puppet president, and considers the distinctly Salvadoran grammar of the verb "to disappear," Didion gives us a book that is germane to any country in which bloodshed has become a standard tool of politics.

A small village on a Jamaican island. A girl who doesn't remember the previous summer. A best friend who is no longer acting like one; a new girl who fills that hole in her heart. A summer of finding fallen mangos, creating made up games and dancing in the rain. Secrets she keeps from others...and herself. The courage to face the truth even in the toughest of storms. Inspired by the author's childhood experiences, When Life Give You Mangos is a celebration of island life as well as a rich, lyrical mystery.

Skinny, nine-year-old orphaned Dores is working in the kitchen of a sugar plantation in 1930s Brazil when in walks a girl who changes everything. Graça, the spoiled daughter of a wealthy sugar baron, is clever, well-fed, pretty, and thrillingly ill-behaved. Born to wildly different worlds, Dores and Graça quickly bond over shared mischief and then, on a deeper level, over music. One has a voice like a songbird; the other feels melodies in her soul and composes lyrics to match. Music will become their shared passion, the source of their partnership and their rivalry....

They call Gabriela "Tree Girl". Gabi climbs trees to be within reach of the eagles and watch the sun rise into an empty sky. She is at home among the outstretched branches of the Guatemalan forests. Then one day from the safety of a tree, Gabi witnesses the sights and sounds of an unspeakable massacre. She vows to be Tree Girl no more and joins the hordes of refugees struggling to reach the Mexican border. She has lost her whole family; her entire village has been wiped out.

Jaime is sitting on his bed drawing when he hears a scream. Instantly, he knows: Miguel, his cousin and best friend, is dead. Everyone in Jaime's small town in Guatemala knows someone who has been killed by the Alphas, a powerful gang that's known for violence and drug trafficking. Anyone who refuses to work for them is hurt or killed - like Miguel. With Miguel gone, Jaime fears that he is next. There's only one choice: accompanied by his cousin Ángela, Jaime must flee his home to live with his older brother in New Mexico.

The situation is getting dire for Jews in Poland on the eve of World War II. Esther's father has fled to Cuba, and she is the first one to join him. It's heartbreaking to be separated from her beloved sister, so Esther promises to write down everything that happens until they're reunited. And she does, recording both the good - the kindness of the Cuban people and her discovery of a valuable hidden talent - and the bad: the fact that Nazism has found a foothold even in Cuba. Esther's evocative letters are full of her appreciation for life and reveal a resourceful, determined girl....

A Newbery Medal Winner. An Incan boy who tends llamas in a hidden valley in Peru learns the traditions and secrets of his ancestors.

Andrew Mozart is in love. He fell for Sarah the first time they met, but he could never find the courage to tell her. When she leaves work on a gap year adventure to South America, he thinks he has missed his chance. Until he moves desks, and finds her computer still logged in to her email account. Sarah's old emails reveal that she thought more of him then he believed possible. Armed with intimate knowledge of her secret desires, Andrew takes a risk for the first time in his life and boards a flight to Brazil.

When the shadowwalkers were victorious in their battle against the Ant Queen, they hoped their work to save Caldera was done. But the rainforest has begun to rumble. Rumi, a scholarly tree frog who can control the wind, must bring his band of animal friends to face the greatest danger they’ve yet encountered - the giant volcano beneath the jungle itself. While the volcano roars, rumors of a mysterious evil blanket Caldera - the Elemental of Darkness has emerged and is building a legion of followers.

When Bick and Beck Kidd find a hidden trove of pirate treasure, it includes a map with clues to an even bigger score: the lost Incan city of Paititi. But treasure hunting is never easy - and when the map is stolen, the Kidds must rely on Storm's picture-perfect memory to navigate the dangerous Amazon jungle. Watch out for that nest of poisonous snakes!

Anita de la Torre never questioned her freedom living in the Dominican Republic. But by her 12th birthday in 1960, most of her relatives have emigrated to the United States, her Tío Toni has disappeared without a trace, and the government’s secret police terrorize her remaining family because of their suspected opposition of el Trujillo’s dictatorship.

Chicago may be the city of broad shoulders, but its political law is "Pay to Play." Money changes hands in the middle of the night, and by morning, buildings and parks are replaced by billion-dollar projects. Chicago PI V. I. Warshawski gets pulled into one of these clandestine deals through her impetuous goddaughter, Bernie Fouchard. Bernie tries to rescue Lydia Zamir, a famed singer-songwriter now living on the streets; Zamir’s life fell apart when her lover was murdered next to her in a mass shooting at an outdoor concert.

In 1979 the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith withdrew Hans Kung's missio canonica. Pope Paul VI approved the censure saying, "We are obligated to declare that in his writings he fell short of integrity and the truth of the Catholic faith." Through a 1980 agreement with the Vatican, Kung is now permitted to teach, but only under secular auspices. In this acclaimed Modern Library Chronicle, Kung examines the Catholic Church through its many reformations, focusing on the people and events...

El mítico viaje por Latinoamérica de Ernesto Guevara y Alberto Granado que inspiró la película "Diarios de motocicleta" de Walter Salles. A 85 años del nacimiento del Che, Marea presenta esta nueva edición -prologada por el hijo del autor, Alberto Granado Duque- del conmovedor y atrapante relato del joven Granado de esos días, un homenaje a la amistad, a la aventura, al camino y a la lucha por el ideal de una sociedad más justa.

Twelve-year-old Caroline is a Hurricane Child, born on Water Island during a storm. Coming into this world during a hurricane is unlucky, and Caroline has had her share of bad luck already. She's hated by everyone in her small school, she can see things that no one else can see, and - worst of all - her mother left home one day and never came back. With no friends and days filled with heartache, Caroline is determined to find her mother. When a new student, Kalinda, arrives, Caroline's luck begins to turn around. Kalinda, a solemn girl from Barbados, seems to see the things Caroline sees, too.

Deep in the rain forests of the Amazon jungle, a village of very lazy people wishes to do nothing but lie in their hammocks and think great thoughts. One day, a mysterious man arrives who is able to create monkeys that do absolutely everything for them. Soon, the monkeys multiply and take on every human activity - including complaining.

When guerrilla soldiers strike Santiago's village, they destroy everything in their path -- including his home and family. Santiago and his four-year-old sister escape, running for their lives. But the only way they can be truly safe is to leave Guatemala behind forever. So Santiago and Angelina set sail in a sea kayak their Uncle Ramos built while dreaming of his own escape.

Juana loves many things - drawing, eating Brussels sprouts, living in Bogotá, Colombia, and especially her dog, Lucas, the best amigo ever. She does not love wearing her itchy school uniform, solving math problems, or going to dance class. And she especially does not love learning the English. Why is it so important to learn a language that makes so little sense? But when Juana's abuelos tell her about a special trip they are planning - one that Juana will need to speak English to go on - Juana begins to wonder whether learning the English might be good.

Twelve-year-old Barana lives in a coastal village in Honduras, where she spends every spare minute visiting the sea turtles that nest on the beach. Abby is feeling adrift in sixth grade, trying to figure out who she is and where she belongs after her best friend moved away from New Jersey. When Abby’s papi plans a work trip to Honduras, she is finally given the opportunity to see his homeland—with Barana as her tour guide. But Barana has other plans: someone has been poaching turtle eggs, and she’s determined to catch them!

Born into the household of a wealthy slave owner in Cuba in 1797, Juan Francisco Manzano spent his early years by the side of a woman who made him call her Mama, even though he had a mama of his own. Denied an education, young Juan still showed an exceptional talent for poetry. His verses reflect the beauty of his world, but they also expose its hideous cruelty.