The Queen of Water

By Laura Resau and María Virginia Farinango
Young adult
Delacorte Press, 2011
ISBN: 978-0385738972
Awards/recognitions: *A School Library Journal Best Book of 2011 *TAYSHAS list (Texas student reading list) 2012-2013 *ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults 2012 *A Junior Library Guild Selection *An Amelia Bloomer Project Recommended Book

There is no shortage of horrors that can befall a little girl in the world. Laura Resau brings us the fictionalized account of her co-author’s life as an impoverished indígena who is given to (or stolen by, just depending on your view) a metizo couple in Ecuador.

The novel follows seven-year-old Virginia as she leaves her difficult rural life for the frightening role of babysitter and house slave to her adoptive family. Along the way, you’ll get a ringside seat to the racism that plagues indigenous cultures throughout Latin America.

If you’re worried that this novel will read like an anthropology text, don’t. You’ll fall in love with Virginia – difficult, stubborn, intelligent, a survivor – and you’ll be more than willing to see her win. MM