All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater

Pages: 311

Intended Audience: Teens and mature tweens

Genre: Supernatural

Notes for Parents: Contains some mature scenes.

The Inside Cover

Here is a thing everyone wants: A miracle.

Here is a thing everyone fears: What it takes to get one.

Any visitor to Bicho Raro, Colorado, is likely to find a landscape of dark saints, forbidden love, scientific dreams, miracle-mad owls, estranged affections, one or two orphans, and a sky full of watchful desert stars.

At the hear of this place you will find the Soria family, who all have the ability to perform unusual miracles. And at the heart of this family are three cousins longing to change its future: Beatriz, the girl without feelings, who wants only to be free to examine her thoughts; Daniel, the Saint of Bicho Raro, who performs miracles for everyone but himself; and Joaquin, who spends his nights running a renegade radio station under the Diablo Diablo.

They are all looking for a miracle. But the miracles of Bicho Raro are never quite what you expect.

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

The novel attracted some controversy because it is about magic realism in Mexican-American culture and the author is not Mexican. Some believe this is an example of cultural appropriation. This was a Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction in 2017.

What’s good?

Set in 1960s Colorado, this is the story of a Mexican-American family of “saints” who have the ability to grant miracles. Bicho Raro is a bizarre and vivid place where miracles are opportunities and traditions are based on fear-filled tales. The author has a unique and lyrical writing style that sets a mood that’s dark, but hopeful. The characters are interesting, especially the quirky pilgrims, including: Marisita, who lives under a rain cloud; Jennie, who can only repeat what she hears; and Padre Jiminez, who has the head of a coyote. The story is imaginative and philosophical, exploring the ideas of love, hope, dreams, fear, tradition, family, change, and, of course, miracles. The ending was good.

Best Part: Beatriz and her dad’s secret mathematical language.

What isn’t good?

The start was especially slow, and the pace was inconsistent throughout. There was a lot of rambling, including a rather ridiculous conversation about whether miracles can be performed on a horse. The author spent more time telling, instead of showing and would have benefited from more dialogue. The plot remained vague for most of the story and the three main characters, the Sorias cousins, were aloof and difficult to connect with.

Worst part: “Tony was handsome as a cigarette.” (pg. 20)

Recommendation ☺☺☺☻☻ (3/5)

I’ve read other books by the author and usually enjoy her writing style, but this time, I did not. Her wordy, unconventional style was too heavy and ultimately took away from the whimsy that could have made this novel something special. Despite this, All the Crooked Saints would make a visually stunning movie. This was good, but not great.

Stiefvater, Maggie. All the Crooked Saints. New York: Scholastic, 2017. (Hardcover)