The Visitors

Gr 4-7–Things have been tough for 12-year-old Gen Farías since his father lost his job, his best friend was killed in a home robbery, and his big brother Lorenzo’s futbol dreams died with a knee injury. Nowadays, Lorenzo is moody and spends time with a rough crowd. When he sneaks out Halloween night, it sets into motion a series of shocking events where he is implicated in a boy’s murder and arrested. Wracked with grief and shame, Gen’s mother condemns Lorenzo and moves the family from Rosario, Argentina, to Los Astros, an idyllic mountain village where everything is lush, beautiful—and too good to be true. Gen befriends Elena and Caito, two local children who fill him in on the vengeful River God and the dark annual rituals that simmer beneath the town’s flawless veneer. Méndez has crafted a sympathetic, lovable character in Gen that readers will root for as he is pulled in every direction by his guilt while his family is adrift in their own struggles. Horror fans may find big scares hard to come by, but a sense of unease permeates the first two-thirds of the book which focuses on exploring complex interpersonal dynamics and establishing the mystery. The action picks up in the last third, as Gen and his friends learn that legends can be dangerously wrong. Themes of generational trauma and grappling with past mistakes resonate—sometimes, saying sorry and making things right can be enough. As with the prior series titles, a prologue and epilogue frame the story as a witch’s spooky tale, told to a trapped camper in Cabin 23.