Alebrijes

World / Setting
Alebrijes is set in a post-apocalyptic world in a dystopian little outpost of a city called Pocatel, perhaps the last community of surviving humans as far as anyone knows. The world is fascinating and well-built in the text and had me very intrigued to learn what secrets might be revealed about the state of things and how it came to be. The sci-fi tech and elements were nicely woven in, even if they aren’t really delved into in much detail.

Leandro’s people, the Cascabeles, came to Pocatel by accident 3 years ago while journeying to try to find the legendary valley La Cuna where they thought they could start fresh as a community. Instead they found Pocatel and were “taken in” by the people there, relegated to tent-like dwellings and forced to work the fields to earn measly rations. The timeline presented wasn’t entirely clear and convincing to me in certain aspects, but it was easy enough to set aside. The society is framed with a ruling elite who clearly know more than they make public knowledge, the middle-class Pocatelans who have been taught to distrust and look down on the Cascabeles, and effects of such treatment and situation on the Cascabel community. I found it very well-realized.

Characters
The story is told technically within a framing narrative, though only the first sentence—”This is the story as it was told to me by Leandro the Mighty.”—and an epilogue at the end give the reader a glimpse of the framing narrative. The bulk of the story is told in the first-person from Leandro’s perspective.

Leandro is young and small for his age, and struggles with feeling too small and weak to effectively care for his younger sister Gabi. After their father’s death when they were very young followed by their mother’s death on the journey, they were taken in by Tía Lula—an abusive and abrasive old Cascabel woman who uses them for their work rations—and Leandro feels wholly responsible for keeping Gabi safe and fed. Despite his best efforts, the effects of malnutrition and hard work are becoming more visible in Gabi and he is increasingly desperate to better their lot. He is a determined and strong-willed character who is compassionate and deeply cares for his sister and his community. He sees the way their situation is damaging their identity as a community but does not let himself give in to despair or give up on his people. Overall he was a very engaging character to read from and I enjoyed his character arc.

Plot
Our narrative spends time in both Pocatel setting up the state of things and planting questions for the reader about the true state of things behind the scenes there, and out in the wastes outside of Pocatel after Leandro’s banishment as a drone. Outside the city walls, we get even more questions about how things came to be, and how many of the legends about the dangers in the wastes are not quite what they’re made out to be. After his banishment with his consciousness placed in a drone, Leandro stumbles across other kids banished in the same manner from Pocatel. With them, he begins to uncover truths and make plans to take action. The plot does get a little chaotic in places, and sometimes next steps sort of appear from nowhere, but overall I found the mystery and resolution interesting and satisfyingly hopeful.

Recommended Audience
Readers looking for a middle grade or early young adult book that doesn’t shy away from dealing with some grim realities.
Readers who enjoy endearing young characters who take it upon themselves to incite change for the better.
Readers interested in sci-fi worlds with some cultural diversity and elements of folklore.