The Enchanted Life of Valentina Mejía by Alexandra Alessandri is a magical bilingual fantasy story that drew me in from the start.

12-year-old Valentina and her 10-year-old brother Julián live in Colombia in the country. When the story begins, the siblings and their papi are hiking through the Andes Mountains, searching for evidence of the legendary creatures their father is convinced are real, and has dedicated his life's work to proving it.

Suddenly an earthquake opens a hole in the earth, plunging their father into a hole and leading Vale and Julián through a portal into a magical world. The new world looks much like the familiar Colombian landscapes, but in this world, magical creatures abound. The kids interact with a variety of friendly characters: Grucinda the brujita (friendly witch), Doña Ruth the capybara and Don Pedro the armadillo, Albetroz the Dragon of the River, and a group of duendes (elves).

They also are pursued by unfriendly characters such as the patasola (one-legged woman), mano peluda (a living furry hand), el silbón (a man that whistles as he pursues), and other magical creatures who work for the Madremonte: the queen and protector of the land. She is angry that humans have entered into the magical land, which had been sealed after her son Marcos was kidnapped hundreds of years ago.

Will they be able to reach the Madremonte's palace to return to the human world and rescue their papi? What other secrets will be revealed before this is all said and done? Full of luscious descriptions of the gorgeous settings, I found myself wanting to absorb every detail. The magical world and characters make this a future classic to be read multiple times.

This book mixed together some of my favorite genres: I love the Narnia books and this had definite Narnia vibes. In addition, I loved the way Spanish was worked into the text in context, in a way that an English-only reader could understand. However, a bilingual reader would find even more nuggets of details that added to the richness of the descriptions and dialogue. I can only hope that Alexandra Alessandri makes this into a series! 

Get your copy on Amazon!