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El Niño
Not yet published
Expected 6 May 25From the beloved, New York Times bestselling author of Esperanza Rising and Echo comes an enthralling aquatic adventure rippling with mystery and magical realism. Perfect for fans of Kate DiCamillo, Tae Keller, Jacqueline Woodson, and Meg Medina.
Kai Sosa comes from a long line of competitive swimmers. And this is his summer to prove his own prowess on an elite invitational team, even if he is the weakest link. He hopes to carry the Sosa torch in a competition against the infamous Sea Wolves.
But recently, he's been haunted by a puzzling dream. One where he sees his dead sister, Cali, swimming in the Pacific Ocean, surrounded by dolphins. When he wakes, it's hard to hold back the dam of feeling he's been working so hard to contain the past two years. But he must, because feeling will mess with his race times.
Then one day, while surfing with a friend, Kai encounters a mysterious sea creature as big as he, with long black hair and a fluked tail, that insistently pokes his board. Kai is sure his mind and the sea are playing tricks, until the sea creature finds Kai twice more. When a school assignment about the weather phenomenon El Niño leads him to the local library-and a book Cali had checked out multiple times, about dolphins and a mythic Amazonian queen who once ruled over an underwater realm-Kai's grip on reality begins to fissure. What are the sea creature and the book trying to tell him? In a climactic head-to-head faceoff with the Sea Wolves, everything becomes clear as Kai tests his strength, unleashes the dam, and discovers that sometimes the only way to hold onto what we love is to let it go.
Kai Sosa comes from a long line of competitive swimmers. And this is his summer to prove his own prowess on an elite invitational team, even if he is the weakest link. He hopes to carry the Sosa torch in a competition against the infamous Sea Wolves.
But recently, he's been haunted by a puzzling dream. One where he sees his dead sister, Cali, swimming in the Pacific Ocean, surrounded by dolphins. When he wakes, it's hard to hold back the dam of feeling he's been working so hard to contain the past two years. But he must, because feeling will mess with his race times.
Then one day, while surfing with a friend, Kai encounters a mysterious sea creature as big as he, with long black hair and a fluked tail, that insistently pokes his board. Kai is sure his mind and the sea are playing tricks, until the sea creature finds Kai twice more. When a school assignment about the weather phenomenon El Niño leads him to the local library-and a book Cali had checked out multiple times, about dolphins and a mythic Amazonian queen who once ruled over an underwater realm-Kai's grip on reality begins to fissure. What are the sea creature and the book trying to tell him? In a climactic head-to-head faceoff with the Sea Wolves, everything becomes clear as Kai tests his strength, unleashes the dam, and discovers that sometimes the only way to hold onto what we love is to let it go.
256 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication May 6, 2025
3 people are currently reading
3,841 people want to read
About the author
Pam Muñoz Ryan
72Ìýbooks1,606ÌýfollowersPam Muñoz Ryan is the author of the New York Times Best Seller, ECHO, a 2016 Newbery Honor Book, and winner of the Kirkus Prize. She has written over forty books for young people—picture books, early readers, and middle grade and young adult novels. She the author recipient of the NEA's Human and Civil Rights Award, the Virginia Hamilton Literary Award, the Willa Cather Award, the Pura Belpré medal, the PEN USA award, and many others. Her novels include Esperanza Rising, Riding Freedom, Becoming Naomi León, Paint the Wind, The Dreamer, and Echo. She was born and raised in Bakersfield, California, holds a bachelor's and master's degree from San Diego State University and lives in north San Diego county with her family.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 1, 2025
ARC provided by Young Adult Books Central
It has been two years since Kai Sosa's older sister Cali was lost at sea while surfing during a rogue fog, and even though he feels that everyone expects him to be back to normal, he's not. He still thinks about his sister, and even thinks he sees or hears her when he is near the ocean. He's also having trouble getting back into swimming. He and his friend, Spinner, are picked for an elite team by Coach Dominie, but Kai's times don't seem to improve no matter how hard he works. His parents, who had him talk to a school counselor for a bit, seem to be doing okay, although 8 year old sister Abby still talks about Cali. Neighbor Ray, whose grandson Aaron was a friend of Cali's, seems to understand where Kai is. While working hard to practice and make connections with his teammates, Kai also becomes absorbed by a book he finds in Cali's swim bag, telling the story of Queen Califia and he underwater realm, and thinks that it holds clues to a missing gold cuff bracelet that Cali wanted his assistance to find. The coaches are very demanding, and the parents even meet to discuss if new coaches should be found, but ultimately, the team tries to embrace the "one pod" philosophy. While on an open water swim, which is frightening to some of the team because of what happened to Cali, Kai hits his head and hallucinates that he and his teammates visit Cali in an underwater kingdom, where she gives them clues to help find the bracelet. Kai also has to deal with seeing a dolphin, whom Cali had named Luna, who shows up with a calf who later dies. Will Kai and his family be able to process their emotions and make enough peace with Cali's loss to honor her legacy?
Ryan does a great job at addressing Latine history and concerns, and El Niño also bears some semblance to her epic Echo and Mañanaland in its exploration of folklore. Cepeda's illustrations (not all of which appeared in the advanced copy), text in blue ink, and intricate designs on the side of the pages of Queen Califia's story all add to the fairy tale feel of this novel.
This will appeal to readers who want tales of swimming, like Binn's Courage, Morrison's Up For Air, and Mendez' Aniana del Mar Jumps In, and the cover reminds me strongly of George's Shark Beneath the Reef, a 1989 title that also had a Latine main character Tomás Torres, although George herself was not Latine. It is also has themes of processing grief similar to Faruqi's Call Me Adnan or Morris and Brown's Willa and the Whale.
While much of the story centers around Kai's processing of what happened to his sister, his struggles with getting better times and staying on the swim team address concerns that many middle grade readers have and keep the pace of the story lively. The coaches somewhat outrageous training methods add a bit of humor, and Kai's teammates react to him in realistic ways. Spinner is an especially great character, and I enjoyed seeing how Kai interacted with Abby. The fact that the mother paid for Cali's library book after her death was a nice touch and a departure from the middle grade trope of showing grieving parents as unable to cope.
Ryan's books are lyrical, heart print tales that are as close as middle grade books come to literary fiction, which is evident in the number of awards her writing has accrued. El Niño is a swimmingly good tale for readers who want to immerse themselves in the story of Queen Califia and join Kai as he uses the tale to navigate his way forward after his sister's death.
It has been two years since Kai Sosa's older sister Cali was lost at sea while surfing during a rogue fog, and even though he feels that everyone expects him to be back to normal, he's not. He still thinks about his sister, and even thinks he sees or hears her when he is near the ocean. He's also having trouble getting back into swimming. He and his friend, Spinner, are picked for an elite team by Coach Dominie, but Kai's times don't seem to improve no matter how hard he works. His parents, who had him talk to a school counselor for a bit, seem to be doing okay, although 8 year old sister Abby still talks about Cali. Neighbor Ray, whose grandson Aaron was a friend of Cali's, seems to understand where Kai is. While working hard to practice and make connections with his teammates, Kai also becomes absorbed by a book he finds in Cali's swim bag, telling the story of Queen Califia and he underwater realm, and thinks that it holds clues to a missing gold cuff bracelet that Cali wanted his assistance to find. The coaches are very demanding, and the parents even meet to discuss if new coaches should be found, but ultimately, the team tries to embrace the "one pod" philosophy. While on an open water swim, which is frightening to some of the team because of what happened to Cali, Kai hits his head and hallucinates that he and his teammates visit Cali in an underwater kingdom, where she gives them clues to help find the bracelet. Kai also has to deal with seeing a dolphin, whom Cali had named Luna, who shows up with a calf who later dies. Will Kai and his family be able to process their emotions and make enough peace with Cali's loss to honor her legacy?
Ryan does a great job at addressing Latine history and concerns, and El Niño also bears some semblance to her epic Echo and Mañanaland in its exploration of folklore. Cepeda's illustrations (not all of which appeared in the advanced copy), text in blue ink, and intricate designs on the side of the pages of Queen Califia's story all add to the fairy tale feel of this novel.
This will appeal to readers who want tales of swimming, like Binn's Courage, Morrison's Up For Air, and Mendez' Aniana del Mar Jumps In, and the cover reminds me strongly of George's Shark Beneath the Reef, a 1989 title that also had a Latine main character Tomás Torres, although George herself was not Latine. It is also has themes of processing grief similar to Faruqi's Call Me Adnan or Morris and Brown's Willa and the Whale.
While much of the story centers around Kai's processing of what happened to his sister, his struggles with getting better times and staying on the swim team address concerns that many middle grade readers have and keep the pace of the story lively. The coaches somewhat outrageous training methods add a bit of humor, and Kai's teammates react to him in realistic ways. Spinner is an especially great character, and I enjoyed seeing how Kai interacted with Abby. The fact that the mother paid for Cali's library book after her death was a nice touch and a departure from the middle grade trope of showing grieving parents as unable to cope.
Ryan's books are lyrical, heart print tales that are as close as middle grade books come to literary fiction, which is evident in the number of awards her writing has accrued. El Niño is a swimmingly good tale for readers who want to immerse themselves in the story of Queen Califia and join Kai as he uses the tale to navigate his way forward after his sister's death.
March 13, 2025
Wonderful middle grade title filled with a strong storyline based on mythology but also firmly grounded in a realistic look at loss and recovery with swimming linking the two. Pam Munoz Ryan, author of award-winning middle grade titles Echo and Esperanza Rising and picture book When Marion Sang, has been recognized for her tremendous body of work and this one stands strong among her previous titles.
Kai is a rising 8th grade student who is finally taking his place on the same prestigious swim team as his sister who disappeared while surfing a year earlier. The family, mom, dad, younger sister Abby and Kai, are all still struggling with Cali’s likely death and in very different ways. Kai’s swim times are floundering, Abby creates memorials with pictures and shells, mom reduced her work hours at the time of the disappearance and never returned to full time, and dad will not take part in anything connected to swimming although he previously was highly involved in his kids� training. Then Kai becomes aware of certain mythology surrounding a kingdom of “mermaliens,� transformed humans who live on a hidden and submerged island of great riches and a library of protected and sorrowful memories of generations of people. An open ocean swim leads him to that kingdom where he finds Cali reigning as queen and fighting to protect the library against a rival group of undersea beings, Los Lobos, who aim to take both riches and the many memories in order to achieve a position of power in the world. To avert disaster, Kai must recover Cali’s heirloom cuff, her source of power, from Los Lobos and return it to the keepers of the library. Or, maybe all his reading about this particular mythology, important to Cali, and his failure to recover lost Cali’s bracelet, a concussion stemming from the open ocean swim practice and grief led to a fantasy that helped him deal with his unresolved feelings over the loss of his sister???? Readers will have to make their own decision, but I loved this one and am happy to go either way!
Ryan keeps her text free of profanity, sexual content and violence. Target audience is grades 5-7, with strong 4th grade readers also likely to enjoy this one if its 256 pages are not too daunting.
Thanks for the electronic arc, Edelweiss Above the Treeline.
Kai is a rising 8th grade student who is finally taking his place on the same prestigious swim team as his sister who disappeared while surfing a year earlier. The family, mom, dad, younger sister Abby and Kai, are all still struggling with Cali’s likely death and in very different ways. Kai’s swim times are floundering, Abby creates memorials with pictures and shells, mom reduced her work hours at the time of the disappearance and never returned to full time, and dad will not take part in anything connected to swimming although he previously was highly involved in his kids� training. Then Kai becomes aware of certain mythology surrounding a kingdom of “mermaliens,� transformed humans who live on a hidden and submerged island of great riches and a library of protected and sorrowful memories of generations of people. An open ocean swim leads him to that kingdom where he finds Cali reigning as queen and fighting to protect the library against a rival group of undersea beings, Los Lobos, who aim to take both riches and the many memories in order to achieve a position of power in the world. To avert disaster, Kai must recover Cali’s heirloom cuff, her source of power, from Los Lobos and return it to the keepers of the library. Or, maybe all his reading about this particular mythology, important to Cali, and his failure to recover lost Cali’s bracelet, a concussion stemming from the open ocean swim practice and grief led to a fantasy that helped him deal with his unresolved feelings over the loss of his sister???? Readers will have to make their own decision, but I loved this one and am happy to go either way!
Ryan keeps her text free of profanity, sexual content and violence. Target audience is grades 5-7, with strong 4th grade readers also likely to enjoy this one if its 256 pages are not too daunting.
Thanks for the electronic arc, Edelweiss Above the Treeline.
November 27, 2024
Another fabulous novel from Pam Muñoz Ryan, tying together climate change in Southern California with the mythological stories of the Island of California.
Kai is still mourning the loss of his older sister Cali two years before. Since she disappeared in the ocean and was declared dead, he lost his competitive swimming edge and his father/coach has withdrawn into himself. Kai gets a spot on Cali's former swim league team but finds the coaches techniques very unusual. He starts to wonder if both the coaches and an old library book he found in Cali's room about Queen Califia and a mythic underwater realm have something to do with Cali's disappearance. Could this sunken island off the coast of California really exist? An exciting adventure about love and loss. Highly recommended for grades 4 & up.
ARC provided by publisher
Kai is still mourning the loss of his older sister Cali two years before. Since she disappeared in the ocean and was declared dead, he lost his competitive swimming edge and his father/coach has withdrawn into himself. Kai gets a spot on Cali's former swim league team but finds the coaches techniques very unusual. He starts to wonder if both the coaches and an old library book he found in Cali's room about Queen Califia and a mythic underwater realm have something to do with Cali's disappearance. Could this sunken island off the coast of California really exist? An exciting adventure about love and loss. Highly recommended for grades 4 & up.
ARC provided by publisher
February 10, 2025
“Unbeknown to most, the island's greatest treasure was a closely held secret, far more valuable than gold: priceless offerings from humankind—pearls of emotion relinquished to the islanders' care during the most heart-rending circumstances. These feelings were stored in countless tiny shells, each one closed tight like hands cupped in prayer. Every cockle was swaddled, cradled, and tenderly archived within a mysterious edifice-the Library of Despair and Sorrow.
The library—a safe harbor for sadness-could never be left unattended. For if the library was ever threatened or breached, and the contents released en masse, an avalanche of anguish would descend upon the
earth.
Imagine the torment.�
The library—a safe harbor for sadness-could never be left unattended. For if the library was ever threatened or breached, and the contents released en masse, an avalanche of anguish would descend upon the
earth.
Imagine the torment.�
March 20, 2025
Special thanks to Pam Muñoz Ryan, Scholastic Press, and The North Texas Teen Book Fair for giving me an Arc of this book!
This book had a very unique way of portraying grief. I loved the message of seeking help for mental health! I also loved the scenes with Cali's Realm and all the research that went into the story!
My favorite quote: "Fear Is technically the excitement before triumph[.]" Pg. 133
3/1/25 I got to meet the author! She signed Echo and gave me this book! We took pictures and she gave me a signed poster of her first book! She was very kind and passionate about her work!
If you liked this book, then I suggest:
Echo by this author
The Aquamarine Surfboard
Challenger Deep
The Willow Falls series
Confetti Girl
Ask My Mood Ring How I Feel
Umbrella Summer
My Life in Pink & Green
Kiki's Delivery Service
This book had a very unique way of portraying grief. I loved the message of seeking help for mental health! I also loved the scenes with Cali's Realm and all the research that went into the story!
My favorite quote: "Fear Is technically the excitement before triumph[.]" Pg. 133
3/1/25 I got to meet the author! She signed Echo and gave me this book! We took pictures and she gave me a signed poster of her first book! She was very kind and passionate about her work!
If you liked this book, then I suggest:
Echo by this author
The Aquamarine Surfboard
Challenger Deep
The Willow Falls series
Confetti Girl
Ask My Mood Ring How I Feel
Umbrella Summer
My Life in Pink & Green
Kiki's Delivery Service
April 6, 2025
Kai is still grieving over the loss of his sister, Cali, two years after she disappears while surfing. Although he makes it onto the town’s prestigious swim team, his times suffer and as hard as he tries he can’t get into the groove. Then one day while swimming in the ocean he enters a magical underwater kingdom ruled by a queen who looks exactly like his sister and he is told it is up to him to protect the kingdom from Los Lobos, the evil underwater villains determined to defeat the kingdom. Ryan has done a fantastic job of melding realistic fiction with a bit of magic realism and mythology, resulting in a middle grade read that should be on everyone’s list. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
February 22, 2025
As readers enter Kai’s world they fluctuate between his adventures in a fantastical underwater kingdom, a human-like dolphin pod, his struggles to stay competitive, and his feelings of sadness and loss. Those who have had similar struggles will relate to Kai and, hopefully, find a way to deposit their own feelings of loss in the mythical Library of Despair and Sorrow. Read more on my blog about Kai's adventures. I picked up this ARC at the January ALA conference:
April 7, 2025
A unique book, in both format and story. It is printed entirely in blue ink and illustrated beautifully. The story is a mix of reality and mythology and is told in four parts: above, below, between, and beyond. The underlying theme is a family dealing with grief after the loss of a daughter. It is a truly artistic imagining of the fate of the lost girl that brings comfort to the brother who mourns her.
February 27, 2025
Pam Muñoz Ryan blends realistic fiction with myth and fantasy in this middle-grade novel about Kai, who is grieving his sister’s death. Kai is from a swimming family, and the sea offers him beauty, mystery and healing.
Read
March 12, 2025I have some bones to pick with voice, because these just do not sound like middle schoolers OR adults a lot of the time, but it was a nice meditation on grief that I feel will bother some readers because the pitch is not that at all.
February 19, 2025
As to be expected from veteran writer Pam Muñoz Ryan, this story about grief is told through beautiful language layered inside California merfolk mythology.
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