First published 2022
Luz "Little Light" Lopez works as a tea leaf reader and laundress in 1930s Denver. Her older brother Diego, who charms snakes and works in a factory, gets forced from town by a violent white mob. Luz must survive alone in the city. She begins experiencing visions that carry her back to her Indigenous homeland in the Lost Territory. Through these visions, Luz witnesses her ancestors' stories. She sees how her family once thrived and how they faced threats across generations. She observes the destructive forces that have harmed her people and their lands for centuries. Luz becomes the keeper of her family's history. She must prevent these stories from vanishing forever. The novel follows five generations of the Lopez family in the American West, revealing their struggles and triumphs through Luz's eyes.
Genres: american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, 21st-century
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, keeper-of-history
Setting: Denver, Lost Territory
Period: 1930s
320 pages · Paperback · Vintage
Content warnings: violence