Description

Jade is starting eighth grade in a new cityAtlanta She just wants to go back to Chicago where her friends are Where her Abuela livesBut Jade does like walking to her new school on the trail that winds through the woods behind her house where lush flowers bloom and soft leaves rustle beneath her feet In the forest Jade feels protected Sometimes its as if its listening to herThere Jade meets Itztli an elderly storyteller who exists between dreams and reality In the golden afternoons when Itztli appears he steps out of the forest as a lithe agile jaguar But when he speaks to Jade he is a wise old man who makes intricate works of art and tells her ancestral stories of MexicoAt first Itztlis stories feel far removed from Jades life But as her Abuela suddenly falls ill two towers come crashing down in New York City and Jade becomes someone or something she doesnt yet understand Itztlis stories take on new meaning Jade must learn to have patience and strength to become who she was always meant to be as the stirrings of an ancient power awaken within herWhat the Jaguar Told Her is a lyrical debut about growing up in the midst of change and a magical cultural homecoming