On the way to the game, there is a terrible accident and everyone is killed except for Lula. Lula, the oldest of the Mortiz sisters, has just been broken up with before boarding the bus to the district championship soccer game with her friends and teammates.

She felt how things would affect not just herself, but her family, which was one of the things that I didn't like about Alex, but all three of the sisters seem to have grown in this book. Where Alex was quick-tempered, Lula was thoughtful. This second instalment of the Brooklyn Brujas series was SO MUCH BETTER than the first! Where the first book felt too fast and missed opportunities, BRUJA BORN was WONDERFUL! I felt so much closer to this character, Lula, then I did to Alex. I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this title. If there were more authors like Córdova and more books like Bruja Born, I could honestly say we Latinx may feel a bit more at home in the fantasy literary community, seeing a slice of our lives on the written page. She remains masterful at creating real, likable, and human characters and infusing the latinx way of being into a world of magic and wonder. A simple love story that Córdova crafts so delicately and tenderly you can’t help but feel connected to this world that continues feeling fresh, yet familiar for those of us who are New Yorkers.īruja Born by Zoraida Córdova is absolutely, heartbreakingly wonderful in every way. Where the first book in the Brooklyn Brujas series takes us away to a magical world, Bruja Born keeps us in New York and keeps things grounded. The times this book has made me cry is ridiculous. Above all, we feel Lula’s whole heart that is ever certain. Where she had us feeling uncertain and unsure with Alex in Labyrinth Lost, we have such an unwavering feeling of anger, betrayal, and realization. Córdova is absolutely amazing at creating two completely different people with different and distinct manners of speech, of thought, of feeling. Labyrinth Lost has moments where I would stop and think why are you so foolish Alex, and then I would realize well of course she’s foolish, she’s a young teen! So when Córdova switches to Lula’s point of view, it was such a difference.

That said, Bruja Born completely blew Labyrinth Lost out of the water.

Though I loved Lula in Labyrinth Lost, I wanted to see Alex’s story continue. Though I was initially hesitant on what Bruja Born by Zoraida Córdova could be out as I discovered that the narrative focus would change from first book in the series, Labyrinth Lost, where we followed bi/pansexual Alex and her story, to that of eldest sister Lula.