Twisted Cross

Teens

synopsis

Synopsis

In 1795, eighteen-year-old Salvador Tenorio and his best friend, Blas, embark upon the most adventurous journey of their lives, leaving their impoverished families and painful memories behind in Imperial Spain. On a quest to find adventure, the clever young Spaniard battles the demons of his past and religious uncertainty on an epic expedition to the New World.

Determined to make the best out of their challenging circumstances, they aspire to claw their way out of poverty. Sal and Blas discover more than they ever imagined as they witness the fragmented cultures of California’s native people. Tangling with corrupted padres and escaping from ruthless pirates, they realize that all that glitters is not gold. Sal and Blas must quickly learn the rules of the sea and the new western frontier—or die trying. Can Sal handle his own twisted secrets and rise from the depths of his past while discovering his own purpose in life?

bio

Author Biography

Dr. Perez Ferguson is a cross-cultural educator and consultant. Her fiction brings to life the voices of California inhabitants living 200 years ago. She has twice won the Best YA Fiction Award from the San Francisco Writers Conference, 2021 and 2022.

Regarding Broken Promises:

"The tightly wound plot flows effortlessly from one moment to the next.... readers will find themselves inspired by the future Sparrow creates for herself and those around her." — Kirkus Reviews

Her non-fiction promotes the voices of under-represented communities in the twenty-first century. This earned her the 2014 Lacayo Lifetime Achievement Award from the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute. She is an Advisor and Former Chair for the InterAmerican Foundation and a former Visiting Lecturer for the Council for Independent Colleges. She enjoys living and writing on the Pacific coast.

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Author Insight

Music as Magic

In tough times our hopes and prayers can fall short if we do not also have a good song to keep us encouraged. In Twisted Cross, Sal's trials at sea lead to new miseries in a foreign land. His compadre Blas sings regardless of their fate. The twenty-first century immigrant experience also reflects dreams of freedom quickly turned to nightmares of alienation. It is not enough to escape a crisis in your homeland if you have lost all hope when you reach your destination. Continue to sing. This story conveys a young immigrant's inner passage as well as the historic colonization of the Americas. The colonization left a rich heritage, and a deep wound, on our entire continent.

Book Excerpt

Twisted Cross

Blas trailed behind. Even in the worst circumstances, he managed to surprise Sal with his idiotic behavior. Somehow, he mustered the energy to bellow an old ballad.

“This life full of sorrow…” Blas sang. Sal recognized the song, one they learned as boys begging for pesos outside the cantina. The disembarking soldiers also recognized the tune and joined in the singing. The Brothers moved toward shore, holding their skirts high after the landing party cleared the way. No one expected the Brothers to help herd the swine.

“Gracìas a Dìos, thank God,” the Brothers said. Their prayers to celebrate deliverance from the sea voyage competed with Blas’s barroom tunes. The soldiers kept singing along with Blas’s bawdy songs, celebrating the landing with wine drizzled from boda bags held high.

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Anita Perez Ferguson

Twisted Cross

Synopsis

Author Biography

Author Insight

Music as Magic

Book Excerpt

Twisted Cross

Comment on this Bubble