Xolo coming November 4th, 2025 from Levine Querido; 224 pages
Content Warning: Death threats, bullying
About the Author: “Donna Barba Higuera is the New York Times best selling author of Middle Grade and picture books that reinvent history, folklore, and or her own life experience into compelling storylines. She lives in Washington State with her family, two dogs, two guppies and a frog. Her books include Lupe Wong Won’t Dance, El Cucuy Is Scared, Too!, The Last Cuentista, The Yellow Handkerchief, Alebrijes, and have won awards including: the Newbery medal, both Pura Belpré medal and honor, PNBA best book of the year award, and the Sid Fleischman award for best children’s humor book of the year” (Bio from author’s website).
Find Donna Barba Higuera on the following platforms:
About the Illustrator: “Mariana Ruiz Johnson is an award-winning children’s book illustrator and author. She likes to explore the narrative power of illustration and the relationship between images and words. Using vibrant palettes and different patterns and textures, she combines traditional techniques and digital media. Mariana lives in the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina with her husband and two children” (Bio from illustrator’s Goodreads).
Find Mariana Ruiz Johnson on the following platforms:
Xolo is a reimagining of the Aztec myth of Quetzalcoatl, who traveled to the underworld to retrieve ancient bones of humans and, using his blood, brought to life humans as they are today. This retelling focuses on Quetzalcoatl’s oft forgotten twin brother, Xolotl, the god of fire and lightning and the guide for the dead. The story takes place in a world long after humans have died out. As punishment for not sacrificing himself to bring back humans and not stopping the god Mictlantecuhtli from stealing humanity’s bones, Xolotl must guide the sun through the Underworld each night. However, he yearns for the joy humanity brought to him, and devises a plan with Quetzalcoatl to retrieve the bones.
Xolo is an intriguing mythological retelling about an underdog—literally! I appreciate stories grounded in truth—in this case, the truth of the original myth—but that are also willing to explore new perspectives and focus on characters not so prominent in the original mythos. Xolotl was a perfect choice for a protagonist because there is not much known about him, giving Higuera plenty of creative freedom to explore his character. I found the idea of discovering something you care about and holding onto it in order to get through bad days to be relatable. Though perhaps not quite on the scale of what Xolotl goes through in the story, I was reminded of how during hard days at work I find myself thinking of better times with old pets or friends to reassure myself that I will have more days like those eventually, if I just get through the rough present day. The illustrations are vibrant but not overwhelming, and the style itself was a great simplification of ancient Aztec art. I did have gripes with the design choices of many pages, where white text was placed on a pale yellow background which made it incredibly difficult to read the text. I’m curious what a physical version of the book would look like, if the yellow would be darker and therefore make it easier to read the white text. Overall though, I found Xolo to be a fun introduction to Aztec myths—never once did I find myself confused because I didn’t know any existing folklore, and the ending is not one I see in many novels.
Xolo releases on November 4th, 2025.
Pine Reads Review would like to thank NetGalley and Levine Querido for sending us an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change before final publication.
Grace McCool, Pine Reads Review Writer & Editor