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Saving Chupie book cover
Saving Chupie
A Graphic Novel
2023
First Published
4.11
Average Rating
224
Number of Pages

Nidhi Chanani’s Pashmina meets Encanto in Saving Chupie, a heartwarming middle grade graphic novel adventure about Violeta Rubio and her friends’ mission to protect their local chupacabra from international smugglers, set in a recovering town in Puerto Rico. Violeta Rubio only has one goal in mind for her first-ever trip to Puerto Rico: help Abuelita reopen her beloved restaurant, La Casita. After the destruction wrought by Huracán Maria, La Casita needs all the help it can get. The only problem is that Violeta’s whole family thinks they can do it without her. Now Violeta doesn’t have anyone to hang out with or anything to do. But when best friend duo Diego and Lorena need help capturing the rumored chupacabra, Violeta sees her chance to change all that. What she isn’t expecting is to run straight into the beast! Only…he isn’t as monstrous as everyone assumes. Sure, he’s got some scales and spikes, big red eyes, and pointy fangs—but he’s a totally puppy and loyal to a fault. Violeta must find a way keep Chupie hidden and convince her newfound friends that he isn’t anything to be scared of. And if that isn’t hard enough, a new threat lurks around the corner that is dead set on capturing Chupie for their own nefarious means. Will Violeta be able to save Chupie from the danger that surrounds them without sacrificing everything else in the process? Saving Chupie captures the resilience of a young girl, a family, and an island in face of nearly impossible odds and proves that love and friendship conquers all in this timely new adventure inspired by Puerto Rican culture and lore.

Avg Rating
4.11
Number of Ratings
374
5 STARS
37%
4 STARS
40%
3 STARS
19%
2 STARS
3%
1 STARS
0%
goodreads

Author

Amparo Ortiz
Amparo Ortiz
Author · 6 books
Amparo Ortiz was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and currently lives on the island’s northeastern coast. Her short story comic, “What Remains in The Dark,” appears in the Eisner Award-winning anthology Puerto Rico Strong (Lion Forge, 2018), and SAVING CHUPIE, her middle grade graphic novel, comes out with HarperCollins in Winter 2022. She holds an M.A. in English and a B.A. in Psychology from the UPR’s Río Piedras campus. When she’s not teaching ESL to her college students, she’s teaching herself Korean, devouring as much young adult fiction as she can, and writing about Latinx characters in worlds both contemporary and fantastical.
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