The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez

This book is definitely a favorite of mine. The overall storytelling style was weird, and interesting. It was unique. It was hard, at first, to get into, and I'm really glad I did not give up on it. It was an easy read after the initial weirdness. (the weirdness is important and I'm glad its there) We start with a kid (12 or so?) sitting with his Lola who is telling him stories about the Old Country. We get some of the setting of the present day - his Granjo (grandma/lola's dad), his brothers, the war that's ongoing, the dockside town they live in. As his Lola had told him, one day, he would have this mystical dream about the Old Country. So there he is in this mystical place, a massive theater, filled with shadow-people, sort of like ghosts. They take their seats and are facing a stage filled with dancers. And so the book sets the scene of this theater, and the audience of shadow-people (our boy also a shadow people), and the dancers on stage, etc. And then the dancers start acting…