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Garza Twins #2
A Kingdom Beneath the Waves
The Garza family’s Christmas vacation in Mexico is cut short by the appearance of Pingo, one of the elfish tzapame. The news is grim: a rogue prince from an ancient undersea kingdom is seeking the Shadow Stone, a device he will use to flood the world and wipe out humanity. Now Carol and Johnny must join a group of merfolk and travel into the deepest chasms of the Pacific Ocean to stop the prince and his monstrous army with their savage magic.
254 pages, Paperback
First published February 14, 2016
About the author
David Bowles
99 books1,193 followersDavid Bowles is a Mexican American author and translator from south Texas. He has written several award-winning titles, most notably THEY CALL ME GÜERO and MY TWO BORDER TOWNS
His work has also been published in multiple anthologies, plus venues such as The New York Times, Strange Horizons, School Library Journal, Rattle, Translation Review, and the Journal of Children’s Literature.
Additionally, David has worked on several TV/film projects. In 2019, he co-founded the hashtag and activist movement #DignidadLiteraria, which has negotiated greater Latinx representation in publishing. He is presently the president of the Texas Institute of Letters.
His work has also been published in multiple anthologies, plus venues such as The New York Times, Strange Horizons, School Library Journal, Rattle, Translation Review, and the Journal of Children’s Literature.
Additionally, David has worked on several TV/film projects. In 2019, he co-founded the hashtag and activist movement #DignidadLiteraria, which has negotiated greater Latinx representation in publishing. He is presently the president of the Texas Institute of Letters.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 29, 2016
Move over Percy Jackson! This book is even better than the first one, which was also pretty great. This is the most fun I've had reading a mid-grade series since Sarah Prineas' Magic Thief series.
The Garza twins are great characters to spend time with, and I love how integral their close family relationships are to the story. Even though most of the action takes place away from their parents, the bonds of family are what gives these stories heart.
My favorite thing, though, is the mythos being explored here is new to me, and feels fresh and exciting. Bowles is a scholar who has translated Aztec and Mayan poetry and knows the languages and religious symbology of these cultures well enough to bring them to vivid and imaginative life.
Novelty is awesome! And that is entirely beside the point of this series being the only one I know of to have a Mexican American family front and center--one whose lives stretch across borders the way so many people's lives do.
If you have mid-grade readers--or just want to read a mythic adventure that's outside the usual Greek/Roman/ Egyptian/Norse territory--I wholeheartedly recommend The Garza Twins.
The Garza twins are great characters to spend time with, and I love how integral their close family relationships are to the story. Even though most of the action takes place away from their parents, the bonds of family are what gives these stories heart.
My favorite thing, though, is the mythos being explored here is new to me, and feels fresh and exciting. Bowles is a scholar who has translated Aztec and Mayan poetry and knows the languages and religious symbology of these cultures well enough to bring them to vivid and imaginative life.
Novelty is awesome! And that is entirely beside the point of this series being the only one I know of to have a Mexican American family front and center--one whose lives stretch across borders the way so many people's lives do.
If you have mid-grade readers--or just want to read a mythic adventure that's outside the usual Greek/Roman/ Egyptian/Norse territory--I wholeheartedly recommend The Garza Twins.
December 21, 2025
Highly enjoyable and Johnnys comments are funny.
May 27, 2016
This is the second in the YA, teen-oriented series by David Bowles. It tells the story of the shape-shifting Garza twins Carol And Johnny, and their family. Family is a huge theme in these stories. The setting is present day, but with a strong confluence of history and mythology from Mexico, and beyond.
I recommend these books for you any who enjoy fantasy and mythology, and the fast-growing genre of "border tales." The books are fast paced and, while geared for young teen readers (the protagonists are 13 in this story), they are enjoyable for any age, in my opinion. David Bowles is an acclaimed author and professor who has multiple translations, stories, and volumes of poetry in his curriculum vita. There's a nice blending of modern and ancient here. I always learn a great deal of lore, and a decent bit of vocabulary with his works. This one is no exception.
In this installment, we learn more about the twins' powers, and the rules of magic in the world they inhabit. There is a decent crossover with perhaps more familiar myths, and a good dose of tie in to the first volume ("The Smoking Mirror"). I rated both books five stars, but this second book is the better of the two in my opinion. There's more detail and some loose ends and plot points left over from book 1 are inventively covered in the second book. I definitely recommend reading them in order, but you could do this one as stand-alone and not miss too much. There are, however, references to the earlier story that you would miss by not reading it first.
Looking forward to book 3!
I recommend these books for you any who enjoy fantasy and mythology, and the fast-growing genre of "border tales." The books are fast paced and, while geared for young teen readers (the protagonists are 13 in this story), they are enjoyable for any age, in my opinion. David Bowles is an acclaimed author and professor who has multiple translations, stories, and volumes of poetry in his curriculum vita. There's a nice blending of modern and ancient here. I always learn a great deal of lore, and a decent bit of vocabulary with his works. This one is no exception.
In this installment, we learn more about the twins' powers, and the rules of magic in the world they inhabit. There is a decent crossover with perhaps more familiar myths, and a good dose of tie in to the first volume ("The Smoking Mirror"). I rated both books five stars, but this second book is the better of the two in my opinion. There's more detail and some loose ends and plot points left over from book 1 are inventively covered in the second book. I definitely recommend reading them in order, but you could do this one as stand-alone and not miss too much. There are, however, references to the earlier story that you would miss by not reading it first.
Looking forward to book 3!
April 2, 2016
Move over Harry Potter! The Garza Twins are opening up new worlds of fantasy!
April 12, 2018
While the "Garza Twins" sci-fi/fantasy series is geared more for tween readers, I've taken time to try out these titles -- and oh how I relished escaping into this sequel, far more so than the original! I'll admit, what likely biased me to favor Book Two so strongly was my personal fascination with the ocean. My favorite character here recalled for me a now-famous cinematic Amphibian Man. The best moment for me was the unexpected yet timely arrival of a certain goddess -- I couldn't help but think of film director Peter Jackson's version of Galadriel.
Speaking of which, I believe my accepting this tale as a Middle-Earth-style epic, made it less a hardship for me -- even motivated me -- to keep track of the many characters and multiple Nahuatl names, as compared to my experience with Book One. Reading most of this sequel as an e-book (utilizing the word-search option) likely also helped me in that regard. Moreover, what appealed to me was Book Two's innovation to expand the first volume's Mesoamerican mythology to now include a surprising number of aquatic deities and creatures.
A glossary is included at the end, to assist with both Spanish and Nahuatl terms. If I'd be nitpicky, I would've preferred some early dialogue rephrased to more closely match true-to-life speech. Otherwise, I very much enjoyed seeing a key supportive character from Book One return, to summon the central 12-year-old sibling pair to help stop a potential apocalypse. I also enjoyed seeing how a few secondary characters employed their own shifting abilities almost in the style of the "pseudopod" VFX in James Cameron's film "The Abyss."
Speaking of which, I believe my accepting this tale as a Middle-Earth-style epic, made it less a hardship for me -- even motivated me -- to keep track of the many characters and multiple Nahuatl names, as compared to my experience with Book One. Reading most of this sequel as an e-book (utilizing the word-search option) likely also helped me in that regard. Moreover, what appealed to me was Book Two's innovation to expand the first volume's Mesoamerican mythology to now include a surprising number of aquatic deities and creatures.
A glossary is included at the end, to assist with both Spanish and Nahuatl terms. If I'd be nitpicky, I would've preferred some early dialogue rephrased to more closely match true-to-life speech. Otherwise, I very much enjoyed seeing a key supportive character from Book One return, to summon the central 12-year-old sibling pair to help stop a potential apocalypse. I also enjoyed seeing how a few secondary characters employed their own shifting abilities almost in the style of the "pseudopod" VFX in James Cameron's film "The Abyss."
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews