Editorial Content for The Lightning Queen

Maybe you believe in fate, maybe you do not. But whatever you believe, you cannot deny that perhaps some higher power pulled together the two individuals that are the main characters of this book. They are from two worlds and cultures you wouldn’t expect to see meet, but when they cross paths, something that can only be described as magic happens.

I say these things because THE LIGHTNING QUEEN by Laura Resau is almost entirely pure magic and mystery, with a mythical, ethereal ribbon woven through every part of the story. The book brings together two communities that I have never seen together (how great that it was inspired by true stories), and Resau creates something that immediately sweeps you away on the wings of poetry and the impossible. She establishes this atmosphere from the start and she doesn’t relent until the final page turns..

The story opens with Mateo, a boy taking his annual summer trip to visit his grandfather in Oaxaca, Mexico. The boy’s ancestors are the Mixteco Natives, the indigenous tribe of the area. Teo, the grandfather, shows his grandson a dazzling necklace of coins unlike anything Mateo has ever seen. As soon as he holds it in his hands, he is transported into the movie in his grandfather’s mind, the memories of his past. This framework is fascinating, deliberate and unique, and it harkens to the magical realism that is present in so many stories written and told by Hispanic cultures.

We are transported back to the turn of the century where young Teo is grappling with the grief of his deceased twin sister. His mother has been struck with severe depression, unable to speak or leave the house, as this is the second family member they have lost --- the first being Teo’s father when he was struck by a car and left to die in the road because of his race. This is one of the many instances where Resau tackles the grim, despicable reality of racism, and she faces these problems with pointedness, passion and a call to arms against injustice. We also see this theme arise when a group’s sudden arrival surprises all of the Mixteco Natives: the Romani. Derogatorily labeled as thieves and gypsies, the caravan arrives bringing friendship, trade and the magic of burgeoning cinema; the Romani bring their projectors around on their travels to share their movies with others.

It is among the Romani that Teo meets Esma, a vivid, vivacious, fearless girl who calls herself the Queen of Lightning. She strides through the camp with her violin and thundering singing voice, sweeping away Teo, filling him with excitement and joy he hasn’t felt in a very long time. When Esma’s grandmother, a fortuneteller and the Mistress of Destiny, proclaims that the two of them will be lifelong friends and will save each other when no one else can, Teo is mystified. However, the more time he spends with Esma, the more he realizes that the list of what’s impossible is shorter than he believed.

THE LIGHTNING QUEEN is pretty exceptional, exposing audiences to cultures that aren’t often represented in modern media and to characters that will thrill them and stay with them long after they’ve closed the book. 

The narrative of THE LIGHTENING QUEEN alternates back and forth between the present day and the years of Teo and Esma’s friendship spread across time (in more ways than one) until the beautiful, breathless, dramatic ending comes and the friends for life are together exactly as they should be. It was really refreshing to see so many characters of widespread age, and it was enthralling to watch many of these characters go from start to finish, to see so many points in their life.

And that wasn’t the only reason that I knew these characters so well; they were painted like works of art, and I could see and learn every detail about them. Esma was an enchantment, a fierce, bold, inspiring character who truly did inject lightning into the story. Hers and Teo’s relationship was majestic, its growth organic, its ebbs and flows tense and gorgeous, and the unspoken love between them was refreshing to see in a time when young love can sometimes be pushed into your face over other elements of the story. The relationship between the Romani and the Mixteco was expertly drawn as well, full of hesitation, a naturally shaky building of trust, but with genuine warmth. Their friendship sparked an important dialogue about the treatment of marginalized groups, and I hope it stirs others to continue this conversation. The setting was exquisitely detailed, and I felt lost in Teo’s world, both present day and past.

There was, unfortunately, only one thing that bothered me, and that was the writing style. For the most part, it was lyrical, descriptive and poetic, but I have to admit, the surplus of metaphors and metaphysical language sometimes stopped me. Whenever something happened, I got a metaphor describing it, along with several other attached images. The continuous stops kept halting the pace, and it sometimes kept me away from enjoying what was actually happening between the two characters. There were also times that I found it hard to believe that a 12-year-old would consistently talk like that. I knew Teo was a more whimsical, introspective person, but he still was very young.

What I think bothered me the most was that since everything got so much description, I felt that I was unable to decide how I felt about it.  A moment would pass between Esma and Teo, something would happen, and I felt like I wasn’t able to experience my own organic reaction because the next two sentences were all about describing and assigning images to what just happened. I also didn’t think it was necessary because the story and characters were strong enough to stand on their own without the scaffolding of the language getting in the way. It felt like the author found it necessary to always write like that, and I didn’t agree. That was just my personal experience with the writing, and while it inhibited me at multiple points throughout the story, it wasn’t enough to deter me from liking it.

Overall, THE LIGHTNING QUEEN is pretty exceptional, exposing audiences to cultures that aren’t often represented in modern media and to characters that will thrill them and stay with them long after they’ve closed the book. THE LIGHTNING QUEEN truly transports audiences away from real life and deep into the world of the story. There will never be a moment where you won’t be rooting for Teo and Esma to fulfill their true fortune and remain friends for all of their lives. I’ve even been inspired by Esma to find sources of lightning in my own life --- she was the definition of a memorable character. To the Queen of Lightning, I raise a glass.