Name: Never Look Back
ISBN: 9781547603732

Lilliam Rivera

A modern retelling of the myth, Orpheus and Eurydice, in which Eury leaves Puerto Rico for the Bronx, haunted by losing all to Hurricane Maria and by evil spirit Ato, and meets a bachata-singing charmer, Pheus.

Never Look Back

"Expertly blends reality and fantasy to explore what's behind love and loss, what it takes to heal." - Randy Ribay, author of National Book Award finalist Patron Saints of Nothing Acclaimed author Lilliam Rivera blends a touch of magical realism into a timely story about cultural identity, overcoming trauma, and the power of first love. Eury comes to the Bronx as a girl haunted. Haunted by losing everything in Hurricane Maria--and by an evil spirit, Ato. She fully expects the tragedy that befell her and her family in Puerto Rico to catch up with her in New York. Yet, for a time, she can almost set this fear aside, because there's this boy . . . Pheus is a golden-voiced, bachata-singing charmer, ready to spend the summer on the beach with his friends, serenading his on-again, off-again flame. That changes when he meets Eury. All he wants is to put a smile on her face and fight off her demons. But some dangers are too powerful for even the strongest love, and as the world threatens to tear them apart, Eury and Pheus must fight for each other and their lives. Featuring contemporary Afro-Latinx characters, this retelling of the Greek myth Orpheus and Eurydice is perfect for fans of Ibi Zoboi's Pride and Daniel José Older's Shadowshaper. A Pura Belpré Honor winner!

Steph L 

A beautiful read

This book is excellent. This is a retelling of a Greek myth. I loved the characters and their love story. This book also has fun side characters that make the story feel more complete.

Sonia Flores

Thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury YA for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

This book broke my heart and gave me hope. It’s a beautiful retelling of a Greek myth, but with contemporary Afro-Latinx characters and that magical realism that I love, I fell in love with the way the author made us get into the story and culture. This is a magical love story but for me, the most relevant thing was the fact that one of the characters was trying to overcome trauma, I’m amazed by how strong she was and how the authors writing style made me feel so close to the experience. The storytelling skills of Lilliam Rivera makes us love everything about the book, although it’s everything already precious.

Eury went through a lot, after losing everything in Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, she now lives in Florida. But after a breakdown, her mom thinks she’s gonna get better in New York with her family. Eury is also trying to be free from an evil spirit that’s haunting her.

There, she meets Pheus, a charming boy, the bachata singer that everyone loves, but when she meets Eury all he wants is to put a smile on her face and help her, but some things are too strong and not even the willing to help is gonna make things alright.

This is an Own Voices retelling of the Greek Myth Orpheus and Eurydice that’s gonna have your heart, for sure. The characters are young and so flawed and at the same time, so easy to connect with. Their hearts are so pure, sweet and beautiful. 

Retelling a myth is challenging, but not only she filled my expectations, but went above them adding topics like mental health, cultural identity, loss and grief. It was really good to read this myth with such refreshing characters and from a new perspective.