The Last Storyteller/Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera

There lived a girl named Petra Peña, who wanted nothing more than to be a storyteller, like her abuelita.

But Petra's world is ending. Earth has been destroyed by a comet, and only a few hundred scientists and their children – among them Petra and her family – have been chosen to journey to a new planet. They are the ones who must carry on the human race.

Hundreds of years later, Petra wakes to this new planet – and the discovery that she is the only person who remembers Earth. A sinister Collective has taken over the ship during its journey, bent on erasing the sins of humanity's past. They have systematically purged the memories of all aboard – or purged them altogether.

Petra alone now carries the stories of our past, and with them, any hope for our future. Can she make them live again?

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Note that in the USA, this book is called The Last Cuentista, while in the UK it's Storyteller, but it is the same book.

 Whichever of these covers I'm looking at, I think 'that's my favourite' but then I look at the other one and I change my mind. Then back to the first again...I do think the US one looks older, maybe even YA as opposed to the UK's tween.

Stories about the importance of stories aren't new. Terry Pratchett, a doyen of storytelling, referred to humans as 'Pan Narrans - the storytelling apes' in reference to the stories we tell, from Red Riding Hood all the way up to Truth and Justice. In many countries storytelling was one of the most honoured and difficult professions a person could take up.

All this is my longwinded way of saying, this story tackles an old idea in a very new and intriguing way. The mix of futuristic ideas and old folktales makes for something really new, and I loved the ideas behind the tech - it's a fascinating take on a suspended animation ship. I've never seen one that mixed suspension and generation ideas like that! Really innovative.

I do love a cult narrative and I was surprised when this turned into one after a while! It does make sense, of course - how much more closed could a society be? - but it surprised me when I reached it.

This is a fantastic read about courage in the hardest of hard times and drawing strength from your history, and I highly enjoyed it. I'll definitely be recommending it to other readers.

The Last Storyteller is available now. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.