Thea and the Mischief Makers by Tracy Badua is a feel-good experience, reminding the reader of the innocence of youth, the excitement of a little mischief, and the lightheartedness of friendship and self-discovery.
The protagonist, Thea, is a young girl participating in a summertime Junior Warrior Stunt Camp while on a break from her martial arts and school. She had started school at Pacific Academy, where she was able to be seen as an all-capable star athlete. This is in comparison with Wharton Middle, which she used to attend with her old best friend, Evan. They were “semi-weird kids banded together” while there but didn’t need anyone else because they had each other. Thea is feeling a lot of newfound self-confidence and security at her new school, but during this summer break, she is confronted with navigating these feelings while being at camp with both Evan and her new, cool, and popular friends.
The chaos begins when she finds out that her parents coordinated with Evan’s to have them hang out after camp all summer. While recognizing that she misses her friend, she also has difficulty being true to her friendship with him when her new friends think he is weird and make fun of him. While at her house hanging out, Evan and Thea decide to create a stunt course in the backyard so that they can practice. Unknown to Evan at the time, Thea is mostly wanting to practice so she can manage her fear of heights and not embarrass herself at camp, especially in front of her friends Brooklyn and Rex. While creating the stunt course, they break off a branch on the calamansi tree that Thea’s grandpa used to protect and treat with high respect. This is because, as he would swear by, there were duwendes, Filipino mythological creatures, that resided inside the tree and would remain peaceful if treated well. If not, they would wreak havoc and seek revenge on anyone who crossed them the wrong way until forgiveness was earned. Duwendes, spelled duendes in Spanish, are not just Filipino folklore, but also Latin American. Thea and Evan both didn’t believe in them growing up hearing about them from family, thinking they were only myths. Upon breaking the calamansi branch, Thea meets the two duwende residents, Dante and Dora. They begin tearing apart the neighborhood while they wait for Thea to make it right. Thea and Evan team up to learn how to give an honest apology and earn their forgiveness before the world as they know it is destroyed.
Being a teenager trying to maintain her status as a successful athlete in Junior Warrior Stunt Camp; always winning, as her grandpa always wanted for her; navigating her new and old friendships; and saving her world as she knows it proves to be a busy summer full of competition, chaos, and destruction. As the days go by, the reader gets to be a part of Thea and Evan’s growth as young adults overcoming insecurities, learning what integrity means to them, and learning how to be true to themselves. This book is an exciting exploration of morals and values mixed with a lesson on connecting with others and with ancestors. I’d recommend this book to anyone looking to experience a story about cultural interconnectedness, coming of age, and learning from relationships with ancestors.
