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Saint Death
Saint Death | Marcus Sedgwick
A potent, powerful and timely thriller about migrants, drug lords and gang warfare set on the US/Mexican border by PRINTZ MEDAL winning and CARNEGIE MEDAL, COSTA BOOK AWARD and GUARDIAN CHILDREN'S FICTION PRIZE shortlisted novelist, Marcus Sedgwick. Anapra is one of the poorest neighbourhoods in the Mexican city of Juarez - twenty metres outside town lies a fence, and beyond it, America - the dangerous goal of many a migrant. Faustino is one such trying to escape from the gang he's been working for. He's dipped into a pile of dollars he was supposed to be hiding and now he's on the run. He and his friend, Arturo, have only 36 hours to replace the missing money, or they're as good as dead. Watching over them is Saint Death. Saint Death (or Santissima Muerte) - she of pure bone and charcoal-black eye, she of absolute loyalty and neutral morality, holy patron to rich and poor, to prostitute and narco-lord, criminal and police-chief. A folk saint, a rebel angel, a sinister guardian.
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NovelNancyM
Saint Death | Marcus Sedgwick
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Pickpick

Arturo is a poor teenager living totally on his own in a shack in Mexico on the border of El Paso. He works to support himself so can't attend school. His best friend hasn't been in touch for a year until he suddenly shows up because he's in trouble . Set over 24 hours, there's a plot twist. This book can be read as a fast-paced story, or as a statement about immigration, & the drug trade in the U.S. & its impact on the lives of Mexicans.

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Lindy
Saint Death | Marcus Sedgwick
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Mehso-so

The skull on the cover is fair warning: this is for brave readers. Life in this Mexican border town is brutal & Sedgwick pushes a lot of buttons including: religious faith; gambling; deadbeat fathers; economic exploitation. I love that this novel puts a sympathetic human face on the social justice crisis happening today in Mexico & Central America. It‘s so realistic, even with the supernatural touch of Saint Death, but too nihilistic for me.

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Jude_Nico_Allen21
Saint Death | Marcus Sedgwick
Pickpick

I absolutely loved this book, the content in it was very important even for YA and the card game seems cool. Would recommend for anyone trying to understand the problems with immigration laws or cartels in Mexico.

StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego Welcome to Litsy 📖💙 5y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Welcome to Litsy!! 5y
Jude_Nico_Allen21 Thanks guys! 5y
RaimeyGallant Welcome! 5y
9 likes5 comments
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Lindy
Saint Death | Marcus Sedgwick
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I like the design of this book, and that Spanish language punctuation conventions help immerse readers in the Mexican setting, even though the text is mostly in English.

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Lindy
Saint Death | Marcus Sedgwick
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Calavera, the skull. The symbol of all our vanity. We dress & we preen & we strive & we love & we fight & we cry & we hurt & we love again & we undress & dress again & we are proud & afraid & jealous, we are oh-so-jealous & more than that we are afraid, afraid, we are terrified & yet something keeps us going, something that keeps us moving in spite of everything, but that something…? That something is vanity itself.

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Lindy
Saint Death | Marcus Sedgwick
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Now that I‘m about to start my breakfast, I wish I would‘ve put turmeric in my squash soup. Everything else is so yellow, even the sprayed edges on that book!

Ruthiella Yum😋 5y
41 likes1 comment
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Lindy
Saint Death | Marcus Sedgwick
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“…and in the far corner, at the card tables, Arturo plays cards for Faustino‘s life.”

Book club pick. Sedgwick always feels like a chore because I don‘t get on with his writing style, but the other members of the book club love him, so we‘ve read a lot. I don‘t know why I can appreciate other authors drawing on Arthurian and Faustian legends, but when Sedgwick does it, for me it falls flat.

42 likes1 stack add
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BookaholicNatty
Saint Death | Marcus Sedgwick
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Drop off overdue books at library and pick up book that was on hold! This is a Book Club pick that‘s coming up soon!

JaclynW Cool cover! 6y
98 likes4 stack adds1 comment
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mrp27
Saint Death | Marcus Sedgwick
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#spookyoctober #octoberfavorites

My four star October reads.

Jess7 Yay! I hope you will join our final #litsybuddyread discussion for #thug this Sunday, 11/5! 6y
mrp27 @Jess7 I'll be there! (edited) 6y
Jess7 Have you read Eleanor Oliphant? That‘s our November #LitsyBuddyRead. We just hosted the first discussion. It‘s a short book, so we‘re only having three discussions this time. Our December book is this one: 6y
27 likes3 comments
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maximoffs
Saint Death | Marcus Sedgwick
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Wbabdullah Wow! What a quote! 6y
58 likes1 stack add1 comment
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maximoffs
Saint Death | Marcus Sedgwick
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mrp27
Saint Death | Marcus Sedgwick
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Pickpick

#uncannyoctober #bare

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This gritty story of life on the border of the US and Mexico is a powerful read. A timely thriller about immigration involving drug cartels, fate and a card game that kept me on the edge of my seat. My first book by Sedgwick and he did not disappoint.

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maximoffs
Saint Death | Marcus Sedgwick
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I officially have a bookstagram! I've never done this before, any tips or tricks?

LectricSheep Your name is 🙌🏻 7y
maximoffs @LectricSheep thank you! 7y
tjwill I started one just a few months ago, but I still don't have the hang of posting regularly yet. I'll follow you! 7y
See All 9 Comments
ScorpioBookDreams Buy loads of props! 7y
Wuxia.Ravenclaw007 @steverogers You've accomplished what I've wanted to but am not invested in social media enough to do it! Good luck...I shall find thee!👍🏽 7y
maximoffs @tjwill not sure if it will stick @ScorpioBookDreams that sounds intense 😳@wuxia.ravenclaw007 sounds great! 7y
Peddler410 I'm following you! 7y
ChasingOm I followed you and commented on one of your posts! 😄 7y
nickimags I'm on there too @nicki_mags and have just followed you. I don't use props but play with filters and editing features in the app for my images. 6y
83 likes9 comments
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maximoffs
Saint Death | Marcus Sedgwick
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maximoffs
Saint Death | Marcus Sedgwick
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58 likes1 stack add
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maximoffs
Saint Death | Marcus Sedgwick
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¡Feliz día de independencia México! Para celebrar me voy a empezar este libro de unos de mis favoritos autores, Marcus Sedgewick. Estoy muy emocionada para empezarlo!

FictionFox I loved this book!!!! 7y
maximoffs @FictionFox one of his books is on my all time favorites list. 7y
Sace ¡Qué se disfrute! 7y
FictionFox @steverogers just added it to my TBR! 7y
50 likes2 stack adds4 comments
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geekylikeme
Saint Death | Marcus Sedgwick
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"Don't worry where you're going; you will die where you have to."
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Just started this yesterday. It lingers as his books usually do. Not my favorite of his books but at the same time I like the subject matter. And oh that cover... Gorgeous

Cuteek That cover is so nice! 7y
2 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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Tnovo
Saint Death | Marcus Sedgwick
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Couldn't wait to start this one tonight. And yes I jumped in bed by 7 to start it. 😊

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Fancypants
Saint Death | Marcus Sedgwick
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Panpan

Just really not a fan of the writing style. And the story itself felt a bit disjointed and off.

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IReadThereforeIBlog
Saint Death | Marcus Sedgwick
Pickpick

Marcus Sedgwick's contemporary YA novel is a dark, stark look at the harsh realities of life in a Mexican border town and although it's a difficult and bleak read, it makes you think about the lives and limited opportunities available to the people, which drives many into crime and how US and Western policy and businesses contributes to that.

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intothehallofbooks
Saint Death | Marcus Sedgwick
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Pickpick

EVERY TIME I finish one of Marcus Sedgwick's books, I have to catch my breath at the end.

Saint Death is eye-opening. There are several themes in here that apply to this world today and, coincidentally, to current immigration/US-Mexico border issues. But it isn't all political! The further Arturo creeps into the dark side of Juarez, the harder my heart raced.

Short read, but not a single word is wasted, as is Sedgwick's way. Intense and so good.

Librariana I came of age in El Paso (pre-teens to 20's) and was right across the border from Ciudad Juárez. This is definitely one I'm intrigued to read. Thanks for that review! 7y
51 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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mrp27
Saint Death | Marcus Sedgwick
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Book mail! My friend just sent this to me after we kept seeing it in the book stores last week. Can't wait to dig in but it's going to have to wait. Looks good!

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intothehallofbooks
Saint Death | Marcus Sedgwick
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I'm reading way after midnight because I'm trying to calm down from ⭐️seeing Trevor Noah Live tonight ⭐️

It was awesome. I've never seen a live comedy show before but it was similar to the Born A Crime audio: comedy with real/serious stuff mixed in. I loved the show so much and laughed til I cried.

Also: I'm enjoying Saint Death so far which doesn't surprise me-I love Marcus Sedgwick's work. I'm about halfway thru. And this cover is great 📖

Eyelit Sounds like a great night!! 7y
melbeautyandbooks That's awesome! I absolutely loved Born a Crime on audio. 7y
ErikasMindfulShelf I saw his show a couple of weeks age. It was so great!! 7y
58 likes3 stack adds3 comments
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intothehallofbooks
Saint Death | Marcus Sedgwick
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I took my girls to see Marcus Sedgwick in Raleigh a couple of nights ago - their first ever book event!

They had a great time and want to go to more book events, they said. OF COURSE, this makes me happy happy happy ❤

(If you've already seen this picture on IG: I'm sorry for the double post. I'm just really proud! Also, I'm a huge fan of Marcus Sedgwick's books.)

Mariposa_Bookworm Was this Raleigh, NC? Does this bookstore frequently host author events? I'm curious because I live about an hour and a half from Raleigh. 7y
intothehallofbooks @Mariposa_Bookworm Hi! Yes, this was at Quail Ridge Books in North Hills, Raleigh. I live in Fayetteville but it's an easy drive for me to get there and they have a pretty good calendar for where we are, I think. 😀 They have authors in-house all the time! 7y
Mariposa_Bookworm Awesome! I'll go online and check! I live outside of Fayetteville in Raeford! We'll probably be in Raleigh for Animazement at the end of May (My son loves all things Japanese), so I may stop in there! 7y
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intothehallofbooks @Mariposa_Bookworm Oh my goodness, we're practically neighbors! That's so cool! 😃👏🏻 7y
Mariposa_Bookworm Totally Cool! 😎 7y
melbeautyandbooks That's awesome! 7y
Cortg Cute picture! Glad everyone had fun! 7y
74 likes7 comments
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Peddler410
Saint Death | Marcus Sedgwick

Just picked this up at the local book shop. I didn't even know it was out there. The author is going to be at said bookstore on Friday but yet again I can't go. 😞

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BooksTeasAndBookishThings
Saint Death | Marcus Sedgwick
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Got this #BookMail in today! So many books and so little time 📚❤😊

Clare-Dragonfly There's a "buy this book based on cover alone" if I ever saw one! 7y
BooksTeasAndBookishThings @Clare-Dragonfly right?? 7y
107 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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yayeahyeah
Saint Death | Marcus Sedgwick
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Some fab #halloweenreads - including signed copies of Saint Death! - in this Tales On Moon Lane display. #booktober has been really fun; thank you @RealLifeReading for running it! #getindie

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yayeahyeah
Saint Death | Marcus Sedgwick
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I am lucky enough to be sent some awesome books and swag from publishers - these playing cards for Saint Death look especially cool!