Belén Martínez

First Prize – Puck Young Adult Novel Award

A gripping, moving story that will keep you drawing conclusions until the very last page. A fresh, authentic, and magical voice.

Casio Oliver is obsessed with Prelude to Winter, the first work by Óscar Salvatierra, a now-retired writer. Aguablanca, the town where the story unfolds, welcomes him for the final month of summer among its pines, ghosts, and forgotten memories, as he tries to escape the nightmare his life has become in recent months.

What he doesn’t know is that his own story began long ago—with a boy who offered him an umbrella in the rain, a mansion perched on a cliff, and a book that hides magic, death, and love within its pages.

In the abyss that separates magic from reality, Casio must decide what to fight for, what to live for—so that his own story can finally come true.