num_pages: 290
description: Antonio Marez is six years old when Ultima enters his life. She is a curandera, one who heals with herbs and magic. 'We cannot let her live her last days in loneliness,' says Antonio's mother. 'It is not the way of our people,' agrees his father. And so Ultima comes to live with Antonio's family in New Mexico. Soon Tony will journey to the threshold of manhood. Always, Ultima watches over him. She graces him with the courage to face childhood bigotry, diabolical possession, the moral collapse of his brother, and too many violent deaths. Under her wise guidance, Tony will probe the family ties that bind him, and he will find in himself the magical secrets of the pagan past—a mythic legacy equally as palpable as the Catholicism of Latin America in which he has been schooled. At each turn in his life there is Ultima who will nurture the birth of his soul.
language: English
title: Bless Me, Ultima
titlecomplete: Bless Me, Ultima
characters: Tenorio, Antonio Marez, Narciso, Ultima, la Grande
genres: Coming Of Age, Historical Fiction, School, Young Adult, Literature, Fantasy, Classics, Banned Books, Fiction, Magical Realism
ratings_count: 33626
places: New Mexico, The United States of America
awards: name: Premio Quinto Sol, awardedAt: 1451635200000
name: NMBA Richard Harris Award
publisher: Grand Central Publishing