Pilar Ramirez and the Escape from Zafa

Twelve-year-old Pilar Violeta “Purp” Ramirez’s world is changing as her Chicago neighborhood gentrifies and her sister leaves for college. Pilar takes matters into her own hands when she learns that her sister’s professor studies disappearances like that of her cousin Natasha, who vanished in the Dominican Republic 50 years ago. After discovering a folder with Natasha’s name in the professor’s office, Pilar is transported to Zafa, an island filled with dangerous creatures and a magical prison holding her cousin captive. Pilar must confront the fearsome Dominican boogeyman, El Cuco, to free Natasha and return home.