Description: Winner of the 2022 Newbery Medal (celebrating the award's 100th anniversary) — a stunningly beautiful story that explores what makes us human. "Once upon a time, on a planet called Earth, there lived a girl named Petra Peña. Like her grandmother, Petra dreamed of becoming a storyteller. But Petra's world was coming to an end. Halley's Comet had veered off course, and Earth was doomed. Only a few hundred scientists and their children were chosen to carry humanity forward to a new planet. On July 28, 2061, Petra left her beloved grandmother behind on Earth and boarded a spaceship bound for a new world with her mother, a botanist, her father, a geologist, and her younger brother, Javier..." In the year 2442, Petra wakes up inside the spaceship as it lands on a new planet called Sagan. But her mother, father, and Javier are nowhere beside her. During the long journey, a group called the Collective — who believe that 'sameness creates equality and can end humanity's sins' — has seized control of the ship and erased all the passengers' memories. Petra is the only one who still remembers Earth. The people who once traveled with her now live as Zeta-1, Zeta-2, and so on, carrying out the tasks assigned by the Collective, with no memory of who they once were. Petra pretends to be Zeta-1, a botany and geology expert, holding on to hope that she might find her sleeping family somewhere on the ship. But she soon discovers the devastating truth: her parents have been eliminated by the Collective. Just when she has lost all hope, it is her grandmother's stories that give her courage once again. In one old tale, the princess Blancaflor is brave not for her own sake, but because she risks everything to save a prince. Inspired by this, Petra resolves not to let the other Zeta crew members spend their lives forgetting who they truly are... Through Petra — the only person who remembers Earth's past in a world ruled by the Collective — this book poses a profound question: what makes us human? The Collective dreams of a world made equal by uniformity — in appearance, knowledge, and culture. But sameness and equality are not the same thing. Human history has taught us, painfully, that people are beautiful and unique precisely because of their differences, and that true equality comes only when we embrace, rather than reject, those differences. Yet the Collective, refusing to acknowledge difference, eliminates anyone who doesn't serve its purpose and erases the memories of everyone else, using them merely as tools to colonize new planets. Those without memories watch the extinction of eleven billion lives on Earth as if it were nothing more than a soccer match, and when someone dies or is 'removed,' they simply sip a calming tonic. Can beings incapable of feeling truly be called human? This book metaphorically reveals that kindness, compassion, sacrifice, and love for others are what make us most truly human. 'Once upon a time...' — a masterpiece that reveals the power of stories to save the world, told through Petra, the last cuentista. Since childhood, Petra grew up listening to her grandmother's 'cuentos' (stories) and dreamed of becoming a great storyteller who could move people's hearts, just like her grandmother. But aboard the Collective-controlled ship, stories carrying humanity's history, culture, and precious values are dismissed as useless relics. Fortunately, due to a malfunction in the machine that downloads knowledge directly into the brain, Petra manages to keep her grandmother's stories intact. Just as her grandmother once told her stories of courage and hope every night before her interstellar journey, Petra now shares magical, heart-moving stories with the Zeta crew members who share her room. This book beautifully and delicately portrays the transformation of both Petra, the storyteller, and the children who listen to her. Whenever Petra faces a difficult challenge, she finds her way through the stories her grandmother once told her. And the Zeta crew members, who once existed only to serve the Collective, gradually begin to reveal their own individuality and desires through these stories — along with feelings of kindness and compassion for others that the Collective could never allow.