2015 International Latino Book Award Finalist--Best Young Adult Fiction (English) 12-year-old Mateo returns to his grandparents' island to deal with a family tragedy. From the moment he arrives, a series of terrifying events turn his world upside down. A stray cat with a mohawk, a ruthless town bully, and a lost ghost mysteriously come together and change his life forever. "The Illuminated Forest" is an imaginative study in parallels: the fine lines that separate the real and the fantastic, the tangible and the mystical, the plausible and the magical. The novel's heart is contained within the atmospheric, lush descriptions of the geography of an island that breathes and feels along with the characters. "The Illuminated Forest" is at times a very human portrait populated by flawed characters trying to find balance and renewal, at other times it is a magical escape into another realm when faith has failed them. "The Illuminated Forest" is a heartfelt story told through magical realism, a literary work that seeks to delve deeply into its characters' humanity without sentimentality or trite happy endings. "FIVE STARS! TENDER, YET DELIVERED WITH A PUNCH IN ALL THE RIGHT PLACES... SOPHISTICATED SYMBOLISM AND WELL-HONED LANGUAGE TYPICAL OF FINE LITERATURE." -ForeWord Clarion Review