Bodega Botanica Tales: Carmen

by Maria Rodriguez Bross

Carmen is thirteen, period poor, and desperate for protection, in a city where dangers lurk at every corner. Everything changes when she takes a bracelet from the local bodega, leading her to an alternate world. Now, as an adult looking back, Carmen must reckon with her actions. Some magic can't be undone. Some lessons must be learned. And some stories must be told, even if no one believes them.

This is the second part to the Bodega Botanica Tales six-part series. Each story stands alone as a unique experience of childhood trauma, resilience, and the challenges of growing up.

Perfect for mature teen/ YA and crossover adult readers.

144 pages, Paperback

Published November 21, 2025

About the author

I'm an author and so grateful if you choose to follow me on this platform. I write short stories and novellas about the unknown, the unexpected and the phenomenal. I self-published stand-alone novellas, Bodega Botanica Tales: Jose and Bodega Botanica Tales: Carmen, which are Parts 1 & 2 of a six-part series. Parts 3-6 of the series will be released in 2026. This series is for mature YA or crossover adult readers. For my personal tales and updates, join my monthly newsletter at https://bodega-botanica-tales.kit.com...

Reviews

[Reader Views · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bodega Botanica Tales: Carmen by Maria Rodriguez Bross is book 2 of the Bodega Botanica Tales series. This coming-of-age story is narrated by the main character, Carmen. The story begins with Carmen reminiscing about her past and taking readers to a time when she was 13 years old, heading to the Bodega with Lucy and Jose to purchase something for Lucy’s mother. The Bodega was a mystical place and believed to be haunted by an old woman. Their mission was to purchase feminine pads for Lucy’s mother. In this first Chapter, readers get a sense of the setting and foundation of these three characters.

Lucy and Jose are poor, and Lucy is from higher means. It also presents readers with the details on the struggles of being a poor young woman in the city. The level of detail in the information definitely gives a shot of reality to the reader, as a young woman like Carmen can’t even afford such basics as pads for her period. As a 13-year-old growing up in a South American city, I related to Carmen, Lucy, and Jose immediately. There was even a Bodega right at the corner from where I lived, which I would walk to for stuff for my mom or cigarettes for my dad, too!

I know that it might be crazy to say a magical teen-adventure is realistic…but it is true! The characters felt so real, joined by the detailed narrative, which made even the magical elements believable. The parallel times running side by side made reading it even more interesting and entertaining. Still, the author does an amazing job keeping the story real and raw when it comes to Carmen’s life, her interaction with her mother, as well as her friends. The dialogues are also genuine and appropriate with each character. Each character’s voice was genuinely theirs. That is not easy to achieve, and in my opinion, that is what truly will capture the reader and pull them into the story.

Overall, I found Bodega Botanica Tales: Carmen by Maria Rodriguez Bross a unique, well-written, and captivating teen read. One where they will identify with characters, learn from their struggles as well as their culture, and enjoy the magical /reality ride. A Five-Star read for teens!

[Yen Gomez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent follow-up to Jose’s story in the first book. Carmen’s story resonated with me, as it reflected several experiences I have witnessed throughout my life. I look forward to the next installment and hope it will focus on Lucy’s story.

[Book Reviewer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bodega Botanica Tales: Carmen is a magical-realism coming-of-age story that follows Carmen, a girl growing up in the rough edges of Silk City, where money is tight, danger feels ordinary, and a mysterious bodega might hold both miracles and curses. The book opens with Carmen navigating period poverty, unreliable adults, and shifting friendships, and soon pulls her into a world where a mystical figure named Chankla, glowing bracelets, and even chupacabras become intertwined with her very real struggles at home. The story carries her from childhood fear and survival into adulthood, where old wounds return and demand to be understood before she can move forward.

The writing is simple but charged. Carmen’s voice has this raw honesty that makes even small moments feel heavy in your hands. I kept noticing how carefully the author, Maria Rodriguez Bross, lets the magical elements slip in. They shimmer at the edges, like something you might catch from the corner of your eye. And because the emotional world is so grounded, the magic feels earned. The author doesn’t cushion anything either. Period poverty, family instability, and violence aren’t treated like plot devices but like daily realities Carmen has to navigate long before she should have to.

What I liked most was how the story keeps circling back to the same question: what does protection really look like, and who gets to have it? Carmen is just a kid trying to hold herself together, and sometimes she breaks in ways that feel relatable. I found myself frustrated with her, then proud of her, then worried for her, sometimes all in the span of a page. And when the book moves into the adult timeline, the consequences of what she lived through land with real weight. The magic expands, but it doesn’t erase anything. Instead, it forces her to face what she ran from. Some scenes feel almost dreamlike, others feel like they’re scraping the inside of your ribs, but they all build toward a truth Carmen has been avoiding for years.

The book blends mystical folklore with the grit of urban life in a way that feels cohesive, not gimmicky. And though it has fantasy woven through it, the heart of the story is emotional realism: trauma, friendship, shame, longing, and the slow work of claiming your own story. I’d recommend this book to readers who enjoy magical realism that’s rooted in real-world hardship, especially stories centering Latina girls and women finding power in places that once hurt them. If you like books where supernatural elements highlight emotional truth rather than distract from it, this one will definitely stay with you.

[Luna Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bodega Botanica Tales: Carmen by Maria Rodriguez Bross is a powerful, haunting, and deeply compassionate story that blends magical realism with raw emotional truth. Told across two timelines, the novel captures both the vulnerability of a thirteen-year-old girl searching for safety and the reflective voice of the woman she becomes, forced to reckon with the choices she made to survive.

Carmen’s story is grounded in urgent, real-world struggles, period poverty, fear, and the absence of protection in a city that often turns its back on young girls. These realities are handled with honesty and care, never sensationalized, but presented in a way that makes Carmen’s desperation and longing for safety painfully understandable. When magic enters the story through a bracelet taken from a bodega, it feels less like an escape and more like a mirror, revealing the cost of protection when society fails to provide it.

The alternate world Carmen enters is rich with symbolism, reinforcing the idea that magic can offer shelter, but never without consequences. As the adult Carmen looks back, the narrative gains emotional depth, exploring memory, guilt, resilience, and the weight of untold stories. The dual timeline structure works beautifully, allowing readers to feel both the immediacy of childhood fear and the quiet ache of adult understanding.

What makes this book especially impactful is its refusal to offer easy answers. Some magic can’t be undone, and some lessons are learned too late, but the act of telling the story becomes its own form of power. Carmen is a moving, necessary read that honors survival, resilience, and the courage it takes to speak truths others may not want to hear.

[Aura C · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been thinking about this one for a while after finishing it, and that usually says a lot. Carmen’s story is heavy in places, but it’s told with so much care and intention that it never feels exploitative. It’s one of those books that quietly settles into your chest and stays there.

What really stood out to me was how grounded everything felt. The magic isn’t flashy or overdone. It slips in softly through the bodega, the bracelet, the folklore, and somehow feels completely believable alongside the very real struggles Carmen is facing. Period poverty, fear, instability, growing up too fast… none of it is brushed aside, and none of it feels like it’s there just for shock value.

Carmen herself felt painfully real. She’s not perfect, and she makes choices that are messy and complicated, but that’s what made her feel honest. Watching her navigate survival as a child and then having to confront those choices as an adult added so much emotional weight. The dual timeline worked really well here and made everything hit harder once the pieces started connecting.

This isn’t a light read, but it’s an important one. It blends magical realism with real-world trauma in a way that feels thoughtful and meaningful, and it asks hard questions about protection, power, and what it costs to feel safe. I’m really glad I read it, and I’m definitely interested in continuing with the rest of the Bodega Botanica Tales.

[Nikki · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was left confused about who the audience should be for a book like this. It was short, with a childish style. The blurb says Carmen is 13 in the beginning (it jumps to her being grown up in the second half of the story), but while reading it, I thought she must be as young as 10 or 11. On the other hand, the themes are quite adult: period poverty, domestic abuse, and hints of paedophile. So I was left feeling like the writing wasn't mature enough to be a Young Adult or Adult book, but not appropriate for a Middle Grade audience.
I didn't read Book 1 as this was described as a stand alone story, but it felt fragmented as though there weren't any real threads tying the story together, but was more a set of loosely interconnected scenes thrown together. It missed the mark for me.

[Emmie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading Carmen’s story. I hadn’t heard the term period poor before and I think this story points out a lot things about living in poverty that aren’t talked about enough. The characters all felt very real and fleshed-out, especially the 3 friends. I would definitely like to read Jose’s story now!

My one main critique is that there are several grammatical errors throughout the book, which became distracting at times. For instance, periods and commas belong INSIDE quotation marks, not outside. Just small details to pay attention to that would bring these books to the next level.

[Mary Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story, period poverty isn't talked about enough!
It has a nice blend of Spanish folk law mixed with current day.
The writing is easy to follow and smooth, as is the plot.
The story had me hooked and wanting to know what happened next.