Firesnake: The Last Cuentista Book 3

The Last Cuentista #3

by Donna Barba Higuera

From New York Times bestselling author Donna Barba Higuera, Firesnake delivers a triumphant finale to the story that began with the Newbery Medal-winning The Last Cuentista and continued in the Pura Belpré Honor-winning Alebrijes.

Itzel has never known a life on Earth. Growing up on Sagan, the granddaughter of the Cuentista, her years have been spent among the dactyls, griblets, and billow seeds of their new planet. But when a mysterious message arrives from across the cosmos, Itzel realizes that the home they thought destroyed hundreds of years ago has survived...and with it, another community of humans. Will she and the other Saganites brave the journey back to Earth? And what will they find? For they are not the only ones who have received this message...

Master storyteller Donna Barba Higuera brings her beloved Cuentista trilogy to a close in a book full of old friends and new, jaw-dropping twists, and a journey to the stars and back.

Genres: Science Fiction, Middle Grade, Dystopia, Fantasy, Young Adult, Audiobook, Fiction

385 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 5, 2026

Reviews

[Kyra Dawkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone needs to read The Last Cuentista trilogy. While the first book was still my favorite, that always tends to be true for me in a series, and Firesnake was an incredibly strong ending. I really appreciated Itzel as a character, and I also think, without spoilers, that the story does an excellent job of layering in the weight of stories and legacies from the previous two books. This whole series was the ultimate odyssey, and I'm glad I spent the final moments with Itzel.

P.S. I think that The Last Cuentista series is this generation's Time Quintet (by Madeleine L'Engle). It reaches the same caliber of taking children's imaginations seriously with beauty, mystery, and splendor.

[Mary-Rose Amos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great finale!

[Tonja Drecker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Expectations mix with anxiousness, tension, and a pioneering spirit with a character to connect with the entire way through.

First off, I did not read the first two books in the series and went into this aware that I'd be missing a lot. And I wasn't wrong. While the author does an amazing job at letting the world quickly unfold with the richness, and Itzel's character sinks right into the heart with her inspiring personality and naturalness, this is a complex world. We meet Itzel, her grandmother, and the rest as they are going through their daily lives on Sagan. Itzel has her concerns as her school days are numbered since she's at that age, but the big twist hits, when they have reason to believe that some humans have survived on Earth. Now, they're faced with the possibility of returning, which is a danger in and of itself but also holds the uncertainty of what awaits them when they do return. So, the plot comes full-circle to round off the series nicely.

The writing style is grabbing, and it's very easy to sink right into Itzel and her world. There's a lot going on, and it's handled nicely for the most part, keeping the story flowing quickly. There are some moments which speed by a bit quick and loose a little power because of it, and I did stumble on several characters, which are popped in...ones from one of the early books, it appears (my fault, though). But Itzel is a girl to cheer for and hope she makes it through. The world has an unique feel and creates an original atmosphere with familiar science fiction aspects to enjoy. I do recommend this for scifi fans, who enjoy a bit of heart.

[The Page Ladies Book Club · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought packing for a weekend trip was stressful, but imagine having to pack your entire life to travel across the cosmos back to Earth! 🚀✨👇

I just finished Firesnake by the brilliant, Newbery Medal-winning Donna Barba Higuera, and my sci-fi-loving heart is totally soaring. If you loved The Last Cuentista, you need to drop everything and add this companion novel to your shelf immediately because it is a breathtaking masterpiece.

The story follows Itzel, a girl who has only ever known life on the planet Sagan surrounded by wild alien creatures like dactyls and griblets. But when a mysterious message arrives hinting that Earth actually survived its destruction centuries ago, Itzel and her community have to make an impossible choice: stay safe on Sagan, or brave the journey back home?

Donna Barba Higuera has this magical way of weaving together folklore, high-stakes space exploration, and deeply moving themes about humanity, memory, and what it truly means to belong. Itzel is such a courageous, warm protagonist, and the pacing keeps you completely glued to the page while your jaw repeatedly hits the floor. It is beautiful, intense, and wonderfully imaginative.

This is the absolute perfect middle-grade sci-fi read to completely lose yourself in this season.

✨️Thank you Levine Querido and Donna Barba Higuera for sharing Firesnake with me!

[Rupert Nacoste · Rating 5 out of 5]

Donna Barba Higuera YA, science-fiction trilogy is breathtaking. With this last book in the trilogy, Firesnake reveals a deep concern for humanity. Asking important questions about human tendencies in a thrilling, sometimes scary, always provocative, story makes this a great read.

It all begins with the "end of the world"; an apocalypse. But, it turns out, apocalypes does not mean end, it means "to reveal." So what would be revealed about us if a great catastrophe struck the world. Well, it seems we would innovate to survive. But it also seems some would become castrophobic, insular and rigid.

That's important question. Will humans ever get past the tendency to divide? Will humans learn that cooperation is better than competition?

Well all that is put to the test in this trilogy. Put to the test by anchoring us to an ethnic culture that relies on stories, but is also surrounded by others who do not think stories matter.

There were times when I was on the edge of my couch, breathing fast, not sure what was going to happen. How could the conflicts on a new planet and back on Earth ever be resolved. Although difficult to see sometimes, this trilogy both hopeful and realistic about the true nature of the human struggle.

My, my...

[Farah G · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third book in a trilogy that began with 12 year old Petra Pena, who left Earth to go into space with her family. Their plan was to settle on the planet Sagan, and the first book is about Petra's experience.

This story, the conclusion of the trilogy, is set hundreds of years later, and focuses on Itzel, a descendant of Petra's, who is now returning to Earth with her father, after her mother's strange disappearance.

Sweeping, mysterious, and insightful, this is a story which ensures that the reader becomes immersed and invested in Itzel's journey. The book can be read as a stand-alone adventure, despite being part of a series, and is worth checking out.

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

[Shawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a disappointment. The writing was often shallow and seemed to breeze through what should have been important pieces of the plot. The main character Itzel was a shallow cliche of similarly strong girls in the genre. Part I was suspenseful, while Part II lost the thread of the trilogy and petered out leaving me rushing to finish just for the sake of finishing. Characters from the first book were rapidly and clumsily introduced and just a rapidly and clumsily disposed of within a matter of pages and paragraphs. Even the title was a stretch, in that it wasn’t convincingly tied to the plot of the book. “Firesnake” was almost an after thought. In the end, I gave it a Three Star rating only because I enjoyed the first two books of the trilogy so much.

[Chris G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This third book in The Last Cuentista series will be most enjoyed by those who have read the first two. Life on planet Sagan is grim for Itzel and her father. Her mother has disappeared and is assumed dead, her grandmother, one of the original settlers who came from earth, is in poor health. Itzel will soon have to leave school to help with subsistence farming - but then an enormous spaceship appears with the offer of transporting to earth everyone who wishes to leave Sagan. Some earth communities have survived the disaster that provoked the flight to Sagan, but can the divisions between communities on Sagan and earth be overcome? Earc from Edelweiss.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

FIRESNAKE by Donna Barba Higuera

Life is hard on planet Sagan, so when a message comes inviting wanderers back to earth, some go, but can they really trust the descendants of the Collective (now called the Liberated)? Complicated problems are faced by brave, loyal, clever allies, as Itzel and her father work to put down roots in the unfamiliar soil that once was, and may yet be, home. 
This is a twisty, complicated plot, with much suspense and many surprises to reward the reader and stories to help make sense of it all.
I would suggest beginning with the first two in the series, THE LAST CUENTISTA and ALEBRIJES, for clarity, suspense, and deeper understanding.

[Rebecca Braun · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed Firesnake, but it was nowhere near as good as the first two in the series. It relies too heavily on the reader's love of the previous two books. Itzel is a well enough developed character, but even in her own book, she is nowhere near as compelling as the memories of Petra and Leandro. The various societies depicted seem likewise derivative. They keep talking about how the world may change, but each of the groups actually feels pretty identical to how they were in the previous books, set hundreds of years earlier. I don't know if I would have enjoyed this if I didn't love The Last Cuentista.

[Tammie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Generations have passed since Petra Peña — the original Cuentista — led survivors to the planet Sagan. Now her granddaughter Itzel has grown up entirely on Sagan, never knowing Earth. Petra's stories are woven into Saganite culture like mythology. Itzel both inherits that legacy and chafes under it — she resents living in the shadow of a grandmother who has become almost a legend.

Then a mysterious message arrives from Earth. Earth, which everyone believed was destroyed centuries ago, has apparently survived — and so has another human community. The message reaches multiple parties, which means conflict is coming.

[Melissa Susan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was so excited for this book to come out, and it was a huge let down. The first book in this series is amazing. This third installment tries to connect the different characters and settings of the first two books, but it ends up being chaotic. The main character, Itzel, doesn’t have a focal conflict until the last ten chapters of the books. Itzel is also a shadow of a character without her own true purpose or personality. The author relied too much on the events from the previous books without ensuring this book had elements to keep it interesting for the audience.

[Tamsyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot to like about this story, not least being able to see what happened to Petra, from the Last Cuentista. Itzel is her great x? granddaughter, and a bold, smart, and interesting character herself. The opportunity to return to Earth is unexpectedly presented to the people on Sagan, and some jump at the chance. This story also incorporates characters from the second book, Alebrijes, in a satisfying way. I would have enjoyed it more if the first 2 books were fresh in my mind, but I still enjoyed it a lot.

[Libby · Rating 5 out of 5]

A powerful end to "The Last Cuentista" trilogy. There was so much depth in what on the surface is an exciting middle grade science fiction story: the blending of science and story, human brokenness and hope. This would be a great book group choice, even for adults, although people really need to read all three volumes to follow the themes to the conclusion. A book I can't wait to get into the hands of middle grade readers.

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book! I always say I don't like "spaceship books," but then I get proven wrong: first Ender's Game, now this whole series. I was frustrated with Itzel's impulsivity, but then she ends up doing good things despite getting herself in bad scrapes, so it all works out. This book easily stands on its own, but it's even better when you've read the first two books and see how everything comes together. Just beautiful.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really nice way to tie both previous books together and give closure to the tales of all involved. For me, it was the least epic of the three but still provided a much needed ending. It felt a bit disjointed at times, and I wish there was a little more time spent in the nostalgia of the past characters. Especially since this installment didn't provide much to connect with on it's own.

[Gina C · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel this was a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy and tied book 1 and 2 together. I would give this 4.5 stars. Alebrijes was my favorite book of the three. Since I read all 3 books as they were released, I wish there was a little more refresher on some of the characters. The book certainly could have been 100 pages longer and still been enjoyable. Like tell me more about the Firesnake and about life on Sagan, tell me more about the Collective and what they were and still are.
Sagan sounds awful which is what I suspected from the first book. But why can't we just not destroy Earth? Why can't people just not be greedy? Why are humans terrible? I feel like este cuento is too much like what the billionaires and trillionaires desire. Take the select few to a different solar system to live their "elite lives" and take some plebes along to work the fields. Destroy as much of Earth as possible, so that deserting the planet is the goal. Really reading this gave me anxiety. But then there was some hope left on Earth along with the greedy. I hope Itzel, Tono, and Ash are able to find the good in the world.

[Kaley Symalla · Rating 5 out of 5]

9/10 I really, really enjoyed this trilogy! I know they’re YA because of the young characters but I think they are for readers of any age. Stories meet science in this cross planet/cross centuries tale.

[LS Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book better than the second one, but not better than the first. The tension in this one isn't as great as in the first. This is a good wrap up to the series, but I really wish I knew exactly what happened to Itzel's mom. :(

[✨Ezra✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished this book in about two days If I had taken no breaks. This book was an absolute perfect ending to The Last Cuentista series and is an amazing book to read! It was very enjoyable to read and was great to see what Itzel got up to!

[Eve · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite book I’ve read this summer :’)
Reading this after reading Clarissa Pinkola Etsés’ “Women Who Run With the Wolves” made it even better. The world’s colliding aspect was really fun and made it such a great culminating story.

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25

[Emily Sharpe · Rating 5 out of 5]

tears. so many tears. An amazing conclusion to the trilogy. So moving, with some truly unexpected points. Cannot recommend the series enough.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I kind of wish I had reread the others before this one, but I'll just reread the whole trilogy at some point.

[Rebecca Gulka]

Reading the World: Mexican Folklore

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so glad that I resumed book 2 last year when I put it down during a reading slump. It is very necessary to read book 2 before continuing to this one, and it was so worth it.

[mari · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.75 ⭐️ — what a conclusion!

[Abei Skidmore · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was pretty good. This is the third book in a trilogy. For a YA book it is sad.

[Sarah Abbey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very satisfying end to the trilogy and a great story on it's own, too.

[Ally Em · Rating 2 out of 5]

So much potential, but not realized.