"The pain, she said, it's not from here but from the earth in your belly. I said nothing but wondered how much dirt I could scarf without wrecking my throat, my stomach, my body."

In a barrio of Argentina where girls frequently go missing and murders are infrequently solved, one young woman possesses the ability to consume soil and gain access to the crime that occurred on that ground.

Eartheater employs magical realism in its rawest form to shield the reader from the horrors of this reality. In spare and purposeful prose, Reyes dips us into a sensual and atmospheric world of survival and want, mysticism and violence, as the protagonist winds toward her own eventuality.

Eating earth makes her sick and tired. Her visions haunt her dreams. She does not want this cursed gift. But the pain of losing her mother, and so many others to unsolved violence, propels her forward on a journey to help others learn the fate of those they love.

I have never been this anchored to an unnamed narrator before. Both tangible and real, I felt like I could walk into her house, crack open a beer and pick up a joystick, and battle out some Playstation with her.

One of the more spectacular books I've read, let alone debuts, upon finishing I immediately started it over and read the entire thing again. It's not that the story wasn't complete, I simply wasn't ready to leave either the world or the writing. Reyes has earned herself a very secure spot at the top of my must-read author list.

I read the English translation but if you read Spanish, will probably get more out of it.