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All the Crooked Saints

Maggie Stiefvater - Author

This is a family-centred magical-realism novel about people seeking miracles while confronting love, guilt, anger, identity and the responsibilities attached to helping others.

More about this book

*Here is a thing everyone wants: A miracle.* *Here is a thing everyone fears: What it takes to get one.* Any visitor to Bicho Raro, Colorado is likely to find a landscape of dark saints, forbidden love, scientific dreams, miracle-mad owls, estranged affections, one or two orphans, and a sky full of watchful desert stars. At the heart of this place you will find the Soria family, who all have the ability to perform unusual miracles. And at the heart of this family are three cousins longing to change its future: Beatriz, the girl without feelings, who wants only to be free to examine her thoughts; Daniel, the Saint of Bicho Raro, who performs miracles for everyone but himself; and Joaquin, who spends his nights running a renegade radio station under the name Diablo Diablo. They are all looking for a miracle. But the miracles of Bicho Raro are never quite what you expect.

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Book Analysis

At a Glance

Discover

MiraclesSelf-reflectionRedemption

Consider

Grief and lossFear and suspenseRelationships and intimacy

Personalised Fit

Beyond the Cover

miraclesself-reflectionredemptionfamilyidentityshameguiltmusicradioMexican-American family1960s

FictionNovel

Themes in Context

Miracles and personal change

The Soria family performs miracles for visitors, while Beatriz, Daniel and Joaquin seek different forms of change.Ambiguous

How the book presents it: The premise invites discussion about what people want from miracles and what they may need to confront themselves.

Talk about: Whether the book presents external miracles as sufficient, or connects lasting change with self-understanding, is worth exploring.

Family, identity and emotional responsibility

The cousins belong to a family carrying unusual responsibilities; Beatriz examines her emotions, while Daniel helps others but not himself.

How the book presents it: The story appears to value care and self-reflection while allowing its main characters flaws, darkness and difficult feelings.

Talk about: How does each cousin’s understanding of responsibility affect their freedom and relationships with one another?

Music, radio and cultural setting

Joaquin runs a renegade radio station, and the story includes early rock ’n’ roll, radio engineering and a Mexican-American family in Colorado.Exploratory / explanatory

How the book presents it: The setting offers a route into discussing how music, broadcasting and place shape a family story.

Talk about: What does the radio station allow the characters to express that they cannot say directly to one another?

Why It May Be Worth Reading

It offers several discussion strands at once: cousins with contrasting inner lives, a Mexican-American family, pirate radio, early rock ’n’ roll, and questions about whether transformation comes from outside help or self-reflection.

What Deserves Attention

Be aware of references to deaths and past transformations, a lightning strike, apparent death and blindness. Romance includes longing, declarations and kisses; some characters drink, smoke or use marijuana, and occasional strong language appears.

A Conversation Worth Having

How does the story distinguish a miracle from personal change? You might also ask whether Beatriz, Daniel and Joaquin’s different responses to family responsibility make their choices easier or harder to understand.

Reading Approach

Read alongside the young person if the death-related imagery, supernatural transformations or substance references may need context. Pause after introductions to map each cousin’s goal, then revisit how those goals develop.

Confidence & Basis

Theme indicators describe how the book presents a topic; they are not a verdict on the whole book or your family's values. Confidence reflects how much book-specific material was checked. Only part of the book information was available, so some details remain unconfirmed.

What remains unconfirmed

Miracles and personal change: Some details of this treatment remain unclear.
Family, identity and emotional responsibility: Some details of this treatment remain unclear.
Music, radio and cultural setting: Some details of this treatment remain unclear.

Book information

Limited information

Relevant to: Miracles and personal change; Family, identity and emotional responsibility

All the Crooked Saints

Limited information

Checked: 19 September 2026.

Relevant to: Miracles and personal change; Family, identity and emotional responsibility; Music, radio and cultural setting

Benefits, discussion questions and reading approaches are suggestions. Your knowledge of your child remains part of the decision.

Heidi

Heidi

All the Crooked Saints

At a Glance

Discover

Consider

Personalised Fit

Beyond the Cover

Themes in Context

Miracles and personal change

Family, identity and emotional responsibility

Music, radio and cultural setting

Why It May Be Worth Reading

What Deserves Attention

A Conversation Worth Having

Reading Approach

What remains unconfirmed