The Girl Who Could Silence the Wind by Meg Medina
Sonia Ocampo is considered to be blessed by her friends and family but when she realizes that she does not have any special powers, she leaves her home and tries to become an ordinary girl like any other. But when her family needs help, she struggles to confront the truth and find the power within herself to do what she must.
Review from School Library Journal:
Because she was born during a terrible storm where not a single person was harmed, 16-year-old Sonia Ocampo is labeled an angel in her small town of Tres Montes. The local people view her as their beacon of hope, offering her small milagros, miracle charms, so Sonia can pray for them in hard times. However, when a local boy is robbed and murdered, Sonia feels like a failure. She takes a job in a wealthy woman's home far away in the capital to escape her shame. The townspeople think her absence will cause turmoil for Tres Montes and her family, and, sure enough, Sonia's older brother is kidnapped. The teen must find a way to produce the ransom money and make the long and dangerous journey home to save her brother. Ultimately, Sonia tries to make the people of her village (and her family) realize she isn't the angel they believe her to be. Medina's writing is fluent and lovely, weaving Spanish words in with the English text to paint a heartwarming story of a girl's journey to find out who she is. However, at times the Spanish is not easily defined in context, and while the climax is fast-paced and moving, the resolution feels too quickly wrapped up.