An often-engaging novel about what it means to redefine the word home.
In Mendez’s novel based on a true story, a woman recounts her lavish life in Cuba and her subsequent move to Miami and the differences between the two cultures.
Marigrows up in an affluent and privileged family in Havana before the Cuban Revolution of the 1950s. They have a maid, chef, driver, bodyguards, and other luxuries awarded to the families of elite government officials; her father, Lorenzo Solano, is a cabinet member in the Batista government. As the youngest of three children, Mari feels like a bit of an outcast; she looks up to her two driven and talented older sisters, Lucia and Olivia, but always feels like she comes up short in comparison. Before her family’s move to Miami in 1959, after her father was exiled, Mari visited the United States on numerous occasions; every summer for a number of years, she and her sisters had attended a sleepaway camp in upstate New York. However, spending a few weeks in the tranquility of nature and living in cosmopolitan Miami, were two very different things—especially when Mari experienced a drastic lifestyle change in her new home. Yet, the family still has connections to their native land can never be completely severed. Mendez is a skilled writer and storyteller who conveys vivid, authentic moments while also advancing the narrative, as when Mari takes in the Miami scenery soon after her arrival: “I went outside to see the trees. I was happy when I saw a small palm tree. But it was nowhere near the size of our royal palm trees that lined the main avenues in Havana. This was a coconut palm tree. Everything here was smaller. My heart shrunk.” One wishes that the book spent more time in Cuba, which might have provided more direct insight into the changes that the main character experienced. However, it does address such historical events as the ill-fated Bay of Pigs invasion, in which Olivia’s husband, Tony, is involved, and the Cuban missile crisis.
An often-engaging novel about what it means to redefine the word home.Pub Date: April 14, 2023
ISBN: 9798985194630
Page Count: 216
Publisher: Beati Publishing
Review Posted Online: Nov. 16, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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