Singing with Elephants by Margarita Engle

Singing with Elephants by Margarita Engle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this middle grade novel in verse, a young Cuban Oriol, loves to write and tend to the animals in her parents' clinic. When an older woman moves in, Oriol confides in her- her wants, her fears, her words that do not come to her mouth or pen and paper. When something happens to a baby elephant, Orion tries to find her voice, along with her friends and family, to save this elephant. A must read; the relationship between family and friends (animals and humans) and elephant communication is a happy moment many times over in this sweet, happy story. A must read!!!

View all my reviews

Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton

Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read this awesome historical fiction novel for my Albright College Book Club, Cleeton's Cuban world's as seen through Elisa(1958) and her lover, Pablo and her granddaughter, Marisol (2017) and Luis. I loved and hated the difficulties the Perez family endured, separated from their family and friends in Cuba while living in exile in Florida and all the harshness, poverty, and tragedy that is Fidel's Cuba as Marisol visits to spread her grandmother's ashes, reconnect with family and see Cuba's "new reality". This book was beautiful in the many settings of Cuba, the food, the music, the beaches, and the political revolutions.

View all my reviews

The Lightning Dreamer by Margarita Engle.

The Lightning Dreamer: Cuba's Greatest Abolitionist by Margarita Engle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read this compelling novel in verse by Margarita Engle for my empowering female twitter chat with #yearofya to be held on 9/6 at 8PM EST, please join us as we talk titles that feature females in the lead, girls supporting each other or overcoming the many challenges young women face and oh was this book perfect as Gertrudis Gomez de Avellanda, known as Tula famed Cuban Abolitionist. Tula not only had being a female against her, but her family wanted her to acquiesce to whatever they wanted; no reading, arranged marriage, and speak out against the slavery through words, plays, and metaphors. I loved every single word- Tula was strong, compelled to speak out against the horrible slavery in Cuba and the orphans left at the nuns convent. Using the voices of Tula, her brother, her mother and her beloved nanny (who also served as cook, maid, seamstress, gardener) Engle evokes the love, anger, and hatred of systems designed to cage and strangle. A must read as all of Margarita Engles' profound books are!!!

View all my reviews

Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir by Magarita Engle

Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir by Margarita Engle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read this as part of the 2016 Hub Challenge and Margarita Engle's book ripped my heart apart for her loss and longing for Cuba, her mother's homeland. While Magarita remembers her younger years, her poetry weaves a life between 2 worlds that she embraced - horses, gardens, food and relatives of Cuba and her American life that she loves but does not understand why relations are so strained between the two countries she loves. Highly recommended as all Margarita Engle's books are- but this book is her memoir and is very special in verse, memories, and history.

View all my reviews