Book Descriptions
for Soaring Earth by Margarita Engle
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
A companion to Engle’s Enchanted Air continues the story of Engle’s life, focusing on her high school and college years. Starting high school in 1966, she eventually finds a place among a group of smart, quiet kids. Heading off to UC Berkeley, she struggles with homesickness and the chaos of campus unrest over the Vietnam War. She drops out and hitchhikes across the country, spending time in New York City before finally coming home again to California to work and attend community college. It is there she finds her footing in her love of plants and botany, which becomes her major. Continuing on to earn a 4-year degree, she rediscovers the love of poetry she had as a teenager in a class that introduces her to a work by Tomás Rivera. Along the way, there are boyfriends and lessons learned and, finally, love that she can count on. This memoir in poems will be relatable to many teen readers, as Engle’s life follows a path that was far from clearly defined early on. (Age 13 and older)
CCBC Choices 2020. © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2020. Used with permission.
From the Publisher
In this powerful companion to her award-winning memoir Enchanted Air, Newbery Honor–winning author Margarita Engle recounts her teenage years during the turbulent 1960s.
Margarita Engle’s childhood straddled two worlds: the lush, welcoming island of Cuba and the lonely, dream-soaked reality of Los Angeles. But the revolution has transformed Cuba into a mystery of impossibility, no longer reachable in real life. Margarita longs to travel the world, yet before she can become independent, she’ll have to start high school.
Then the shock waves of war reach America, rippling Margarita’s plans in their wake. Cast into uncertainty, she must grapple with the philosophies of peace, civil rights, freedom of expression, and environmental protection. Despite overwhelming circumstances, she finds solace and empowerment through her education. Amid the challenges of adolescence and a world steeped in conflict, Margarita finds hope beyond the struggle, and love in the most unexpected places.
Margarita Engle’s childhood straddled two worlds: the lush, welcoming island of Cuba and the lonely, dream-soaked reality of Los Angeles. But the revolution has transformed Cuba into a mystery of impossibility, no longer reachable in real life. Margarita longs to travel the world, yet before she can become independent, she’ll have to start high school.
Then the shock waves of war reach America, rippling Margarita’s plans in their wake. Cast into uncertainty, she must grapple with the philosophies of peace, civil rights, freedom of expression, and environmental protection. Despite overwhelming circumstances, she finds solace and empowerment through her education. Amid the challenges of adolescence and a world steeped in conflict, Margarita finds hope beyond the struggle, and love in the most unexpected places.
Publisher description retrieved from Google Books.