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From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)

Fourteen-year-old Lucia’s parents aren’t happy with recent changes in Cuba under Fidel Castro, but they stay silent, hopeful that things will calm down. As more and more people around them join the revolutionary cause—some out of genuine fervor, others out of fear—Lucia’s family gains attention for their obvious lack of revolutionary enthusiasm. When Lucia’s parents decide to send her and her little brother to the United States as part of the Pedro Pan airlift in 1961, Lucia and Frankie are told it will be only for a few weeks, just until things get better in Cuba. But things don’t get better, and Lucia and Frankie end up living with an older couple in Grande Isle, Nebraska. The Baxters don’t know much about Cuba or about contemporary teenage life. But they prove to be caring, loving foster parents, helping Lucia and Frankie adapt to life in America even as the children hunger for news of and from their parents. This swiftly moving debut novel, told in Lucia’s authentically teen-like voice, is based on the experiences of the author’s parents. The terrific storytelling is rooted in details of family life and friendship that cover expansive emotional territory. (Age 12 and older)

CCBC Choices 2011 © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2011. Used with permission.

From Horn Book

July 1, 2010
Years after the Communist Revolution in 1961 Cuba, fourteen-year-old Lucma's parents send her and her younger brother Frankie to America to weather out Castro's increasingly rigid new government. Sprinkled with Spanish, Lucma's impassioned first-person narration ably reflects her struggles to adjust to a new culture while wondering if she will ever return to the home and parents she loves. Glos.

(Copyright 2010 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

From Publisher's Weekly

May 3, 2010
In this compelling, atmospheric first novel that begins in postrevolutionary Cuba, Gonzalez sketches the immigration experience of thousands of children sent to the United States through likable 14-year-old narrator Lucía. Initially, politics feel removed from Lucía's life ("I was growing tired of constantly hearing about the revolution, but I privately thanked Castro for postponing my algebra test"). However, Gonzales believably escalates harrowing political events and their personal cost to Lucía's family, as she finds the family doctor hung from an oak tree, and her father is detained after someone betrays the family's hidden stash of money and jewelry. The situation forces Lucía's parents to send Lucía and her seven-year-old brother, Frankie, to America while they await visas. Debut author Gonzalez excels at highlighting the cultural difficulties of their transition, as Lucía and Frankie eventually end up living with a foster family in ruralâ€"and quite foreignâ€"Nebraska. Contemporary newspaper headlines such as the 1961 Nevada State Journal's "Castro Adopts Brainwashing" lead each chapter and offer wider commentary. The memorable heroine and supporting cast offer a moving portrait of resilience and reinvention. Ages 10â€"up.

From School Library Journal

May 1, 2010
Gr 6-9-Fourteen-year-old Luca lives an easy middle-class life in 1961 Cuba, thinking only about clothes, boys, and dances. When Communist revolutionaries occupy her town, an escalating witch hunt against capitalists compels her parents to send her and her brother to the U.S. under the care of the Catholic Welfare Bureau (as part of "Operation Pedro Pan," whichthe endnotes explainwas the largest-ever exodus of unaccompanied children in the West). Luca eventually settles with a foster family in Nebraska, where she comes to terms with her duel identity as a Cuban exile and an American teen. She must also piece together a picture of what's happening to her parents and friends at home from interrupted phone calls, censored letters, and newspaper articles. This well-written novel has a thoroughly believable protagonist and well-chosen period details. It should be noted, however, that Gonzalez portrays the single sympathetic Communist character as increasingly brainwashed. Few readers will recognize the polemics driving this convincing story, but as an introduction to the history and politics of the Cuban-exile community, it could generate some excellent classroom discussions."Rhona Campbell, Washington, DC Public Library"

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

From AudioFile Magazine

Kyla Garcia masterfully narrates the story of Lucia, a 14-year-old social butterfly living a placid life in 1960s Cuba. When communists invade Lucia's sleepy town, everything changes. First, their freedoms disappear, one by one. And then, their neighbors begin to disappear. Escape to the United States becomes the only solution, so Lucia and her brother, Frankie, make the dramatic journey. Garcia does a magnificent job balancing the suspense of their escape and the more commonplace joys and sorrows of youth. She's equally at home voicing the siblings and their Nebraskan foster parents. Listeners will cheer for this engaging and well-told story. L.L. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine