Saturday, February 25, 2012

The Red Umbrella by Christina Diaz Gonzalez

How much do you know about the Cuban Revolution?  Not much? Well you won't know any more about it after reading this book.  The revolution is simply the vehicle for telling this story about a teenage girl, Lucia, and her little brother Frankie who are sent alone to the United States by their parents so they can avoid the hardship and complete indoctrination of Castro.  It's also a story about friendship and the misunderstandings that can happen and how political issues can divide people: friends AND families.
Lucia and her brother are sent to a home for Cuban refugees and then to a home with a nice Midwestern couple. They learn English, how to be American children and are eventually reunited with their parents who find a way out of Cuba before the total lockdown. 
If it was better written, this would be a great book to give your Anne of Green Gables lovers but I never really cared about Lucia as much as the author wanted me to.  This will be liked by your hard-core girl readers and no one else.
284 pp

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