Farewell Cuba, Mi Isla

By Alexandra Diaz 

 

Publisher: ‎Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books 

Language: ‎English

Hardcover: ‎336 pages

ISBN-10: ‎1534495401

ISBN-13: ‎978-1534495401

 

Alan Gratz’s Refugee meets Pam Muñoz Ryan’s Esperanza Rising in this middle grade novel about two girls fleeing 1960 Cuba with their family inspired by award-winning author Alexandra Diaz’s family’s history.

 

Victoria loves everything about her home in Cuba. The beautiful land, the delicious food, her best friend and cousin, Jackie, and her big, loving family.

 

But it’s 1960 in Cuba, and as the political situation grows more and more dangerous, Victoria, her parents, and her two younger siblings are forced to seek refuge in America with nothing more than two changes of clothes and five dollars. Worse, they’re forced to leave the rest of their family, including Jackie, behind.

 

In Miami, everything is different. And it’s up to Victoria to step up and help her family settle into this new world—even though she hopes they won’t be there for long. Back in Cuba, everything feels different, too. Jackie watches as friends and family flee, or worse, disappear. So, when she’s given a chance to escape to America, she takes it—even though she has to go alone. Reunited in Miami, can Victoria and Jackie find a way to bring the rest of their family to safety?

 

Based on Alexandra Diaz’s mother’s real experiences as a Cuban refugee in America, this is a moving and timely story about family, friendship, and fighting for your future.

 

Review

 

"This is a moving, poignant read." -- Booklist

 

"Readers will be able to relate to the coming-of-age elements while learning about an important and difficult part of Cuba’s history. An evocative and transportive read." -- Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW

 

Alexandra Diaz is the author of The Only Road, The Crossroads, Santiago’s Road Home, and Farewell Cuba, Mi Isla. The Only Road was a Pura Belpré Honor Book and won the Américas Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature, as well as numerous other accolades. Santiago’s Road Home was an International Latino Book Award gold medalist and an ALA Notable Children’s Book. Alexandra is the daughter of Cuban refugees and lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, but got her master’s in writing for young people at Bath Spa University in England. A native Spanish speaker, Alexandra now teaches creative writing to adults and teens. Visit her at Alexandra-Diaz.com.

 

 

Santiago's Road Home - La travesía de Santiago

 

By Alexandra Diaz

Publisher : Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books

Language: : English

Hardcover : 336 pages

ISBN-10 : 1534446230

ISBN-13 : 978-1534446236

Reading age : 8 - 12 years

  

A young boy gets detained by ICE while crossing the border from Mexico to the United States in this timely and unflinching novel by award-winning author Alexandra Diaz.

 

The bed creaks under Santiago’s shivering body. They say a person’s life flashes by before dying. But it’s not his whole life. Just the events that led to this. The important ones, and the ones Santiago would rather forget.

 

The coins in Santiago’s hand are meant for the bus fare back to his abusive abuela’s house. Except he refuses to return; he won’t be missed. His future is uncertain until he meets the kind, maternal María Dolores and her young daughter, Alegría, who help Santiago decide what comes next: He will accompany them to el otro lado, the United States of America. 

 

They embark with little, just backpacks with water and a bit of food. To travel together will require trust from all parties, and Santiago is used to going it alone. None of the three travelers realizes that the journey through Mexico to the border is just the beginning of their story.

La travesía de Santiago

 

Cuando cruzaba la frontera de México con Estados Unidos un muchacho es detenido por ICE en esta novela actual e impávida escrita por la autora galardonada Alexandra Díaz.

 

La cama cruje bajo el peso del cuerpo tembloroso de Santiago. Dicen que la vida de una persona pasa por su mente antes de morir. Pero esto no es toda su vida. Son solo los acontecimientos que lo llevaron a esta situación. Los más importantes y los que Santiago quisiera olvidar.

 

Las monedas en la mano de Santiago son para el boleto del autobús para regresar a la casa de su abuela abusiva. Pero él rehusa regresar. No lo van a extrañar. Su futuro es incierto hasta que se encuentra con María Dolores, cariñosa y maternal y su joven hija, Alegría. Este encuentro ayuda a Santiago a decidir lo que va a hacer. Va a acompañarlas hasta el otro lado, hasta los Estados Unidos de América.

 

Emprenden el viaje con muy pocas cosas, solo mochilas con agua y un poquito de comida. Viajar juntos requiere que confíen unos en los otros y Santiago está acostumbrado a ir solo. Ninguno de los tres viajeros se da cuenta de que la travesía a través de México hasta la frontera es solamente el comienzo de su historia.

 

 

Review

 “Vivid details and a sympathetic protagonist make this a harrowing but deeply illuminating portrayal of the struggles faced by families at the U.S.-Mexico border.” —School Library Journal

 

“The author’s cleareyed, compassionate writing serves as a much-needed wake-up call to readers. . . . An urgent mirror for troubling times”. -- Kirkus Reviews, *STARRED REVIEW* 

 

“The characters here are fully realized, and this narrative is one that brings home the reality of what is happening at our borders. Pair with David Bowles’ They Call Me Güero for units exploring the southern U.S. border. A musthave for all middle-grade collections.” -- Booklist, STARRED Review 

 

“Basing Santiago’s story on well-documented experiences, Diaz’s crucial narrative shines a disconcerting light on the plight of children in U.S. detention centers along the southern border.” -- Publishers Weekly *STARRED* 

 

 

The Crossroads

By Alexandra Diaz

•             Age Range: 8 - 12 years
•             Grade Level: 3 - 7
•             Hardcover: 336 pages
•             Publisher: Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books
•             Language: English
•             ISBN-10: 153441455X
•             ISBN-13: 978-1534414556

After crossing Mexico into the United States, Jaime Rivera thinks the worst is over. Starting a new school can’t be that bad. Except it is, and not just because he can barely speak English. While his cousin Ángela fits in quickly, with new friends and after-school activities, Jaime struggles with even the idea of calling this strange place “home.” His real home is with his parents, abuela, and the rest of the family; not here where cacti and cattle outnumber people, where he can no longer be himself—a boy from Guatemala.

When bad news arrives from his parents back home, feelings of helplessness and guilt gnaw at Jaime. Gang violence in Guatemala means he can’t return home, but he’s not sure if he wants to stay either. The US is not the great place everyone said it would be, especially if you’re sin papeles—undocumented—like Jaime. When things look bleak, hope arrives from unexpected places: a quiet boy on the bus, a music teacher, an old ranch hand. With his sketchbook always close by, Jaime uses his drawings to show what it means to be a true citizen.

Powerful and moving, this touching sequel to The Only Road explores overcoming homesickness, finding ways to connect despite a language barrier, and discovering what it means to start over in a new place that alternates between being wonderful and completely unwelcoming.

En Español

Jaime y Ángela descubren lo que es vivir como inmigrantes indocumentados en los Estados Unidos en la continuación de El único destino, libro ganador del premio Pura Belpré Honor.

Reviews

“An incredibly heartfelt depiction of immigrants and refugees in a land full of uncertainty.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Diaz paints an insightful, realistic picture of a place that’s filled with opportunity but simultaneously rife with discrimination, which is especially important reading for today’s children.” —Booklist

“Fans of The Only Road will appreciate following Jaime and Ángela on the next phase of their lives, while teachers and librarians may find the text useful to counter unsubstantiated myths about Central Americans fleeing to the US.” —School Library Journal

Jaime and Ángela discover what it means to be living as undocumented immigrants in the United States in this timely sequel to the Pura Belpré Honor Book The Only Road.

Alexandra Diaz is a Cuban-American spending her time between Bath, England, Santa Fe, NM, and the rest of the world. She has an MA in Writing for Young People from Bath Spa University and has led various workshops since she was fourteen. As a result of being homeschooled for most of high school, she’s fascinated by teenage school life and the drama that occurs in those quarters. One of the reasons she writes is to experience life in someone else’s shoes. She is a “jenny of all trades” having worked as a nanny, teacher, film extra, tour guide, and dairy goat judge (seriously). She currently teaches creative writing and circus arts, though not at the same time. For more information, got to www.alexandra-diaz.com

The Only Road

By Alexandra Diaz

• Age Range: 8 - 12 years
• Grade Level: 3 - 7
• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1481457500
• ISBN-13: 978-1481457507

PURA BELPRÉ HONOR BOOK

ALA NOTABLE BOOK

“Powerful and timely.” —Booklist (starred review)

“An important, must-have addition to the growing body of literature with immigrant themes.” —School Library Journal (starred review)

Twelve-year-old Jaime makes the treacherous and life-changing journey from his home in Guatemala to live with his older brother in the United States in this gripping and realistic middle grade novel.

Jaime is sitting on his bed drawing when he hears a scream. Instantly, he knows: Miguel, his cousin and best friend, is dead.

Everyone in Jaime’s small town in Guatemala knows someone who has been killed by the Alphas, a powerful gang that’s known for violence and drug trafficking. Anyone who refuses to work for them is hurt or killed—like Miguel. With Miguel gone, Jaime fears that he is next. There’s only one choice: accompanied by his cousin Ángela, Jaime must flee his home to live with his older brother in New Mexico.

Inspired by true events, The Only Road is an individual story of a boy who feels that leaving his home and risking everything is his only chance for a better life. It is a story of fear and bravery, love and loss, strangers becoming family, and one boy’s treacherous and life-changing journey.

En Español

En esta absorbente y emocionante novela juvenil, Jaime de doce años emprende el peligroso y traicionero viaje que le transforma su vida de su hogar en Guatemala a Estados Unidos para vivir con su hermano mayor.

Alexandra Diaz is the author of Of All the Stupid Things, which was a ALA Rainbow List book and a New Mexico Book Award finalist. Alexandra is the daughter of Cuban refugees and lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, but got her MA in Writing for Young People at Bath Spa University in England. A native Spanish speaker, Alexandra now teaches creative writing to adults and teens. Visit her online at Alexandra-Diaz.com.