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imstephtacular's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Unpopular opinion, but this was just fine for me. It was a powerful story, I just didn’t have strong feelings about it like many others seem to.
Content Warnings
Moderate: War, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Gun violence, Racism, and Grief
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Death, Kidnapping, and Physical abuse
sarahkerner's review
funny
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Gun violence and War
alenka's review
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I loved this and I cried through a lot of it! A lot of aspects of Cumba's immigration reminded me of my dad's immigration even though their stories are very very different and I am NOT Cuban, but I feel like I have personal bias about this one? That it resonated the way it did speaks volumes.
Anyway! Cumba is 12 and his father is a lawyer who briefly worked for Bautista's government - two facts that make Cuba and increasingly dangerous place for their family to be right after the Bay of Pigs cements Castro's rule. As it becomes harder and harder for Cumba'a family to prevent him from being dragged into the Young Rebels Army, his parents decide to hustle and get him to safety in the US. This process is not easy - along the way Cumba meets a German Jewish forger, whose own history of trauma resonates with him in an eerie way, and he and his family are harassed by a solider who went to school with his father, and is determined to see Cumba abducted into the Young Rebel Army. Cumba acquires a fair amount of trauma and almost certainly some PTSD, but he does make it to the United States.At first, he is in the care of a sweet elderly cousin named Benita in Miami, and later a white couple who live out in the Florida Keys and who are kind and supportive. Cumba is not fluent in English and struggles to learn it and keep up with school at the same time. He's also one of only a few Cuban students around, and is made fun of and bullied and struggles to make friends - all while he must attempt to hold up hope that his family will also safely make it to the US and join him.
This is a super emotional story, and a lot of Cumba's emotional arc revolves around the near impossibility of holding up hope that his family will be safe while he is thousands of miles away and completely helpless. Cumba is a big brother, and he writes to his younger brother, Pepito, and historically has been able to be strong by thinking of himself as Pepito's protector. However, there is little he can do to help Pepito when they are living in separate countries, and as a child there is much that is kept from Pepito - Cumba craves information about home and his family, but there is a limited amount available. Rations, too, affect their communications, as Pepito begins to send multiple letters at once to save stamps. Cumba carries around a bad luck domino tile with him as a symbol of the bad luck he feels he carries at all times, but the connections he builds in the US uplift him. His caretakers are kind and empathetic, and the other Cuban youth he meets in similar situations share their burdens and hopes with him. A classmate obsessed with horse racing gives him space to feel his fear and to come back from it, without asking hurtful questions. An old friend rediscovered shares his fear and hope, although their separate traumas sometimes clash.
Another theme that arises is people expecting Cumba to be a "Cuban Ambassador," and he repeatedly tries to communicate that he cannot speak for all of Cuba. He can speak for his family and their traditions, and aspects of his home in Santa Clara, but even when he compares notes with his Cuban immigrant friends, their answers to seemingly simple questions clash. I feel like I've not seen this in middle grade stories of immigration and really valued it.
Anyway! Cumba is 12 and his father is a lawyer who briefly worked for Bautista's government - two facts that make Cuba and increasingly dangerous place for their family to be right after the Bay of Pigs cements Castro's rule. As it becomes harder and harder for Cumba'a family to prevent him from being dragged into the Young Rebels Army, his parents decide to hustle and get him to safety in the US. This process is not easy - along the way Cumba meets a German Jewish forger, whose own history of trauma resonates with him in an eerie way, and he and his family are harassed by a solider who went to school with his father, and is determined to see Cumba abducted into the Young Rebel Army. Cumba acquires a fair amount of trauma and almost certainly some PTSD, but he does make it to the United States.
This is a super emotional story, and a lot of Cumba's emotional arc revolves around the near impossibility of holding up hope that his family will be safe while he is thousands of miles away and completely helpless. Cumba is a big brother, and he writes to his younger brother, Pepito, and historically has been able to be strong by thinking of himself as Pepito's protector. However, there is little he can do to help Pepito when they are living in separate countries, and as a child there is much that is kept from Pepito - Cumba craves information about home and his family, but there is a limited amount available. Rations, too, affect their communications, as Pepito begins to send multiple letters at once to save stamps. Cumba carries around a bad luck domino tile with him as a symbol of the bad luck he feels he carries at all times, but the connections he builds in the US uplift him. His caretakers are kind and empathetic, and the other Cuban youth he meets in similar situations share their burdens and hopes with him. A classmate obsessed with horse racing gives him space to feel his fear and to come back from it, without asking hurtful questions. An old friend rediscovered shares his fear and hope, although their separate traumas sometimes clash.
Another theme that arises is people expecting Cumba to be a "Cuban Ambassador," and he repeatedly tries to communicate that he cannot speak for all of Cuba. He can speak for his family and their traditions, and aspects of his home in Santa Clara, but even when he compares notes with his Cuban immigrant friends, their answers to seemingly simple questions clash. I feel like I've not seen this in middle grade stories of immigration and really valued it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Gun violence
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