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aylea's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Four twelve-year-old girls experience the difficulties of migration while sharing a common bond of family, poetry, and heritage. First Benvenida and her family have to flee Spain because they are Jewish during the Spanish Inquisition in 1492. Hundreds of years later in 1923, Reina is sent from Istanbul to live with her aunt in Cuba and later be in an arranged marriage. Reina's daughter, Alegra, becomes a brigadista teaching literacy for Fidel Castro until she has to flee to Miami without her parents. Finally, Alegra's daughter, Paloma, goes on a trip to Spain that will tie her family stories together.
I loved the concept of this book. I love the concepts of heritage and finding the things that you love that have also been important to your ancestors. I love books that talk about groups of people who are marginalized, banished, or otherwise suffer poor treatment and how they manage to keep the things important to them in spite of tragedy and pain. I also love books about Jewish people that aren't centered around the Holocaust because there is so much more to the rich cultural and religious Jewish heritage than that.
I very much appreciated the research and details that went into each of the times of the girls. My favorite part was actually the afterward with resources to learn more about the time periods in the book. I love that these stories are inspired by the writer's own family, and it's clear that this book was written with a lot of love for those elements.
I also appreciate how hopeful the book is in spite of the terrible things that each girl is going for, especially considering how dark the world can seem today. I imagine that this book will be a breath of fresh air and a ray of hope for many readers. The book covers topics like antisemitism, misogyny, death, exile, and arranged marriages but the tone overall is still hopeful, mostly due to the continuing generations of girls finding comfort in songs and heritage.
Unfortunately, although I loved so many aspects of the book's concept, I didn't enjoy reading the book as much as I hoped. There were two reasons for this. First, because we spend such a short time with each girl and the book emphasizes what they have in common, they all seem the same. I couldn't remember their names or how they were different even in the middle of reading the book. The writing style is also, understandably, the same for each girl, which makes it even harder to tell them apart. Because the writing style is somewhat unique and sounds like an individual voice, when it's the same voice for four girls, it made the girls seem less developed to me.
I'm very much a character reader. If I'm not feeling connected to the characters, it's harder for me to engage in a book. Because of the switch in perspectives and the relatively short length of the book, I was losing interest and started skimming through sections toward the end of the book.
However, I do think this is an incredibly important book. With the rise of public and private antisemitism, more parents are trying to find ways to talk to their kids about antisemitism. This book is an age-appropriate and historical look at how anti-semitism has affected generations. It also shows how Jewish people have been able to hold on to their religion and even language and cultural elements like poetry and music in spite of that hate.
I also love that this book covers Latino Sephardic Jewish heritage, something you rarely see in literature but especially literature for young people. Along the way, it also shows these girls developing close ties to people of other races and religious traditions, making the book diverse and inclusive.
Although I didn't love this book personally because of the writing style and the difficulty relating to the multiple POV characters, there is certainly a lot to love about it. I would happily recommend it to young (and older!) readers who want to read about migration from the perspective of young people or people who are interested in family and cultural ties. The hope and connection of these girls through time is a wonderful concept especially when things today can be so uncertain and alarming.
I didn't love this book, but I am certain that many people will. More importantly, this is the kind of book and the kind of stories that help make the world better by showing the things that tie us together across generations, religions, cultures, countries, and races.
I loved the concept of this book. I love the concepts of heritage and finding the things that you love that have also been important to your ancestors. I love books that talk about groups of people who are marginalized, banished, or otherwise suffer poor treatment and how they manage to keep the things important to them in spite of tragedy and pain. I also love books about Jewish people that aren't centered around the Holocaust because there is so much more to the rich cultural and religious Jewish heritage than that.
I very much appreciated the research and details that went into each of the times of the girls. My favorite part was actually the afterward with resources to learn more about the time periods in the book. I love that these stories are inspired by the writer's own family, and it's clear that this book was written with a lot of love for those elements.
I also appreciate how hopeful the book is in spite of the terrible things that each girl is going for, especially considering how dark the world can seem today. I imagine that this book will be a breath of fresh air and a ray of hope for many readers. The book covers topics like antisemitism, misogyny, death, exile, and arranged marriages but the tone overall is still hopeful, mostly due to the continuing generations of girls finding comfort in songs and heritage.
Unfortunately, although I loved so many aspects of the book's concept, I didn't enjoy reading the book as much as I hoped. There were two reasons for this. First, because we spend such a short time with each girl and the book emphasizes what they have in common, they all seem the same. I couldn't remember their names or how they were different even in the middle of reading the book. The writing style is also, understandably, the same for each girl, which makes it even harder to tell them apart. Because the writing style is somewhat unique and sounds like an individual voice, when it's the same voice for four girls, it made the girls seem less developed to me.
I'm very much a character reader. If I'm not feeling connected to the characters, it's harder for me to engage in a book. Because of the switch in perspectives and the relatively short length of the book, I was losing interest and started skimming through sections toward the end of the book.
However, I do think this is an incredibly important book. With the rise of public and private antisemitism, more parents are trying to find ways to talk to their kids about antisemitism. This book is an age-appropriate and historical look at how anti-semitism has affected generations. It also shows how Jewish people have been able to hold on to their religion and even language and cultural elements like poetry and music in spite of that hate.
I also love that this book covers Latino Sephardic Jewish heritage, something you rarely see in literature but especially literature for young people. Along the way, it also shows these girls developing close ties to people of other races and religious traditions, making the book diverse and inclusive.
Although I didn't love this book personally because of the writing style and the difficulty relating to the multiple POV characters, there is certainly a lot to love about it. I would happily recommend it to young (and older!) readers who want to read about migration from the perspective of young people or people who are interested in family and cultural ties. The hope and connection of these girls through time is a wonderful concept especially when things today can be so uncertain and alarming.
I didn't love this book, but I am certain that many people will. More importantly, this is the kind of book and the kind of stories that help make the world better by showing the things that tie us together across generations, religions, cultures, countries, and races.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Antisemitism, and War