Wednesday, September 15, 2021

Waiting on Wednesday: Cuba in My Pocket by Adrianna Cuevas



Happy Wednesday! Latinx Heritage Month is celebrated from 
Image: Macmillan

Cuba in My Pocket by Adrianna Cuevas.288 p. Macmillan Publishers, Sept. 21. 2021.

September 15 to October 15 each year. I try is keep the Daily Book Talks and books I choose for our collection fairly diverse all year long, but for the next thirty days, I will try to highlight more titles by Latinx authors.

Waiting on Wednesday features Cuba in My Pocket by Adrianna Cuevas. Here's the publisher's synopsis:
By the author of 2021 Pura Belpré Honor Book The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez, a sweeping, emotional middle grade historical novel about a twelve-year-old boy who leaves his family in Cuba to immigrate to the U.S. by himself, based on the author's family history.

“I don’t remember. Tell me everything, Pepito. Tell me about Cuba.”

When the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 solidifies Castro’s power in Cuba, twelve-year-old Cumba’s family makes the difficult decision to send him to Florida alone. Faced with the prospect of living in another country by himself, Cumba tries to remember the sound of his father’s clarinet, the smell of his mother’s lavender perfume.

Life in the United States presents a whole new set of challenges. Lost in a sea of English speakers, Cumba has to navigate a new city, a new school, and new freedom all on his own. With each day, Cumba feels more confident in his new surroundings, but he continues to wonder: Will his family ever be whole again? Or will they remain just out of reach, ninety miles across the sea?


Cuba in My Pocket releases on September 21. Happy reading!

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