Middle Grade Monday: The Other Side of the River by Alda P. Dobbs

Image: Sourcebooks

The Other Side of the River by Alda P. Dobbs. 368 p. Sourcebooks, September 6, 2022. 9781728238449. (Review of arc courtesy of author.)

Happy Monday! Happy Labor Day and happy book birthday tomorrow to The Other Side of the River by Alda P. Dobbs. This sequel picks up immediately after the ending of The Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna, which was the author's debut and won a Pura Bel Pré Honor. (Spoiler alert.) Petra, her abuela, little sister and baby brother may have made it across the river and out of Mexico, but their troubles are far from over. 

The refugee camp is getting more and more crowded and smallpox breaks out. The refugees are given a choice to either return to Mexico, where the revolutionaries are gaining ground or find a job and move on. Each decision the family needs to make is daunting. Petra's abuela leans toward returning, but Petra, armed with her talisman, her baby diamond, argues in favor of following her father's directions to start anew in the U.S. The family moves on to San Antonio, where they find a place hovel to rent while Petra looks for work. With each step away from Mexico, she worries about her father-whether he's still alive after having been forced to fight for the Federales, and if so, how the family will reunite. Most of all, she wishes to learn to read, something her abuela calls barefoot dreams.

Though this story, based on the author's family takes place in 1913, issues of immigration, the plight of refugees, and racial prejudice unfortunately persist.

Petra is resourceful and resilient; so much so that readers might forget that she's only twelve-years-old. While she feels responsible for her family, her sister and abuela do their fair share as well, something Petra occasionally forgets. She and her family continue to form community wherever they go as they try to forge a new life in America. There is so much to love here.The voice is engaging and short chapters move the story along, helped by colorful secondary characters and setting. An author's note follows. Finally, I just think that cover is gorgeous!

Hispanic Heritage Month starts on September 15th. I try to book talk diverse books all year long, but these thirty days are a good time to celebrate and highlight stories around Hispanic people and culture. Petra's story is sure to inspire. Both books belong on any library shelf. Highly recommended! Happy reading!

Middle Grade Monday and Arc Review: The Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna by Alda P. Dobbs

Image: Sourcebooks

The Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna by Alda P. Dobbs. 288 p. Sourcebooks, September, 2021. 9781728234654. (Review of arc courtesy of the author.)

Happy Monday! I hope you enjoyed your weekend! We had a snow day here on Friday, so the weekend felt luxuriously long. Students have a scheduled long weekend next weekend for MLK's birthday. Teachers have a PD day.

Middle Grade Monday features The Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna by Alda P. Dobbs. This historical fiction set in 1913 during the Mexican Revolution is based, in part on the author's family history.

Twelve-year-old Petra Luna gathers wood to sell in her village each day. She doesn't go to school. Neither she nor her father nor Abuelita read, but she longs to. Her mother died giving birth to her brother and her father has been conscripted by the Federales, who are brutally hunting down and quashing the revolutionaries. She promised her father that she would look after her grandmother, younger sister and baby brother until they could be reunited, but now the Federales have burned their village to the ground the the family are refugees heading north to the border and the U.S. How can she shepherd her remaining family across the desert on foot, with little money and scant knowledge of life outside of her village?

Readers will instantly root for the resilient Petra and become immersed in her dangerous trek. Though the Mexican Revolution happened over a hundred years ago, the continued plight of refugees all over the world makes this a timely novel to read today. There is an immediacy in Ms. Dobbs' writing, so much so that I often had to put the book down to take a break from the emotion that it evoked.

The Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna is the author's debut. I recommend it highly-for fans of historical fiction and for any reader wishing to become more empathetic. Happy reading!