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Eyes Open
Portugal, 1967. Sónia thinks she knows what her future holds. She’ll become a poet, and together she and her artist boyfriend, Zé Miguel, will rise above the government restrictions that shape their lives. The restrictions on what Sónia can do and where she can go without a man’s permission. The restrictions on what music she can enjoy, what books she can read, what questions she can ask.
But when Zé Miguel is arrested for anti-government activities and Sónia’s family’s restaurant is shut down, Sónia’s plans are upended. No longer part of the comfortable middle class, she’s forced to leave school and take a low-paying, grueling, dangerous job. She thought she understood the dark sides of her world, but now she sees suffering she never imagined.
Without the protection of her boyfriend or her family, can Sónia find a way to fight for justice?
But when Zé Miguel is arrested for anti-government activities and Sónia’s family’s restaurant is shut down, Sónia’s plans are upended. No longer part of the comfortable middle class, she’s forced to leave school and take a low-paying, grueling, dangerous job. She thought she understood the dark sides of her world, but now she sees suffering she never imagined.
Without the protection of her boyfriend or her family, can Sónia find a way to fight for justice?
352 pages, Hardcover
First published May 7, 2024
5 people are currently reading
179 people want to read
About the author
Lyn Miller-Lachmann
18 books57 followersI've practiced writing ever since I was six years and invented an entire classroom of 24 kids who wanted to be my friends. The following year, my mother gave me a typewriter, and I started putting my stories on paper. It was my way of creating a world where everything worked out the way I wanted it to.
When I became a high school teacher, I started collecting my students’ stories, and I incorporated these into my first efforts to write for others. I taught English to refugees from Latin America and organized concerts of Latin American music, and the people I met inspired and encouraged me to write the novel that years later would become Gringolandia. After Gringolandia came out in 2009, I enrolled in the MFA program in Writing for Children & Young Adults at Vermont College of Fine Arts and there gained the confidence to write the story I’d been avoiding or skirting for my life up to that point—growing up with Asperger’s Syndrome, a mild form of autism that made it so hard for me to make and keep friends. My 2013 novel, Rogue, is based on two incidents that happened to me as a teenager.
In addition to my published fiction for preteens and teens, I have complete drafts of two young adult novels, one of them a companion to Gringolandia, and am writing a middle grade novel. I am also working on a graphic novel featuring a Lego town I’ve built, Little Brick Township, and the minifigures who live there and/or visit. The stuff that happens in Little Brick Township sometimes appears on my blog, along with tips for other Lego builders. While I occasionally offer writing advice, my blog mainly features my other interests, including the experience of living abroad and learning another language (I spent the last four months of 2012 in Portugal and hope to return), my work as assistant host of a bilingual radio show of Latin American, Spanish, and Portuguese music, and what’s new in Little Brick Township.
When I became a high school teacher, I started collecting my students’ stories, and I incorporated these into my first efforts to write for others. I taught English to refugees from Latin America and organized concerts of Latin American music, and the people I met inspired and encouraged me to write the novel that years later would become Gringolandia. After Gringolandia came out in 2009, I enrolled in the MFA program in Writing for Children & Young Adults at Vermont College of Fine Arts and there gained the confidence to write the story I’d been avoiding or skirting for my life up to that point—growing up with Asperger’s Syndrome, a mild form of autism that made it so hard for me to make and keep friends. My 2013 novel, Rogue, is based on two incidents that happened to me as a teenager.
In addition to my published fiction for preteens and teens, I have complete drafts of two young adult novels, one of them a companion to Gringolandia, and am writing a middle grade novel. I am also working on a graphic novel featuring a Lego town I’ve built, Little Brick Township, and the minifigures who live there and/or visit. The stuff that happens in Little Brick Township sometimes appears on my blog, along with tips for other Lego builders. While I occasionally offer writing advice, my blog mainly features my other interests, including the experience of living abroad and learning another language (I spent the last four months of 2012 in Portugal and hope to return), my work as assistant host of a bilingual radio show of Latin American, Spanish, and Portuguese music, and what’s new in Little Brick Township.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
September 3, 2024
Not many historical fiction out there that talk about how Portugal endured Europe's second longest dictatorship of the twentieth century. Life was bleak (especially for women), Portugal was controlling colonies in African countries, men were being drafted into war and there was unrest in every part of the country. People see Portugal now as this perfect place to travel- and while it is magnificent, there is so much about the history that people don't realize. They don't see the the revolutionaries overthrowing the government on the limestone streets of Lisbon. They don't see the economic crisis that forced women to work in factories with dangerous conditions because they had to make money to live. Or the over one million Portuguese citizens, mostly destitute refugees, returning to Portugal from the former African colonies.
This is the story of Sónia and all that she must do to endure a life where she has so few choices to make.
This is the story of Sónia and all that she must do to endure a life where she has so few choices to make.
June 28, 2024
Honestly, if you've read one YA freeverse book, you've read them all. I loved the Portuguese words, but that doesn't stop me from noticing that in many ways this is just a repeat of The Poet X.
Read
July 26, 2024I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would...
January 3, 2026
I enjoyed learning about Portugal’s culture and history during this time period. A lot of the poetry was very evocative and compelling. But I kind of hated this story?
I was angry almost the entire time I was reading it. The protagonist, for all her talk of revolution and oppression, mostly comes off as a spoiled boy-crazy brat who throws her friends and family under the bus at every possible opportunity. Mostly so she can have not-all-the-way-sex with terrible men. I kept waiting for her to have some sort of character growth or change of heart after she keeps coming face to face with (admittedly extremely harsh) consequences and punishments. But there’s really nothing. In the end, she just very suddenly decides she’s had enough, recites a poem that we don’t even get to read, and gets beaten badly enough that other revolutionaries send her to France so she can play martyr.
I was angry almost the entire time I was reading it. The protagonist, for all her talk of revolution and oppression, mostly comes off as a spoiled boy-crazy brat who throws her friends and family under the bus at every possible opportunity. Mostly so she can have not-all-the-way-sex with terrible men. I kept waiting for her to have some sort of character growth or change of heart after she keeps coming face to face with (admittedly extremely harsh) consequences and punishments. But there’s really nothing. In the end, she just very suddenly decides she’s had enough, recites a poem that we don’t even get to read, and gets beaten badly enough that other revolutionaries send her to France so she can play martyr.
March 27, 2024
Eyes Open by Lyn Miller-Lachmann is a novel about Sonia, a girl growing up in Portugal in 1967 and under the dictatorship of António de Oliveira Salazar. Using free verse, the author tells the story of a young life restricted in every aspect. Sonia’s boyfriend is arrested, her family’s restaurant is shut down, and Sonia must quit school and work at a dangerous laundry establishment. Sonia’s whole life is changed so profoundly without her consent, her angst and frustration shows through her words and prose.
This is the first novel I’ve read in free verse and I really enjoyed it. I was amazed at the depth of Sonia’s story told through poetry. It was a quick read but a profound and serious look at a difficult time in Portugal’s history. I would recommend this book for young adults and historical fiction readers who would like to explore the free verse format.
Thank you Lerner Publishing Group and Netgalley for an advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.
This is the first novel I’ve read in free verse and I really enjoyed it. I was amazed at the depth of Sonia’s story told through poetry. It was a quick read but a profound and serious look at a difficult time in Portugal’s history. I would recommend this book for young adults and historical fiction readers who would like to explore the free verse format.
Thank you Lerner Publishing Group and Netgalley for an advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.
November 8, 2024
Several months ago I won Eyes Open in a giveaway hosted by L. Marie at El Space. Although I received a free hardcover, I later bought an audio version.
Eyes Open is the story of Sonia, a feisty, independent-minded teenager and her struggle to realize real independence in Portugal during 1966-1967, a slice of time during a dictatorship that lasted from 1926 to 1974. Sonia is in love with Zé Miguel, a dissident not much older than herself. Her family is against the relationship because they are both considered too young (in their mid- to late teens) and because of Zé Miguel's anti-government activities.
At the beginning of the novel, Sonia's family is enjoying a relatively middle-class life. They own their own restaurant and the five daughters (to Sonia father's deep disappointment, he has no sons) attend a Catholic school. There Sonia and her friends create a poetry club and write poems honoring Zé Miguel after he is arrested and imprisoned.
Sonia writes in free verse because she says she doesn't "have time to rhyme."
And indeed she doesn't. Zé Miguel's arrest causes suspicion among Sonia and her friends and her sisters. Sonia gets revenge on those who turned Zé Miguel in. The backlash is quick and fierce.
She writes:
"One step over the line.
My boyfriend's in prison.
One step over the line.
Our family's business is gone.
One step over the line.
We leave our home forever.
We scatter, start over, refugees
in our own land."
Sonia is a brave young woman but naive in that she seems to take men, at least the ones she is attracted to, at face value, despite (or perhaps in spite of) warnings from friends.
Zé Miguel breaks Sonia's heart but she understands why: in this country, even among the dissidents, women are expected to be subservient. Another young man plays the long game with her, courting her, convincing her that he admires her poetry and her independence when, frankly, all he wants is to get into her pants.
Despite the betrayals, Sonia's willingness to believe in people and, more importantly, believe in herself as a positive force is heartening.
Sonia takes many risks for the sake of her independence, suffers beatings from her father, survives dangerous work at a hotel laundry, and eventually manages to escape Portugal. (And it is an escape. As a female, she is prohibited from traveling freely.) Still, she does not give up.
"I am a scatterling
one of many.
[...]
for the monsters among us
moved into our home
made colonies of our minds
and between a hostile neighbor
and the sea
I cast my lot with the sea
with the certainty that
like fishing boats sailing beyond
the horizon
brave sailor
eyes open
gazing toward a new world beyond
the horizon
I too
will
return."
Eyes Open is a powerful story of one young woman's fight for self-determination, for independence for herself and her country. It may well be necessary reading for these times.
Eyes Open is the story of Sonia, a feisty, independent-minded teenager and her struggle to realize real independence in Portugal during 1966-1967, a slice of time during a dictatorship that lasted from 1926 to 1974. Sonia is in love with Zé Miguel, a dissident not much older than herself. Her family is against the relationship because they are both considered too young (in their mid- to late teens) and because of Zé Miguel's anti-government activities.
At the beginning of the novel, Sonia's family is enjoying a relatively middle-class life. They own their own restaurant and the five daughters (to Sonia father's deep disappointment, he has no sons) attend a Catholic school. There Sonia and her friends create a poetry club and write poems honoring Zé Miguel after he is arrested and imprisoned.
Sonia writes in free verse because she says she doesn't "have time to rhyme."
And indeed she doesn't. Zé Miguel's arrest causes suspicion among Sonia and her friends and her sisters. Sonia gets revenge on those who turned Zé Miguel in. The backlash is quick and fierce.
She writes:
"One step over the line.
My boyfriend's in prison.
One step over the line.
Our family's business is gone.
One step over the line.
We leave our home forever.
We scatter, start over, refugees
in our own land."
Sonia is a brave young woman but naive in that she seems to take men, at least the ones she is attracted to, at face value, despite (or perhaps in spite of) warnings from friends.
Zé Miguel breaks Sonia's heart but she understands why: in this country, even among the dissidents, women are expected to be subservient. Another young man plays the long game with her, courting her, convincing her that he admires her poetry and her independence when, frankly, all he wants is to get into her pants.
Despite the betrayals, Sonia's willingness to believe in people and, more importantly, believe in herself as a positive force is heartening.
Sonia takes many risks for the sake of her independence, suffers beatings from her father, survives dangerous work at a hotel laundry, and eventually manages to escape Portugal. (And it is an escape. As a female, she is prohibited from traveling freely.) Still, she does not give up.
"I am a scatterling
one of many.
[...]
for the monsters among us
moved into our home
made colonies of our minds
and between a hostile neighbor
and the sea
I cast my lot with the sea
with the certainty that
like fishing boats sailing beyond
the horizon
brave sailor
eyes open
gazing toward a new world beyond
the horizon
I too
will
return."
Eyes Open is a powerful story of one young woman's fight for self-determination, for independence for herself and her country. It may well be necessary reading for these times.
May 9, 2024
Portugal, in the late 1960s, is ruled by an authoritarian government, and repression of political dissidents is fierce. Sonia attends high school during a time when the country’s leader “tells us we do not debate The Certainties: / God and His virtue / the Fatherland and its history / authority and its prestige / the family and its morals / the glory of work and its duty.”
Sonia, however, longs to write poetry that is not bound by strict rules and regulations. She is in love with Zé Miguel, a revolutionary who fights for the workers and the oppressed. Neither of these passions is acceptable in her world, where no one can be trusted and everyone—her father, the government, the nuns at her school—is desperate to maintain tight control.
When Zé Miguel is arrested and her family’s restaurant is closed after her uncle hired a banned musician, Sonia must drop out of school to work in a hotel laundry room. Sonia’s friends abandon her, and she must spend her days engaged in painful and exhausting work.
But her desire for freedom and poetry remains, and as she sees the way the hotel exploits its workers, she becomes increasingly angry and determined “to live on [her] own / in a place where a woman can live on her own.”
We knew almost nothing about this period in Portugal’s history, and were immediately drawn into Sonia’s story, written in gorgeous verse. We’re grateful for the opportunity to learn more.
Thank you NetGalley, Carolrhoda Lab, and Lerner Publishing Group for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are our own.
Sonia, however, longs to write poetry that is not bound by strict rules and regulations. She is in love with Zé Miguel, a revolutionary who fights for the workers and the oppressed. Neither of these passions is acceptable in her world, where no one can be trusted and everyone—her father, the government, the nuns at her school—is desperate to maintain tight control.
When Zé Miguel is arrested and her family’s restaurant is closed after her uncle hired a banned musician, Sonia must drop out of school to work in a hotel laundry room. Sonia’s friends abandon her, and she must spend her days engaged in painful and exhausting work.
But her desire for freedom and poetry remains, and as she sees the way the hotel exploits its workers, she becomes increasingly angry and determined “to live on [her] own / in a place where a woman can live on her own.”
We knew almost nothing about this period in Portugal’s history, and were immediately drawn into Sonia’s story, written in gorgeous verse. We’re grateful for the opportunity to learn more.
Thank you NetGalley, Carolrhoda Lab, and Lerner Publishing Group for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are our own.
May 17, 2024
This beautiful and powerful novel set in 1967 Portugal is Lyn Miller-Lachmann’s first foray into writing a young adult novel in verse. The format is the perfect match for the substantial talents of the poet protagonist Sónia. As Kirkus says (with its accompanying star), it “allows Sónia’s poetic voice to shine.”
Sónia’s voice is just one of the many aspects that shine in Eyes Open. I was struck by the intimate portrayal of Sónia, and how the reader is fully immersed in a young woman’s journey from naiveté to living life with the title’s “eyes open.” The novel begins with Sónia’s greatest rebellion being the rumor she started about one of her teacher-nuns being as old as Vasco de Gama. By the end, she is using her poetry to inspire others to stand up to Portugal’s brutal and oppressive government.
Since Eyes Open is in verse, it’s a quick, yet engrossing read. It is written with depth of emotion and also lessons about Portugal’s history--at least for this reader, who up to this point knew little about Portugal’s more recent history.
To give you an idea of what I am talking about, here is one of my favorite passages:
"I come from a people
who made lives
in the corner of Europe
on a scrap of land
between a hostile neighbor
and the sea.
And when the storms blew in
we cast our lot with the sea
because …. we knew that sea monsters
couldn’t be worse
than the human kind."
You see what I mean? It’s moving and compelling, showing us Portuguese history through the heart-journey of a girl trying to find her way in the world. Beautiful.
Sónia’s voice is just one of the many aspects that shine in Eyes Open. I was struck by the intimate portrayal of Sónia, and how the reader is fully immersed in a young woman’s journey from naiveté to living life with the title’s “eyes open.” The novel begins with Sónia’s greatest rebellion being the rumor she started about one of her teacher-nuns being as old as Vasco de Gama. By the end, she is using her poetry to inspire others to stand up to Portugal’s brutal and oppressive government.
Since Eyes Open is in verse, it’s a quick, yet engrossing read. It is written with depth of emotion and also lessons about Portugal’s history--at least for this reader, who up to this point knew little about Portugal’s more recent history.
To give you an idea of what I am talking about, here is one of my favorite passages:
"I come from a people
who made lives
in the corner of Europe
on a scrap of land
between a hostile neighbor
and the sea.
And when the storms blew in
we cast our lot with the sea
because …. we knew that sea monsters
couldn’t be worse
than the human kind."
You see what I mean? It’s moving and compelling, showing us Portuguese history through the heart-journey of a girl trying to find her way in the world. Beautiful.
May 10, 2024
I love novels in verse, and there's so much to recommend in this one! I think historical fiction is having its moment, especially when it comes to cautionary tales that resonate with today's trend toward authoritarianism in this country and in other places around the world. And the trend toward controlling what women can and cannot do with their own bodies. For example, I was astounded to read that, in 1967, a Portuguese woman needed permission from a man to travel outside of Portugal! Talk about being a 2nd class citizen!
This book is NOT preachy. It centers around 16-yr-old Sónia, who has a boyfriend and a middle class life...until her boyfriend is jailed for illegal activities against the rules of the dictatorship (Portugal, 1967), and she and her family lose their restaurant and home for similar reasons. As a teenage girl, she is ruled by her hormones and what she thinks is her good judgment, which turns out to be not-so-good. Circumstances turn friends against friends, family members against family members, and no one knows who they can trust. Written from Sónia's perspective, the language is lyrical (she's an aspiring poet), her emotions engaging, and the truth is laid out for those who keep their eyes open. A terrific story that I read in a single sitting. Couldn't put it down! And in the process, I learned a lot about a country's history that serves as a warning for our own.
This book is NOT preachy. It centers around 16-yr-old Sónia, who has a boyfriend and a middle class life...until her boyfriend is jailed for illegal activities against the rules of the dictatorship (Portugal, 1967), and she and her family lose their restaurant and home for similar reasons. As a teenage girl, she is ruled by her hormones and what she thinks is her good judgment, which turns out to be not-so-good. Circumstances turn friends against friends, family members against family members, and no one knows who they can trust. Written from Sónia's perspective, the language is lyrical (she's an aspiring poet), her emotions engaging, and the truth is laid out for those who keep their eyes open. A terrific story that I read in a single sitting. Couldn't put it down! And in the process, I learned a lot about a country's history that serves as a warning for our own.
June 19, 2025
I'm not sure how to feel about how the speaker talks about God, though I really appreciate that she distinguishes between the problematic church around her vs God. It took me a little bit to get into this one, but wow, when I did, I was HOOKED! I binged much of this this past weekend. This story took so many surprising and interesting twists and turns, and in our current world, reading about this period of history particularly resonated, and encouraged me to keep my eyes open, keep writing poems, and keep resisting evil and oppressing systems. A fantastic example for novel in verse writers of how to keep characters making difficult choices, and how the consequences of those choices can keep escalating stakes. A great, powerful read!
June 1, 2025
I appreciated reading a book about a part of world history that I had never ready about before. This book takes place in the 1960s in Portugal. I had never really read much about this topic before. I didn’t realize the tumultuous past. It is written in verse about a girl whose family loses their restaurant and is forced into menial labor jobs that are not safe. Sonia has a couple different boyfriends through her experiences. One is a rebel. One is a rich hotel owner’s son. Both aren’t great for her. There are some scenes that are sexual in nature but not explicit. Like most books in verse, there are lots of heavy, hard topics.
November 26, 2023
While I had to adjust to reading a novel in verse, it happened quickly.
Sonia is a 16 year old girl in Portugal during the 60s (height of a dictatorship) who goes from being a student and daughter of a comfortable business owning family to a poor working class girl and beyond. She writes in verse and wants to make a difference in the world but love and family and class/political drama get in the way.
She makes a lot of mistakes but they are all true to a 16 year old girl learning and growing and trying.
All in all, while not my typical choice for a novel, I enjoyed it.
Sonia is a 16 year old girl in Portugal during the 60s (height of a dictatorship) who goes from being a student and daughter of a comfortable business owning family to a poor working class girl and beyond. She writes in verse and wants to make a difference in the world but love and family and class/political drama get in the way.
She makes a lot of mistakes but they are all true to a 16 year old girl learning and growing and trying.
All in all, while not my typical choice for a novel, I enjoyed it.
June 12, 2024
In 1967 Portugal, Sonia, a poet, is in love with Ze Miguel, an artist. But when Ze Miguel is arrested for "anti-government activities," Sonia's family is punished because of their relationship, changing the course of her life and vision of justice. The way family members treat each other bc of gov't fear is startling, and the punishments are harsh. Sonia is a strong character who becomes stronger and more determined as the novel goes on. This novel-in-verse offers a solid introduction Portugal's history and dictatorship, which is not widely taught or known.
July 27, 2024
In my opinion, like another comment said, the book had a very depressing feel in every page. The only reason being is because of the amount of trauma that is in the book, so I want you to be aware before reading.
However, the book itself is beautifully written, and I found the topic very interesting when I was searching for another book to read.
Overall, I'd say it is a wonderful book, and I reccomend you read it if you like free verse novels, historical fiction, or you would like to try something new.
However, the book itself is beautifully written, and I found the topic very interesting when I was searching for another book to read.
Overall, I'd say it is a wonderful book, and I reccomend you read it if you like free verse novels, historical fiction, or you would like to try something new.
July 14, 2024
This was an interesting story since it deals with an area of history I had no knowledge about the dictatorship in Portugal. I also enjoyed the fact that the whole book was written as poems which I think did a good job of sharing the emotions felt by the main character.
January 13, 2024
Interesting, cool and creative. And I found the main character great! Thanks for the arc and my gosh I would Rex this novel in verse
June 2, 2024
Verse quality and character development uneven, really strong at the end.
Read
June 23, 2024Reviewing for professional magazine, see review there.
August 23, 2024
I really enjoy books in verse and this was one great!
December 25, 2024
3.5 stars rounded up. Very quick read. Sad, empowering, enlightening.
February 28, 2025
Surprisingly moving and lovely. Powerful women in historical fiction.
April 30, 2025
cheating communist boyfriend ruins your life dot jpeg
August 28, 2025
Nice historical fiction that helps to describe conditions under Salazar in the 1960's.
I appreciated the author's note at the end with more historical details.
I appreciated the author's note at the end with more historical details.
January 27, 2026
A novel in verse, it is set in 1960's Portugal. Not my favorite, I didn't like the main character at all (i thought she was awfully selfish and naive). I listened to the audiobook.
January 4, 2025
This is the first historical fiction book I have read about Portugal during this time period. I enjoyed the free verse style and am intrigued to learn more about this piece of history. This is a YA book.
October 15, 2024
“I wish I could stop the lying.
I wish we could speak the truth
but we live in a place
where the truth can destroy.” (ARC, 195)
Lyn Miller-Lachmann’s newest novel, a verse novel, was spellbinding and eye-opening. I lived with 15-year-old Sonia Maria Fernandes Dias through the highs and many lows of her year—as she writes poetry, fighting the nuns for the right to write in free, not rhymed, verse which she writes about her boyfriend, Ze Miquel, a revolutionary. In the future she will write books, he as illustrator.
When Ze Miquel is arrested and Sonia’s family restaurant is closed down by the government for hosting fado singers (who snitched to PIDE a mystery), Sonia is blamed and her parents make her quit school and her beloved Poetry Club to work in substandard conditions in the laundry of a fancy hotel where her mother is now a maid. Shunned by the families of her former friends, she makes a new friend, Zuleika, a Black girl from Cabo Verde, who dreams of becoming a nun-teacher and earning enough money in the laundry to help her family build a brick house. When Ze Miquel escapes prison and runs away with Sonia’s ex-best friend, she turns her trust to the son of the hotel owner, hoping he will improve their dangerous conditions. He transfers Sonia to a job in the dining room, but when Zuleika is badly hurt in a laundry accident, Sonia learns that he also cannot be trusted and learns to rely on herself.
“I, Sonia Maria Fernandes Dias, am a poet
and a fighter
whose words
won’t praise
other heroes
when it’s my time
to act.” (ARC, 297)
Sonia’s—and Portugal’s—story is most powerfully written; the author has a way of putting the reader into the life and hearts of the characters.
I wish we could speak the truth
but we live in a place
where the truth can destroy.” (ARC, 195)
Lyn Miller-Lachmann’s newest novel, a verse novel, was spellbinding and eye-opening. I lived with 15-year-old Sonia Maria Fernandes Dias through the highs and many lows of her year—as she writes poetry, fighting the nuns for the right to write in free, not rhymed, verse which she writes about her boyfriend, Ze Miquel, a revolutionary. In the future she will write books, he as illustrator.
When Ze Miquel is arrested and Sonia’s family restaurant is closed down by the government for hosting fado singers (who snitched to PIDE a mystery), Sonia is blamed and her parents make her quit school and her beloved Poetry Club to work in substandard conditions in the laundry of a fancy hotel where her mother is now a maid. Shunned by the families of her former friends, she makes a new friend, Zuleika, a Black girl from Cabo Verde, who dreams of becoming a nun-teacher and earning enough money in the laundry to help her family build a brick house. When Ze Miquel escapes prison and runs away with Sonia’s ex-best friend, she turns her trust to the son of the hotel owner, hoping he will improve their dangerous conditions. He transfers Sonia to a job in the dining room, but when Zuleika is badly hurt in a laundry accident, Sonia learns that he also cannot be trusted and learns to rely on herself.
“I, Sonia Maria Fernandes Dias, am a poet
and a fighter
whose words
won’t praise
other heroes
when it’s my time
to act.” (ARC, 297)
Sonia’s—and Portugal’s—story is most powerfully written; the author has a way of putting the reader into the life and hearts of the characters.
April 17, 2025
This was such a depressing story. There were moments of joy, but they didn't last long. It dawned on me that women have had to overcome oppression all around the world and in some places, they are still fighting to be treated like they are more than 1/24 of a man. Eyes open opened my eyes to yet another reality that I didn't know existed. I would recommend this book to fans of Ruta Sepetys (because of the unique historical perspective) and readers who enjoy novels in verse.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews