Evamar

by Margarita Engle

From award-winning author Margarita Engle comes an enthralling and heartrending novel in verse about first love, hidden cultures, and ancestral connections that follows a teen’s journey to uncover her late grandmother’s roots in Cuba.

Just before she was transformed
into an invisible spirit
my grandmother whispered her last wishes
into my

Sprinkle my ashes in a patch of girasoles,
wait patiently, harvest the seeds,
fly to la isla, find el jardín,
plant las semillas.
Then and only then—
read my diaries.

Evamar has arrived in Cuba with her abuela’s ashes and her mother’s Don’t talk politics, boil the tap water before you drink, y por favor absolutamente, don’t fall in love. But then she meets Río, a captivating drummer whose music and presence she can’t ignore.

Río bears his own scars, separated from his family in the United States. As their bond deepens, Evamar discovers an ancestral treasure that could change her future—and the lives of millions of Caribbeans.

Genres: Poetry, Young Adult

272 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication July 28, 2026

About the author

Margarita Engle is a Cuban-American poet, novelist, and journalist whose work has been published in many countries. She lives with her husband in northern California.

Reviews

[Engel Dreizehn · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC Copy...Beautiful verse imagery and weaving that involves three languages to paint the narrative.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it! Full of adventure, cultural insights, sweet romance and so much more.