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Your Heart My Sky
A story of love in a time of hunger inspired by her own family’s struggles during a dark period in Cuba’s history.
The people of Cuba are living in el periodo especial en tiempos de paz—the special period in times of peace. That’s what the government insists that this era must be called, but the reality behind these words is starvation.
Liana is struggling to find enough to eat. Yet hunger has also made her brave: she finds the courage to skip a summer of so-called volunteer farm labor, even though she risks government retribution. Nearby, a quiet, handsome boy named Amado also refuses to comply, so he wanders alone, trying to discover rare sources of food.
A chance encounter with an enigmatic dog brings Liana and Amado together. United in hope and hunger, they soon discover that their feelings for each other run deep. Love can feed their souls and hearts—but is it enough to withstand el periodo especial?
The people of Cuba are living in el periodo especial en tiempos de paz—the special period in times of peace. That’s what the government insists that this era must be called, but the reality behind these words is starvation.
Liana is struggling to find enough to eat. Yet hunger has also made her brave: she finds the courage to skip a summer of so-called volunteer farm labor, even though she risks government retribution. Nearby, a quiet, handsome boy named Amado also refuses to comply, so he wanders alone, trying to discover rare sources of food.
A chance encounter with an enigmatic dog brings Liana and Amado together. United in hope and hunger, they soon discover that their feelings for each other run deep. Love can feed their souls and hearts—but is it enough to withstand el periodo especial?
224 pages, Hardcover
First published March 23, 2021
14 people are currently reading
1706 people want to read
About the author
Margarita Engle
66 books387 followersMargarita 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 127 reviews
February 27, 2023
"Which is worse,
starvation or prison?
Stealing food is dangerous."
This book talks about hunger and injustice done to people in the name of politics and safety.
It is painful to read about a person talking about hunger and starvation yet it is such books that make us aware about such conditions many live in.
Yes, the world is full of injustice and the story makes us ask whose fault it should be.
No one deserves to live with hunger and suffer because of the lack of such basic needs to survive.
This book in verse shows hope. It's heartbreaking yet beautiful.
Each child needs to be educated; to be educated, they need to be fed first. What's the point of laws and the rules if children do not even get their bellies fed?
Hope each of us play our parts in helping the less fortunate.
Thank you for this beautiful book.
*The story is based during the 1990s when Cubans suffered starvation as the author describes.
starvation or prison?
Stealing food is dangerous."
This book talks about hunger and injustice done to people in the name of politics and safety.
It is painful to read about a person talking about hunger and starvation yet it is such books that make us aware about such conditions many live in.
Yes, the world is full of injustice and the story makes us ask whose fault it should be.
No one deserves to live with hunger and suffer because of the lack of such basic needs to survive.
This book in verse shows hope. It's heartbreaking yet beautiful.
Each child needs to be educated; to be educated, they need to be fed first. What's the point of laws and the rules if children do not even get their bellies fed?
Hope each of us play our parts in helping the less fortunate.
Thank you for this beautiful book.
*The story is based during the 1990s when Cubans suffered starvation as the author describes.
March 21, 2021
Such a great book written in verse! Your Heart My Sky is set in the 1990's during Cuba's el período especial en tiempos de paz'-the special period in times of peace. A decade of extreme hunger, pain, and fear depending on the whims of their government.
In this book we jump perspectives between two teens (and a dog!) as they navigate the 'Special Period' and how they are able to find love, strength, and survival in such a dark time of hunger and starvation. While the characters in this book are fictional, the story is based on real events in the 90's and authentic experiences from the author. This book is very eye-opening about events and experiences that are often overlooked in education or on the news, or simply swept under the rug altogether. Very quick to read, but the content packs a punch of awareness that I feel a lot would benefit to hear.
In this book we jump perspectives between two teens (and a dog!) as they navigate the 'Special Period' and how they are able to find love, strength, and survival in such a dark time of hunger and starvation. While the characters in this book are fictional, the story is based on real events in the 90's and authentic experiences from the author. This book is very eye-opening about events and experiences that are often overlooked in education or on the news, or simply swept under the rug altogether. Very quick to read, but the content packs a punch of awareness that I feel a lot would benefit to hear.
June 1, 2021
the verse writing style wasn’t my cup of tea, but the story was beautiful nonetheless.
March 2, 2021
Lovely. Heartbreaking. Read for review - Shelf Awareness.
October 1, 2021
Wow, Your Heart My Sky delves into such a devastating and defining time in Cuba's history - el periodo especial en tiempos de paz (the special period in times of peace) - from the perspective of two Cuban teenagers who find love in a time of hunger.
- Told in verse, the story follows Liana and Amado, two Cuban teenagers who are surviving the hunger and desolation of Cuba's special period, where the government's restrictions led to wide-spread food shortages, also causing wide-spread hunger of its people.
- The story really delves into the raw and emotive power and pervasiveness of hunger - how it changes the socio-political dynamic of everything and peoples lives. Your Heart My Sky focuses on two teens who find love and hope despite it all.
- Some of the poetry and imagery and moments in this will hit you hard; the way Engle captures how... desperate and hopeless and fraught everything is seeps into your bones. This is the kind of story that reflects on how a government's decision and hypocrisy can drastically alter the lives of its people, where desperation and hunger can push us to, and who gets to enjoy privileges.
- I wouldn't call this book a romance, but it does have a romance. Liana and Amado's love for one another is as desperate as their hunger, as they hold onto something that isn't entirely hopeless.
- There's a lot to like about this book, but unfortunately the story itself didn't quite gel with me. The story focuses a lot on people in a dark moment in history, but the people in the story didn't quite 'emerge' as formed characters. As a consequence, I found the story forgettable (though the history and the portrayal of how the Special Period felt will stay with me forever).
- Told in verse, the story follows Liana and Amado, two Cuban teenagers who are surviving the hunger and desolation of Cuba's special period, where the government's restrictions led to wide-spread food shortages, also causing wide-spread hunger of its people.
- The story really delves into the raw and emotive power and pervasiveness of hunger - how it changes the socio-political dynamic of everything and peoples lives. Your Heart My Sky focuses on two teens who find love and hope despite it all.
- Some of the poetry and imagery and moments in this will hit you hard; the way Engle captures how... desperate and hopeless and fraught everything is seeps into your bones. This is the kind of story that reflects on how a government's decision and hypocrisy can drastically alter the lives of its people, where desperation and hunger can push us to, and who gets to enjoy privileges.
- I wouldn't call this book a romance, but it does have a romance. Liana and Amado's love for one another is as desperate as their hunger, as they hold onto something that isn't entirely hopeless.
- There's a lot to like about this book, but unfortunately the story itself didn't quite gel with me. The story focuses a lot on people in a dark moment in history, but the people in the story didn't quite 'emerge' as formed characters. As a consequence, I found the story forgettable (though the history and the portrayal of how the Special Period felt will stay with me forever).
May 17, 2021
This one didn't get me as much as Jazz Owls: A Novel of the Zoot Suit Riots. I wish it had. Maybe the poetry here wasn't as direct, maybe not being able to picture quite what was going on in Cuba during this time, maybe the poetry was too mystical--I don't know. I didn't connect with the story or the characters.
November 9, 2020
Engle does a wonderful job writing this book to help readers understand what life has been like for Cubans. It was eye-opening for me and hard to fathom a government who behaves in this manner, not providing enough food for the native people. The story is not just about hunger but also about the passion for love and life that the two main characters share on their day-to-day adventures searching for food together.
I'm a huge fan of free verse and I have so many favorite lines from this book, too many to pick just one.
I recommend this book for middle school and high school readers and would make for some great discussions in a history/government class.
Thank you to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader eCopy.
I'm a huge fan of free verse and I have so many favorite lines from this book, too many to pick just one.
I recommend this book for middle school and high school readers and would make for some great discussions in a history/government class.
Thank you to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader eCopy.
May 7, 2025
”I need to figure out whether it’s possible
to love courageously in a time of danger.”
It’s 1991, and Cuba is in the “el period especial en tiempos paz”- the special period in times of peace. It sounds like a special time, and it is – for all the wrong reasons. It’s just a fancy phrase the Cuban government uses to cover a big problem: its people are starving. Food is being rationed, valuable food sources are being withheld from the common Cuban people, such as meat, fruit, and protein, and any and all obtaining of food outside of the rations is strictly forbidden. The only options Cubans have are to starve, obtain food in an illegal way, or become one of the thousands of raft refugees that flee to the United States.
Liana and Amado are two teenagers who are faced with those three options. After a chance meeting at the beach in search of food, they quickly form a bond that’s immediately tested by these special times. They also face the risk of being imprisoned by the Cuban government for failing to participate in the summer volunteer labor force program (aka mandatory, unpaid work.) With all these hardships they face, can Liana and Amado find love and hope in these hard times?
I feel like such a little shit for saying that I didn’t like a book that deals with such a serious, timely, and important topic, and yet here we are.
One thing I love about books is that they give people an opportunity to know and learn about events that they had never heard of before. I’m from Bakersfield, California, the United States of America. The very sad and tragic fact is that if it doesn’t involve white people living in predominantly white, Western European countries, it doesn’t get taught. The US does a horrible job of teaching its students about the history of non-Western countries and history about people of color. It’s just a fact. The closest we ever got to studying anything about Cuba is the Cuban missile crisis in the 1960s, and that was just to mention that Cuba was involved, we were enemies, blah blah blah. Needless to say, the horrific period in time covered in this book wasn’t mentioned at all, which is why it’s so great that it’s being given notice.
The author did a good job showcasing the sheer desperation and bitter poverty of that time period, with no way to get out of it except for the three less than ideal options mentioned above. The resourcefulness of the characters, especially Liana, is something to be applauded and makes you think of your own needs very differently. The author does a good job of showcasing the resilience of the characters.
Unfortunately, the novel fell extremely flat in two major areas. The first area was the romance. Next to the time period this book is set in, the romance between Liana and Amado was marketed as a major plot point of the novel. To me, however, it was hardly even mentioned and wasn’t developed in the slightest. There were several missing gaps in their love story; so it made it seem the author was throwing us right in the middle of their relationship instead of showing us how it developed. One minute they met, the next minute they’re together. There’s no lead up to how it happened; it just kind of does. Because the romance of the book was so rushed and fast, I didn’t really get invested in it. It was just kind of … there.
The second area was, sadly, the characters. I don’t think verse was the best way to showcase this plot or this story. I never got a feeling for the characters and didn’t think they were fully fleshed out. It felt like I hardly knew them, which made it hard to be to truly become connected to them and feel their suffering.
An overlooked time period in history unfortunately doesn’t quite get its due. Characters that aren’t fully fleshed out and a plot line that’s hardly even there makes this a fast-paced yet lacking novel. I appreciate and am thankful for the opportunity to learn about a time period and event in history that’s criminally overlooked and not acknowledged, but the plot and characterization was severely lacking.
to love courageously in a time of danger.”
It’s 1991, and Cuba is in the “el period especial en tiempos paz”- the special period in times of peace. It sounds like a special time, and it is – for all the wrong reasons. It’s just a fancy phrase the Cuban government uses to cover a big problem: its people are starving. Food is being rationed, valuable food sources are being withheld from the common Cuban people, such as meat, fruit, and protein, and any and all obtaining of food outside of the rations is strictly forbidden. The only options Cubans have are to starve, obtain food in an illegal way, or become one of the thousands of raft refugees that flee to the United States.
Liana and Amado are two teenagers who are faced with those three options. After a chance meeting at the beach in search of food, they quickly form a bond that’s immediately tested by these special times. They also face the risk of being imprisoned by the Cuban government for failing to participate in the summer volunteer labor force program (aka mandatory, unpaid work.) With all these hardships they face, can Liana and Amado find love and hope in these hard times?
I feel like such a little shit for saying that I didn’t like a book that deals with such a serious, timely, and important topic, and yet here we are.
One thing I love about books is that they give people an opportunity to know and learn about events that they had never heard of before. I’m from Bakersfield, California, the United States of America. The very sad and tragic fact is that if it doesn’t involve white people living in predominantly white, Western European countries, it doesn’t get taught. The US does a horrible job of teaching its students about the history of non-Western countries and history about people of color. It’s just a fact. The closest we ever got to studying anything about Cuba is the Cuban missile crisis in the 1960s, and that was just to mention that Cuba was involved, we were enemies, blah blah blah. Needless to say, the horrific period in time covered in this book wasn’t mentioned at all, which is why it’s so great that it’s being given notice.
The author did a good job showcasing the sheer desperation and bitter poverty of that time period, with no way to get out of it except for the three less than ideal options mentioned above. The resourcefulness of the characters, especially Liana, is something to be applauded and makes you think of your own needs very differently. The author does a good job of showcasing the resilience of the characters.
Unfortunately, the novel fell extremely flat in two major areas. The first area was the romance. Next to the time period this book is set in, the romance between Liana and Amado was marketed as a major plot point of the novel. To me, however, it was hardly even mentioned and wasn’t developed in the slightest. There were several missing gaps in their love story; so it made it seem the author was throwing us right in the middle of their relationship instead of showing us how it developed. One minute they met, the next minute they’re together. There’s no lead up to how it happened; it just kind of does. Because the romance of the book was so rushed and fast, I didn’t really get invested in it. It was just kind of … there.
The second area was, sadly, the characters. I don’t think verse was the best way to showcase this plot or this story. I never got a feeling for the characters and didn’t think they were fully fleshed out. It felt like I hardly knew them, which made it hard to be to truly become connected to them and feel their suffering.
An overlooked time period in history unfortunately doesn’t quite get its due. Characters that aren’t fully fleshed out and a plot line that’s hardly even there makes this a fast-paced yet lacking novel. I appreciate and am thankful for the opportunity to learn about a time period and event in history that’s criminally overlooked and not acknowledged, but the plot and characterization was severely lacking.
June 29, 2021
3 stars
The story was very educational, so it's a great classroom read. However, it felt too insta love-y, and the ending was unclear.
The story was very educational, so it's a great classroom read. However, it felt too insta love-y, and the ending was unclear.
October 6, 2021
So very sad.
March 23, 2021
Thanks to NetGalley and Atheneum Books for Young Readers for this arc, which I received in exchange for an honest review. I’ll post that review upon publication.
Updated 3/23/21
4 stars
Margarita Engle has done it again!
This is a fantastic verse novel centering on the early '90s humanitarian crisis in Cuba. Three characters share perspectives: Liana, Amado, and the dog (via an omniscient source). Their experiences are heartbreaking, and Engle takes readers right in to the pain and desperation of starvation, hopelessness, fear, and lacking opportunity. What is even more empowering is how - in the face of all of this - the characters manage to access hope after all, along with love, loyalty, and some incredible grit.
My only point of minor contention was that I wanted even more information about the characters and their experiences, but this is a beautifully articulated exploration of a time and location combo that I knew little about upon entry and want to know much more about as a result of this novel.
I'll be recommending this one to students and friends alike.
Updated 3/23/21
4 stars
Margarita Engle has done it again!
This is a fantastic verse novel centering on the early '90s humanitarian crisis in Cuba. Three characters share perspectives: Liana, Amado, and the dog (via an omniscient source). Their experiences are heartbreaking, and Engle takes readers right in to the pain and desperation of starvation, hopelessness, fear, and lacking opportunity. What is even more empowering is how - in the face of all of this - the characters manage to access hope after all, along with love, loyalty, and some incredible grit.
My only point of minor contention was that I wanted even more information about the characters and their experiences, but this is a beautifully articulated exploration of a time and location combo that I knew little about upon entry and want to know much more about as a result of this novel.
I'll be recommending this one to students and friends alike.
April 30, 2021
Richie’s Picks: YOUR HEART MY SKY by Margarita Engle, Atheneum, March 2021, 224p., ISBN: 978-1-5344-6496-4
“These fragile bodies of touch and taste
This fragrant skin, this hair like lace
Spirits open to the thrust of grace
Never a breath you can afford to waste”
-- Bruce Cockburn, “Lovers in a Dangerous Time” (1984)
YOUR HEART MY SKY is set in Cuba thirty years ago, over the summer of 1991. It was a period of scarcity and widespread hunger.
“The History of Our Hunger
Liana
According to legends told by old folks,
this is how emptiness swallowed us:
Nearly thirty years ago, the US refused
to trade with Cuba, so we fell into the bear hug
of Russia, until a few months ago, when suddenly
the Soviet Union began to crumble like a sandcastle,
leaving
us
abandoned.
No more subsidies, bribes, or rewards.
Now, with tourists from all over the world
due to arrive for global games, our food rations
are slashed to create an illusion of plenty
at hotel banquets, in restaurants that we
are not permitted
to enter.
My parents quietly call it tourist apartheid.
Everything for outsiders.
Nothing for islanders.”
Liana is a fourteen-year-old Cuban teen who knows some English thanks to the old dictionary hidden at the back of her mother’s cluttered bookshelf. She has just been befriended by a stray dog.
There is a young man, Amando, who is a year older than her:
Amado
I’m the only boy in this entire town
who did not go to the sugar fields
for a summer of oppressive labor.
Everyone knows it’s more mandatory
than voluntary, at least in the sense
of becoming an outcast if you refuse,
losing all privileges, forfeiting college,
losing hope for a future of education
and respect.
So I wander alone now, observing, listening,
trying to discover rare sources of food, ration lines
that lead to bread or coffee, instead of the usual
slice of aching
disappointment.
All my friends left yesterday
on flatbed army trucks, carted like cattle.
I don’t expect to see any teenagers in town,
so I’m surprised when I spot a girl I’ve noticed
many times, even though I’ve never
been brave enough to speak to her.
Close to her side, a foxlike animal
lopes casually, fearless in the presence
of hungry strangers.
Doesn’t the wild-looking dog understand
that most of us are ravenous enough
to lose our sense of guilt?
Cats have disappeared
and dogs are vanishing too,
abandoned, gone feral,
or worse--devoured, the meat
described as pork or rabbit…
No one can afford to feed a pet.
We can barely take care of ourselves.
Some would eat this creature just to fill
the agony of a hollow belly
and vanishing conscience.”
YOUR HEART MY SKY is the story of two young people in an historic era of hunger. Their quest for food is the central issue in the book. The details as to what made it so difficult for the normal Cuban to obtain sustenance in 1991 is revealed as we observe the two young people eating anything that will stay down, and scheming to obtain the seeds necessary to illegally grow food at their families’ homes.
There is a sweetness to their blooming relationship counterposed with the bitterness of the inhumane conditions that result from the island’s political-economic system.
“Amado
What do all young cubanos want to be
when we grow up
her would ask,
providing the cynical answer
himself:
Extranjeros.
Foreigners.”
The era portrayed here is eerily echoed by a present-day Cuba starvation crisis. This month, sixty years after the Cuban Missile Crisis, Raul Castro has stepped down as the island faces another horrific period of starvation.
“[Cuba] is in the throes of its worst economic contraction since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Painful economic reforms have sent inflation soaring. Long lines for food have again become commonplace. Trump-era sanctions have reduced access to vital economic lifelines like remittances. and a nascent but increasingly vocal social movement is channeling mounting frustration.”
-- from the Miami Herald (4/12/21)
What is the solution to Cuba’s woes? Will they eventually return to being exploited by the U.S.? Can they find the allies necessary to create a freer system while maintaining a good measure of autonomy? YOUR HEART MY SKY will prompt young readers to do some digging into Cuba’s history. For the sake of eleven-plus million Cubans, again having to fight starvation, I hope there is some resolution sooner rather than later.
YOUR HEART MY SKY enlightens readers about conditions that cause people from places like Cuba to risk their lives in order to reach the United States. I hope that Liana and Amado’s story engenders empathy and compassion for those seeking asylum at our borders and shores.
YOUR HEART MY SKY is an innocent love story that is perfect for middle schoolers.
Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.pbworks.com
https://www.facebook.com/richiespicks/
https://twitter.com/richiespicks
richiepartington@gmail.com
“These fragile bodies of touch and taste
This fragrant skin, this hair like lace
Spirits open to the thrust of grace
Never a breath you can afford to waste”
-- Bruce Cockburn, “Lovers in a Dangerous Time” (1984)
YOUR HEART MY SKY is set in Cuba thirty years ago, over the summer of 1991. It was a period of scarcity and widespread hunger.
“The History of Our Hunger
Liana
According to legends told by old folks,
this is how emptiness swallowed us:
Nearly thirty years ago, the US refused
to trade with Cuba, so we fell into the bear hug
of Russia, until a few months ago, when suddenly
the Soviet Union began to crumble like a sandcastle,
leaving
us
abandoned.
No more subsidies, bribes, or rewards.
Now, with tourists from all over the world
due to arrive for global games, our food rations
are slashed to create an illusion of plenty
at hotel banquets, in restaurants that we
are not permitted
to enter.
My parents quietly call it tourist apartheid.
Everything for outsiders.
Nothing for islanders.”
Liana is a fourteen-year-old Cuban teen who knows some English thanks to the old dictionary hidden at the back of her mother’s cluttered bookshelf. She has just been befriended by a stray dog.
There is a young man, Amando, who is a year older than her:
Amado
I’m the only boy in this entire town
who did not go to the sugar fields
for a summer of oppressive labor.
Everyone knows it’s more mandatory
than voluntary, at least in the sense
of becoming an outcast if you refuse,
losing all privileges, forfeiting college,
losing hope for a future of education
and respect.
So I wander alone now, observing, listening,
trying to discover rare sources of food, ration lines
that lead to bread or coffee, instead of the usual
slice of aching
disappointment.
All my friends left yesterday
on flatbed army trucks, carted like cattle.
I don’t expect to see any teenagers in town,
so I’m surprised when I spot a girl I’ve noticed
many times, even though I’ve never
been brave enough to speak to her.
Close to her side, a foxlike animal
lopes casually, fearless in the presence
of hungry strangers.
Doesn’t the wild-looking dog understand
that most of us are ravenous enough
to lose our sense of guilt?
Cats have disappeared
and dogs are vanishing too,
abandoned, gone feral,
or worse--devoured, the meat
described as pork or rabbit…
No one can afford to feed a pet.
We can barely take care of ourselves.
Some would eat this creature just to fill
the agony of a hollow belly
and vanishing conscience.”
YOUR HEART MY SKY is the story of two young people in an historic era of hunger. Their quest for food is the central issue in the book. The details as to what made it so difficult for the normal Cuban to obtain sustenance in 1991 is revealed as we observe the two young people eating anything that will stay down, and scheming to obtain the seeds necessary to illegally grow food at their families’ homes.
There is a sweetness to their blooming relationship counterposed with the bitterness of the inhumane conditions that result from the island’s political-economic system.
“Amado
What do all young cubanos want to be
when we grow up
her would ask,
providing the cynical answer
himself:
Extranjeros.
Foreigners.”
The era portrayed here is eerily echoed by a present-day Cuba starvation crisis. This month, sixty years after the Cuban Missile Crisis, Raul Castro has stepped down as the island faces another horrific period of starvation.
“[Cuba] is in the throes of its worst economic contraction since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Painful economic reforms have sent inflation soaring. Long lines for food have again become commonplace. Trump-era sanctions have reduced access to vital economic lifelines like remittances. and a nascent but increasingly vocal social movement is channeling mounting frustration.”
-- from the Miami Herald (4/12/21)
What is the solution to Cuba’s woes? Will they eventually return to being exploited by the U.S.? Can they find the allies necessary to create a freer system while maintaining a good measure of autonomy? YOUR HEART MY SKY will prompt young readers to do some digging into Cuba’s history. For the sake of eleven-plus million Cubans, again having to fight starvation, I hope there is some resolution sooner rather than later.
YOUR HEART MY SKY enlightens readers about conditions that cause people from places like Cuba to risk their lives in order to reach the United States. I hope that Liana and Amado’s story engenders empathy and compassion for those seeking asylum at our borders and shores.
YOUR HEART MY SKY is an innocent love story that is perfect for middle schoolers.
Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.pbworks.com
https://www.facebook.com/richiespicks/
https://twitter.com/richiespicks
richiepartington@gmail.com
November 23, 2020
Margaritas Engle does a masterful job of pulling together the ideas of connection, independence, pain, loss, hunger and longing for something more. Amado and Liana and separate should struggling to stay alive during the starvation period in Cuba in the 1990's. Brought together by a singing dog the two learn how to love during a time of great struggle.
This historical fiction novel in verse was so beautiful and engaging. I could not put it down. Start to finish in one read and immediately wanted to know more about this time in Cuba.
I always look forward to stories by Engle and this did not disappoint. I highly recommend this story!
This historical fiction novel in verse was so beautiful and engaging. I could not put it down. Start to finish in one read and immediately wanted to know more about this time in Cuba.
I always look forward to stories by Engle and this did not disappoint. I highly recommend this story!
July 19, 2022
A beautiful, sad, and yet hopeful novel in verse, combining prose, poetry, and even moments of poems for two voices, vacillating between the voices of Liana, Amado, and Paz, the “singing dog” who brought them together. This story does a lovely job of highlighting the excruciating challenges of living in Cuba in the 1990’s…a time of extreme hunger, bizarre laws, and many people either starving to death or fleeing as refugees in makeshift rafts fled towards the hope of safety and security in the US. Highlighting a complex time in history, it shows us how things were for Cubans, and it helps us understand why many are still fearful today when thinking about the possibility of having to live through a time like that again.
May 1, 2021
Another beautifully told story set in a beautiful but difficult country. I didn't know much at all about this time period in Cuban history, but the book led me to research more. And I immediately recommended it to my Spanish students. We could do a whole study of Cuba through the eyes of Margarita Engle!
April 30, 2024
In Cuba in the 90s, there was a period of starvation for the Cuban people. They were not allowed to grow their own food, and many scrounged around the island for sustenance. This was an easy book to read about two young people living during that time. They learned to grow food and had dreams of forgetting their hunger. Although starvation is a tough topic to read about, this book was pretty easy to read. It was written in verse, so the words flowed easily, it was short, and although having not studied Spanish in several years, the uses of Spanish were beautifully done (and I still understood them!)
July 23, 2021
Some truly remarkable phrases in this - “Maybe love at first sight actually does exist for those who are well-fed enough to sleep.”
November 28, 2022
3.5/5
(2022 Around the World in 80 Books read for Cuba)
(2022 Around the World in 80 Books read for Cuba)
May 1, 2021
Historical fiction written in verse about Cuba’s time of extreme hunger from the perspective of two teens and a dog.
Easy read.
Easy read.
May 8, 2021
To imagine this type of hunger is devastating. So heartbreaking but beautifully told. Love that this is done in verse. :-)
April 13, 2021
I'm not really big on books written in verse but I read this for the annual "Librarians Reading Challenge".
March 9, 2022
A story of love found in times of starvation.
A very eye opening story about harsh times of war and hunger uniquely written in verse. Love found Liana and Amado in times eating or being free can cause them their lives. How will their love survive while they continue to starve to death?
I love books written in verse. This story gives a new light to the hardship of war and hunger. I hope we could all be eating well and safe from danger. Especially with times of what the world is going through.
A very eye opening story about harsh times of war and hunger uniquely written in verse. Love found Liana and Amado in times eating or being free can cause them their lives. How will their love survive while they continue to starve to death?
I love books written in verse. This story gives a new light to the hardship of war and hunger. I hope we could all be eating well and safe from danger. Especially with times of what the world is going through.
February 21, 2024
This review and many more can be found on my blog: Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Your Heart My Sky highlights a time in Cuba’s history that many people don’t know about: “The special period in times of peace.” Sounds wonderful, right? Well, I suppose that’s how the government wanted people to see it, but many people in Cuba were actually starving during this time (I was amazed to find out this took place in 1991—I was in high school at this time and had absolutely no idea what was happening to people in Cuba). The story follows Liana and Amado, both students who are avoiding the country’s “voluntary” summer work program and trying to scrounge up enough food to stay alive. Dodging their duties is enough to be seen as a traitor and find themselves arrested, so it only feels like one more dangerous step when they begin to aid people fleeing the country on makeshift rafts, and one more when they learn to grow an illegal garden. Plus, they know that Amado will be forced into the military once he’s sixteen or face imprisonment like his brother. The two fall in love and have to decide whether to stay in Cuba and fight for a better life there or brave the dangerous seas and flee. The book is written in a beautifully poetic style (it feels more like poetry than many of the verse novels I’ve read), and the stakes are incredibly high. I think this book will stick with me for a very long time.
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher for review purposes. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
Your Heart My Sky highlights a time in Cuba’s history that many people don’t know about: “The special period in times of peace.” Sounds wonderful, right? Well, I suppose that’s how the government wanted people to see it, but many people in Cuba were actually starving during this time (I was amazed to find out this took place in 1991—I was in high school at this time and had absolutely no idea what was happening to people in Cuba). The story follows Liana and Amado, both students who are avoiding the country’s “voluntary” summer work program and trying to scrounge up enough food to stay alive. Dodging their duties is enough to be seen as a traitor and find themselves arrested, so it only feels like one more dangerous step when they begin to aid people fleeing the country on makeshift rafts, and one more when they learn to grow an illegal garden. Plus, they know that Amado will be forced into the military once he’s sixteen or face imprisonment like his brother. The two fall in love and have to decide whether to stay in Cuba and fight for a better life there or brave the dangerous seas and flee. The book is written in a beautifully poetic style (it feels more like poetry than many of the verse novels I’ve read), and the stakes are incredibly high. I think this book will stick with me for a very long time.
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher for review purposes. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
April 29, 2021
A young adult novel told in verse about 2 teenagers living during the 1990s in Cuba, a time of near-death starvation for the country and its people. This is a beautiful historical novel that does an amazing job of helping the reader to really feel and visualize what this time period was like and how it affected so many individuals and families. A great story!
October 16, 2021
I began learning about the history of Cuba through Cuban-American poet Margarita Engle’s memoir, ENCHANTED SKY. I continued my study, learning more Cuban history through the stories of Tula, THE LIGHTNING DREAMER: CUBA’S GREATEST ABOLITIONIST; though the story of Rosa in THE SURRENDER TREE: POEMS OF CUBA’S STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM; with Daniel, one of the Holocaust refugees in Cuba in TROPICAL SECRETS; and the story of Fefa (based on Engle’s grandmother) in THE WILD BOOK. But there is still more history to learn.
YOUR HEART-MY SKY: LOVE IN THE TIME OF HUNGER introduced me to a different, more contemporary era, “el period especial en tiempos de paz.” The government’s name for the 1990s is “the special period in times of peace,” but in reality is a period of extreme hunger resulting from the loss of Soviet aid, the US trade embargo, and the government prohibition of the growing, buying, and selling of agricultural products. Even though the 1991 Pan Am Games are being held in Havana, where visitors and athletes are sure to find food, the people in the towns face starvation, their food rations reduced even more.
No witnesses.
We are like an outer isle
Off the shore of another island.
Forgotten. (3)
My parents quietly call it tourist apartheid.
Everything for outsiders.
Nothing for islanders.” (Liana, 6)
Readers are introduced to the disastrous effects of these policies on the citizens through the three narrators: Liana, Amado, and the Singing Dog who serves as a matchmaker between, and a guard of, the two adolescents.
Liana and Amado are both rebels in their own ways: Liana skips la escuela al campo “a summer of forced so-called-volunteer farm labor,” possibly giving up college or a government-assigned tolerable job, spending her days looking for food. Amado has made a pact with his brother who is in jail for speaking against the government. He is worried that he won’t be able to keep his promise to avoid the mandatory military service—“men have to serve in the reserves until they’re fifty”—and promote peace, possibly joining his brother in prison.
Maybe I should let myself be trained to kill,
become a soldier, gun-wielding, violent,
a dangerous stranger, no longer
me.” (Amado, 24)
In beautiful lyrical verse, lines that caused me to re-read and savor, Liana and Amado meet and fall in love,
The pulse in my mind wanders away
From hunger, toward something I can barely name.
A spark
of wishlight
on the dark horizon’s
oceanic warmth. (Liana, 35)
Liana meets Amado’s grandparents who are growing vegetables and fruits in hidden gardens, and she is given seeds to start her own gardens. She dreams of starting a kitchen restaurant.
Everything has changed inside our minds
So that we are intensely aware of our ability
To seize control of hunger,
Transforming food
Into freedom. (110)
Amado and Liana help fleeing refugees, even though
Leaving the island is forbidden by law
And it is equally illegal
To know that someone is planning to flee. (95)
When Amado receives a note from his brother releasing him from their pact, he secretly plans their rafting escape. But the indecision brought about by the precariousness of the trip cause them to reconsider.
All we have in our shared hearts
is one imaginary raft—
How shall we use it?
Climb aboard or set it loose,
Let that alternate future
drift away? (Liana and Amado, 197)
A beautiful story of a terrible time in Cuban history and two resilient families connected by love (and a singing dog).
YOUR HEART-MY SKY: LOVE IN THE TIME OF HUNGER introduced me to a different, more contemporary era, “el period especial en tiempos de paz.” The government’s name for the 1990s is “the special period in times of peace,” but in reality is a period of extreme hunger resulting from the loss of Soviet aid, the US trade embargo, and the government prohibition of the growing, buying, and selling of agricultural products. Even though the 1991 Pan Am Games are being held in Havana, where visitors and athletes are sure to find food, the people in the towns face starvation, their food rations reduced even more.
No witnesses.
We are like an outer isle
Off the shore of another island.
Forgotten. (3)
My parents quietly call it tourist apartheid.
Everything for outsiders.
Nothing for islanders.” (Liana, 6)
Readers are introduced to the disastrous effects of these policies on the citizens through the three narrators: Liana, Amado, and the Singing Dog who serves as a matchmaker between, and a guard of, the two adolescents.
Liana and Amado are both rebels in their own ways: Liana skips la escuela al campo “a summer of forced so-called-volunteer farm labor,” possibly giving up college or a government-assigned tolerable job, spending her days looking for food. Amado has made a pact with his brother who is in jail for speaking against the government. He is worried that he won’t be able to keep his promise to avoid the mandatory military service—“men have to serve in the reserves until they’re fifty”—and promote peace, possibly joining his brother in prison.
Maybe I should let myself be trained to kill,
become a soldier, gun-wielding, violent,
a dangerous stranger, no longer
me.” (Amado, 24)
In beautiful lyrical verse, lines that caused me to re-read and savor, Liana and Amado meet and fall in love,
The pulse in my mind wanders away
From hunger, toward something I can barely name.
A spark
of wishlight
on the dark horizon’s
oceanic warmth. (Liana, 35)
Liana meets Amado’s grandparents who are growing vegetables and fruits in hidden gardens, and she is given seeds to start her own gardens. She dreams of starting a kitchen restaurant.
Everything has changed inside our minds
So that we are intensely aware of our ability
To seize control of hunger,
Transforming food
Into freedom. (110)
Amado and Liana help fleeing refugees, even though
Leaving the island is forbidden by law
And it is equally illegal
To know that someone is planning to flee. (95)
When Amado receives a note from his brother releasing him from their pact, he secretly plans their rafting escape. But the indecision brought about by the precariousness of the trip cause them to reconsider.
All we have in our shared hearts
is one imaginary raft—
How shall we use it?
Climb aboard or set it loose,
Let that alternate future
drift away? (Liana and Amado, 197)
A beautiful story of a terrible time in Cuban history and two resilient families connected by love (and a singing dog).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 19, 2021
Beautiful poetry allows the raking hardship of starvation to mix with the wonder of love and form a captivating, bitter-sweet tale.
Liana and Amado both struggle to find anything edible and survive as the world around them collapses into poverty and starvation. Both are determined to defy the government's requirements and choose not to attend the 'voluntary' summer-camp, which has teens slaving away all Summer long on the sugar plantations. By refusing to go, they've lost their chance at a bright future. When a stray dog brings them together, a romance begins, and with it, the magic of true love.
This one is written from three points of view: Liana, Amado, and the Singing Dog. It begins with Liana as she decides not to attend the camp and is forced to search the streets and beach for anything she can find to eat. Amado comes in a little later, also refusing to attend camp but with a slightly more political angle, since his older brother already sits in prison. The dog settles in as Liana's companion but soon gains a slightly mythical air as its very conscious purpose as a match-maker comes into play. Each chapter is kept very short (1-2 pages), and each one begins with the name the character's name to avoid any confusion.
I'd heard about this time period in Cuba but really am not extremely well-versed. So, this was intriguing, in that respect. Since this tale isn't about the background of the situation, the facts and reasons for the depression are only briefly mentioned. So, anyone wanting to know more or unfamiliar with the situation, will have to do research on their own. That said, these pages dive into the emotional end of things and the budding romance. Both characters are very fleshed out with their feelings, and both are easy to like right away. The poetry form really brings this aspect to life and allows the pain, hunger, desperation, hope, dreams and love to come across well. It's an easy read and no problem to sink into.
While the setting and characters are brought across expertly on the emotional end, the plot is more light and stretches in the direction of hunger and romance... which is more than enough for this read and very well done. But because of this, there are many openings and holes in the way of setting descriptions, background, and surrounding characters. But, as said, this also isn't the point of this book. Instead, one message comes across loud and clear as the two battle with the rights and wrongs when simple survival is at stake, and that is the amazing power of love.
I received a complimentary copy and am giving this one 4.5 stars while rounding up.
Liana and Amado both struggle to find anything edible and survive as the world around them collapses into poverty and starvation. Both are determined to defy the government's requirements and choose not to attend the 'voluntary' summer-camp, which has teens slaving away all Summer long on the sugar plantations. By refusing to go, they've lost their chance at a bright future. When a stray dog brings them together, a romance begins, and with it, the magic of true love.
This one is written from three points of view: Liana, Amado, and the Singing Dog. It begins with Liana as she decides not to attend the camp and is forced to search the streets and beach for anything she can find to eat. Amado comes in a little later, also refusing to attend camp but with a slightly more political angle, since his older brother already sits in prison. The dog settles in as Liana's companion but soon gains a slightly mythical air as its very conscious purpose as a match-maker comes into play. Each chapter is kept very short (1-2 pages), and each one begins with the name the character's name to avoid any confusion.
I'd heard about this time period in Cuba but really am not extremely well-versed. So, this was intriguing, in that respect. Since this tale isn't about the background of the situation, the facts and reasons for the depression are only briefly mentioned. So, anyone wanting to know more or unfamiliar with the situation, will have to do research on their own. That said, these pages dive into the emotional end of things and the budding romance. Both characters are very fleshed out with their feelings, and both are easy to like right away. The poetry form really brings this aspect to life and allows the pain, hunger, desperation, hope, dreams and love to come across well. It's an easy read and no problem to sink into.
While the setting and characters are brought across expertly on the emotional end, the plot is more light and stretches in the direction of hunger and romance... which is more than enough for this read and very well done. But because of this, there are many openings and holes in the way of setting descriptions, background, and surrounding characters. But, as said, this also isn't the point of this book. Instead, one message comes across loud and clear as the two battle with the rights and wrongs when simple survival is at stake, and that is the amazing power of love.
I received a complimentary copy and am giving this one 4.5 stars while rounding up.
November 19, 2022
**3.7 OUT OF 5 STARS**
YOUR HEART MY SKY by Margarita Engle is a lyrical, multi-pov story set in Cuba in 1991. At this time, Cuba was in a “special period in times of peace,” and hunger reigned. There wasn’t enough food to go around for the citizens, but somehow there was enough for foreigners, who came in for special sporting events. To escape dying of malnutrition or being forced into the military, a number of Cubans flung themselves into the Atlantic to endure a perilous journey across the waves with hopes of landing on Florida’s shores. Liana and Amado, the story’s protagonists, are young teenagers caught in the midst of this situation, trying to decide what’s the best choice for their future. Both refuse to bow down to their government’s will and instead stage their own mini-rebellion with how they choose to live their lives. The worry, however, is if they’ll get caught and sent to jail like Amado’s brother, and what they would do if they were to be parted.
The themes and historical events tackled in this novel are very tough to read as they feel topical in present day. Though the story is a reminder of the past, it feels like a grim prediction of the future, and because of that, may not be for everyone right now. That being said, it’s a really important read as we consider how topics like class, governmental oppression, and generational know-how can affect survival and quality of life. It also reminds us of the importance of togetherness and holding on to what we believe in. Reading this book feels vital to the times.
The story is written in verse and told from the perspectives of Liana, Amado, and the Singing Dog, who brought them together. I don’t normally enjoy animal characters, but it works really well here and adds to the mystical and magical quality of the words. Liana and Amado do feel much older than their actual ages, but at the same time, they’ve been through and seen a lot, so from that side, it makes sense. I personally like verse novels to be a bit more poetic, but at the same time, like everything in the characters’ lives, the words are sparse.
Overall, YOUR HEART MY SKY is a story that will sit with you after burrowing deep in your cells. It’s one that will make you want to rage against injustice and cling to those you love and find joy and hope in what you can. If you have the emotional space for this read right now, consider adding it to your TBR.
Review originally published on YA BOOKS CENTRAL: https://www.yabookscentral.com/your-h...
YOUR HEART MY SKY by Margarita Engle is a lyrical, multi-pov story set in Cuba in 1991. At this time, Cuba was in a “special period in times of peace,” and hunger reigned. There wasn’t enough food to go around for the citizens, but somehow there was enough for foreigners, who came in for special sporting events. To escape dying of malnutrition or being forced into the military, a number of Cubans flung themselves into the Atlantic to endure a perilous journey across the waves with hopes of landing on Florida’s shores. Liana and Amado, the story’s protagonists, are young teenagers caught in the midst of this situation, trying to decide what’s the best choice for their future. Both refuse to bow down to their government’s will and instead stage their own mini-rebellion with how they choose to live their lives. The worry, however, is if they’ll get caught and sent to jail like Amado’s brother, and what they would do if they were to be parted.
The themes and historical events tackled in this novel are very tough to read as they feel topical in present day. Though the story is a reminder of the past, it feels like a grim prediction of the future, and because of that, may not be for everyone right now. That being said, it’s a really important read as we consider how topics like class, governmental oppression, and generational know-how can affect survival and quality of life. It also reminds us of the importance of togetherness and holding on to what we believe in. Reading this book feels vital to the times.
The story is written in verse and told from the perspectives of Liana, Amado, and the Singing Dog, who brought them together. I don’t normally enjoy animal characters, but it works really well here and adds to the mystical and magical quality of the words. Liana and Amado do feel much older than their actual ages, but at the same time, they’ve been through and seen a lot, so from that side, it makes sense. I personally like verse novels to be a bit more poetic, but at the same time, like everything in the characters’ lives, the words are sparse.
Overall, YOUR HEART MY SKY is a story that will sit with you after burrowing deep in your cells. It’s one that will make you want to rage against injustice and cling to those you love and find joy and hope in what you can. If you have the emotional space for this read right now, consider adding it to your TBR.
Review originally published on YA BOOKS CENTRAL: https://www.yabookscentral.com/your-h...
June 4, 2021
Liana and Amado are trying to survive Cuba’s el período especial en tiempos de paz—the special period in times of peace, in the 1990s. The time period when the Cuban government’s strict rules after the collapse of the Soviet Union threw the population into famine. Liana avoids the summer labor she has been assigned to, even though she opens her family to retribution. She spends her days instead with a dog she met, a special singing dog who helps bring her together with Amado. Amado is the brother of a prisoner, which already puts his family under additional scrutiny. He wants to follow in his brother’s pacifist footsteps as the mandatory military service looms in his future. As Liana and Amado come together, they must find a way to help one another survive starvation while seeing if they can have any future together at all.
Engle is the master of the verse novel, weaving her incredible poetry into tales of Cuba. This time, her focus on a period of starvation in Cuba is particularly exceptional. She creates a beautiful romance between two people (and a special dog) in the midst of such political upheaval and danger. The romance is captivating but it is the state of Cuba itself that creates the energy and horror in the story. From people dying of starvation to political imprisonment to casting yourself on the water to try to reach America. There are no easy decisions here, all ways lead to death or prison.
As always, Engle’s books are captivating. Her writing is marvelous, building the romance from tentative first meetings to real love and connection in an organic and honest way. The characters themselves are beautifully drawn. Similar in their situation, they find themselves reacting in very different ways that drive them apart. Their plans for the future seem disparate but could just be the way they can survive and be together after all.
Tense and horrifying, this poetic look at starvation in Cuba is riveting. Appropriate for ages 13-17.
Engle is the master of the verse novel, weaving her incredible poetry into tales of Cuba. This time, her focus on a period of starvation in Cuba is particularly exceptional. She creates a beautiful romance between two people (and a special dog) in the midst of such political upheaval and danger. The romance is captivating but it is the state of Cuba itself that creates the energy and horror in the story. From people dying of starvation to political imprisonment to casting yourself on the water to try to reach America. There are no easy decisions here, all ways lead to death or prison.
As always, Engle’s books are captivating. Her writing is marvelous, building the romance from tentative first meetings to real love and connection in an organic and honest way. The characters themselves are beautifully drawn. Similar in their situation, they find themselves reacting in very different ways that drive them apart. Their plans for the future seem disparate but could just be the way they can survive and be together after all.
Tense and horrifying, this poetic look at starvation in Cuba is riveting. Appropriate for ages 13-17.
April 30, 2021
Gripping, profound, moving, Your Heart My Sky is a must-read.
Cuba 1991: a humanitarian crisis. Thousands of Cubans are starving including fourteen-year old Alina. Skipping forced work camp and putting her family in danger, Alina happens upon a mystical dog she befriends. The "singing" dog is starving like the people, but he leads Alina in her search for food. They meet a boy, Amado, who skipped out on work to forage for food and the trio become a unit.
Police patrol the streets looking for anyone who has not reported for forced work, so Alina and Amado hide in the shadows in order to keep their parents safe. Hunger is constant. It is the only thing Alina can think of except the fact she can share her hunger with a sensitive boy. Together, they search and hope and dream. Their island has no opportunity for them and no food, yet it is their homeland and their soul.
The Pan-Am Games are to be held in Cuba, and all the food is for tourists, not for citizens. Alina dreams of opening a restaurant and having enough food to feed not only herself but hungry guests. The kids plant a garden with the hope of harvesting food. "How can love be enough in a time of hunger?" Alina asks.
Thousands of islanders are leaving Cuba in rafts, hoping to reach freedom and food, but many drown. Alina and Amado consider taking the chance, but worry one of them will drown. What will the survivor do? How lonely is survival? Amado realizes, "Hope is the only cure for hunger." They will stay in their homeland and they will nurture their garden and they will work for their dreams to become reality.
The author's note is especially poignant and Cuba's singing dogs are real (Engle believes so, and I agree).
See all my reviews at Young Adult Books (and MG, PB and Adult) What We're Reading Now
Cuba 1991: a humanitarian crisis. Thousands of Cubans are starving including fourteen-year old Alina. Skipping forced work camp and putting her family in danger, Alina happens upon a mystical dog she befriends. The "singing" dog is starving like the people, but he leads Alina in her search for food. They meet a boy, Amado, who skipped out on work to forage for food and the trio become a unit.
Police patrol the streets looking for anyone who has not reported for forced work, so Alina and Amado hide in the shadows in order to keep their parents safe. Hunger is constant. It is the only thing Alina can think of except the fact she can share her hunger with a sensitive boy. Together, they search and hope and dream. Their island has no opportunity for them and no food, yet it is their homeland and their soul.
The Pan-Am Games are to be held in Cuba, and all the food is for tourists, not for citizens. Alina dreams of opening a restaurant and having enough food to feed not only herself but hungry guests. The kids plant a garden with the hope of harvesting food. "How can love be enough in a time of hunger?" Alina asks.
Thousands of islanders are leaving Cuba in rafts, hoping to reach freedom and food, but many drown. Alina and Amado consider taking the chance, but worry one of them will drown. What will the survivor do? How lonely is survival? Amado realizes, "Hope is the only cure for hunger." They will stay in their homeland and they will nurture their garden and they will work for their dreams to become reality.
The author's note is especially poignant and Cuba's singing dogs are real (Engle believes so, and I agree).
See all my reviews at Young Adult Books (and MG, PB and Adult) What We're Reading Now
July 27, 2021
First sentence: Imagine a year when food suddenly vanishes.
Premise/plot: Your Heart My Sky is a verse novel set in Cuba in 1991. (I will leave it up to you, dear readers, if that classifies it as historical fiction or not.) There are three narrators--Liana, the heroine, Amado, the hero, and Paz, the dog. Cuba is experiencing "el periodo especial en tiempos de paz." Though not in a time of war, food is hard--near impossible--to come by. The rations--what one is legally allowed to buy--are pitiful. No wonder people are desperate to leave the island and risk everything for a chance for a better tomorrow.
Your Heart My Sky is in many ways a bleak novel. Yet in this time of great bleakness--a land void of hope and promise--two young teens fighting to survive fall in love--with a dog, with each other. This is a matchmaking dog if you will...
My thoughts: If you are only looking for romance, then this may not be your easiest source. It doesn't shy away from the hard, uncomfortable places. Here we have a tyrannical government and a suffering people. The poems highlight the day to day suffering of a people. The hard--no, impossible--choices that every person must make. To stay or to go. Their lives are at risk either way. Staying to starve (possibly to be imprisoned, Amado's brother is in prison). Leaving brings its own risks and dangers--there is the possibility of getting caught which would be bad, bad, super-bad. There are many risks on the actual journey--by raft--you never know if you'll make it to America or not. There are no easy answers....
Yet this one also highlights the joys of life--the love and friendship of having a dog AND first love.
The writing, as always, is lovely.
Quote:
Maybe companionship
is the only answer
to all prayers.
Premise/plot: Your Heart My Sky is a verse novel set in Cuba in 1991. (I will leave it up to you, dear readers, if that classifies it as historical fiction or not.) There are three narrators--Liana, the heroine, Amado, the hero, and Paz, the dog. Cuba is experiencing "el periodo especial en tiempos de paz." Though not in a time of war, food is hard--near impossible--to come by. The rations--what one is legally allowed to buy--are pitiful. No wonder people are desperate to leave the island and risk everything for a chance for a better tomorrow.
Your Heart My Sky is in many ways a bleak novel. Yet in this time of great bleakness--a land void of hope and promise--two young teens fighting to survive fall in love--with a dog, with each other. This is a matchmaking dog if you will...
My thoughts: If you are only looking for romance, then this may not be your easiest source. It doesn't shy away from the hard, uncomfortable places. Here we have a tyrannical government and a suffering people. The poems highlight the day to day suffering of a people. The hard--no, impossible--choices that every person must make. To stay or to go. Their lives are at risk either way. Staying to starve (possibly to be imprisoned, Amado's brother is in prison). Leaving brings its own risks and dangers--there is the possibility of getting caught which would be bad, bad, super-bad. There are many risks on the actual journey--by raft--you never know if you'll make it to America or not. There are no easy answers....
Yet this one also highlights the joys of life--the love and friendship of having a dog AND first love.
The writing, as always, is lovely.
Quote:
Maybe companionship
is the only answer
to all prayers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 127 reviews