Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba

by Margarita Engle

Daniel has escaped Nazi Germany with nothing but a desperate dream that he might one day find his parents again. But that golden land called New York has turned away his ship full of refugees, and Daniel finds himself in Cuba.

As the tropical island begins to work its magic on him, the young refugee befriends a local girl with some painful secrets of her own. Yet even in Cuba, the Nazi darkness is never far away...

Genres: Historical Fiction, Poetry, Middle Grade, Holocaust, Young Adult, Novel In Verse, Historical

208 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

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

[Brina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I give Tropical Secrets, A Story of the Holocaust 4.5 stars because this book is too short. Geared toward a teen audience, Margarita Engle writes the story of Daniel a 13 year old German Jewish refugee in Cuba. Fleeing from Berlin right after Kristalnacht (night of crystals), Daniel obtains a visa but lands in Havana rather than New York. At first timid, Daniel makes the most of his situation thanks to his newly found mentor David, a Russian Jew, and Paloma, the daughter of El Gordo, the corrupt government official in charge of deciding which Jews stay and which return to Europe.
This book is written entirely in song. Daniel eases his pain by discovering Cuban music. His grandfather and parents had been musicians, so after some time, he turns to music as the universal language. In the style of Cuban decimas, Daniel writes his own history as he constantly dreams of seeing his parents again.
I thought this book was beautifully written. It teaches about the Holocaust in a way that younger audiences can understand without having to read about the ghastliness of conditions in Europe. Meanwhile, we learn about the time period from a perspective that isn't often discussed, that of Jews who ended up in Latin America because they were able to acquire refugee status in these countries.
I would recommend this book to parents/teachers of middle or high school aged kids. I think it is a worthwhile read in for that age group and can generate interesting discussions.

[Manybooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

So yes, thematically speaking, Margarita Engle does present much of potential reading and historical interest in her novel in verse Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba (as I really did not know there were Holocaust refugees in the Caribbean, in places like Cuba, although if truth be told, I was also not all that surprised at this, considering that I do know of quite a number of refugees from the Nazis both Jewish and non Jewish ending up in South America, in countries like Australia, Paraguay and Brazil). And yes, I equally and also do much appreciate Margarita Engle pointing out in Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba and being sufficiently condemning but without exaggeration that countries like Canada and the United States were in fact often turning away boatloads of in particular Jewish refugees and that the main protagonist Daniel thus ends up in Cuba by himself because his ship is not being allowed to dock in New York (to where his parents have fled and where Daniel is hoping to join them).

However, even though content-wise (in other words if I were only to consider the factual information and historical details, the specific storyline that Margarita Engle presents), Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba would probably be a four star reading experience for me, sorry, but I really have NOT AT ALL found the novel in verse format of Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba even remotely to my reading tastes. For far too often for me, novels in verse just tend to feel much too choppy and distracting, and with how Margarita Engle has presented her main characters in Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba, there is in my opinion really NEVER enough time to adequately get to know any of them, since the points of views constantly are changing as the individual verse chapters are so ridiculously short. And indeed, and furthermore, especially with Daniel and David, I constantly and repeatedly have needed to check their names at the top of “their” particular chapters to make sure about whom I was actually reading (because they certainly never have distinctive enough individual personalities shown and seem to have the same tones of narrative voices as well), leaving me if I am to be brutally and harshly honest not really even a tiny bit enjoying Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees In Cuba on a writing style level. And indeed, since if I do not like an author’s writing style, I also tend to find the given book tedious and sometimes patently unreadable, I really cannot consider more than two stars for Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba.

For even if I do appreciate Margarita Engle’s text on a content based level, her writing style, her annoyingly distracting novel in verse format and that all of the characters featured in Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba feel both without nuance and often rather stereotypical, this has certainly taken away my potential reading pleasure regarding this book, regarding Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba and also wishing that Margarita Engle were not so into penning her books as novels in verse.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read. This. Book. True, it won't be released for a few more weeks. But make note of it now to get to this one when you get the chance. Written by Margarita Engle--an acclaimed verse novelist--the book is the story of Daniel, a Jewish refugee, and the friends he makes in Cuba--Paloma and David. Daniel had no intentions of going to Cuba. When his parents tearfully sent him away--hoping and praying that at least their son may survive--this was right after the Night of Crystal or Broken Glass; they all thought that his ship would reach American shores--having heard stories of Lady Liberty and America being the place where all were welcome and the land where dreams could come true. But Daniel's ship was turned away from both Canada and the United States. His one chance for survival now depends on Cuba's mercy. The year is 1939. Does Daniel have a prayer of a chance?
This verse novel is told primarily in three voices: Daniel, Paloma, and David. Paloma is the daughter of "El Gordo" a man who is hoping that these refugees will make his wallet fat--very fat. The bigger the bribe, the higher the cost for a visa to enter the country, the richer he becomes. And with the Nazis even sending men to spread propaganda about Jews, the public isn't necessarily on their side--open to the idea of Jews being allowed to enter and settle there. Still, Daniel's ship is allowed. But we're not talking about one ship or even a dozen ships. David is a Jew--a Russian Jew who fled Russia many years before. Paloma helps David--and others--help the refugees providing food and clothing and friendship and support--teaching them Spanish, for example. The book is a novel about many things: hope, life, survival, friendship, tolerance. But it doesn't hide the fact that this was a very ugly, very brutal, very cruel time in history.

I don't know about you, but I'd certainly never heard about Cuba in regards to the Holocaust. It's interesting to see how this one island, small in size especially when comparing it to Canada and the United States, was able to provide some shelter to Jews fleeing Hitler. In the author's note she shares, "Despite tragedies and scandals, Cuba accepted 65,000 Jewish refugees from 1938 to 1939, the same number that was taken in by the much larger United States during the same time period. Overall, Cuba accepted more Jewish refugees than any other Latin American nation."

This book is fascinating. It's absorbing. Read. This. Book.

[RKanimalkingdom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another success by Engle

Honestly, the women is a maestro with the way she interweaves history with poetry.
While there were some parts that were a bit slow, the story and meaning is there.

This book is not only important to know the history of Jewish Refugees who were prevented from entering both America and Canada and clung onto Cuba as their last hope but to also know and question just how absurd it is to hate someone on the way they view life.

Really humanity I ask you, why hate someone just because what they value and love doesn't coincide with yours? As long as you both are happy and safe does it matter who prays to who or whether they even pray at all?

[Reina · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are multiple points of view in this novel, and not really enough time to get to know each one; in other words, character development was poor. I feel that the main character was Paloma - a Cuban native, and the daughter of a corrupt government official who is very greedy. She secretly helps Jewish refugees because she isn’t sure which would upset her father more: helping the Jews, or because she is working alongside the Protestants. She also discovers a secret about her mother that she isn’t supposed to know about.

~~~~~

From the historical note: Cuba accepted 6,500 refugees from 1938-1939. Cuba accepted more Jewish refugees than any other Latin American nation. This is information that I wasn’t even aware of in regard to the Holocaust.

[Bookteafull (Danny)]

“I feel the heaviness of nightmares
even though I am awake.

How weary I am, how sleepless
and hopeless—there is no escape
from the torment
of wishes.”


I may no longer be rating children novels, but I will attempt to give them a decent review whenever possible.

Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba is composed almost entirely in poetic format; verses. The story follows three main characters: Daniel, a 13-year-old German Jewish refugee who escaped Berlin after Kristallnacht, Night of Crystals, thanks to his parents and ended up in Cuba after his ship was refused passage onto New York. Paloma, a young Cuban girl eager to help Holocaust refugees, even if it means hiding people in a dovecote and going against the ideologies of her corrupt father. And lastly, David, a Cuban Jew who is able to communicate and eventually connect to Daniel through their mutual understanding of Yiddish.

The narrative provided insight onto historical events during 1939 to 1942, in which Germany sent over Nazi spies to Cuba in order to stir up anti-semitism and facilitate in spreading the idea that Jewish people were so "worthless" that not even a small, impoverish, and racially mixed tropical island wanted to provide them with shelter and aid. Those who were turned away from Havana Harbor were unfortunately sent back to Europe - a large percentage of which ended up in Concentration Camps. Throughout the war years, corrupt Cuban officials demanded large bribes to allow Jewish individuals passage onto Cuban land. Despite tragedies and scandals, Cuba accepted 65,000 Jewish refugees from 1938 to 1939 - the same number that was accepted by the U.S. during the same time.

Overall, Cuba accepted more Jewish refugees then any other Latin American nation.

The thing I respect most about this book is how it brought awareness to a facet of history many people may not be aware of - and is doing so via a children's novel.

Whist this book wasn't as emotionally impacting as it could have been had it been written in adult-novel format (especially by an author like Kristin Hannah), it still gave way to insights on struggles and challenges Holocaust Refugees faced upon embarkation and arrival to their new destination.

As far as I'm concerned, this book succeeded in opening the door to this aspect of history and getting me more invested in learning about the plights of Holocaust Refugees in Cuba and other Latin American nations. It's also a shame that I can't recall ever learning about this in school, considering the fact I grew up in Miami as a Cuban surrounded by a plethora of other Cubans.









Will definitely be reading more into this topic.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The subject, Holocaust refugees in Cuba, was intriguing, but the book was disappointing. This is one of those stories that might better have been told at greater length in prose, perhaps in epistolary or diary form, than in verse. I felt there was something missing from the story. I expected a greater emotional impact, considering that it was about refugees. The historical note at the end provided more information, and I'm thankful that Engle did provide a reference to a book where one can read further about this period in Cuban history, which I intend to do. It wasn't a badly written book, just not long enough for the subject.

[Betsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

If children's authors were given superpowers upon the occasion of their first publication, I know what Margarita Engle's would be. Stealth. She's the kind of author you never see coming. You can pick up a book of hers, be it The Poet Slave of Cuba or The Surrender Tree and you'll never see her wordplay coming. She plays fair, of course. From page one onward you see exactly what you're getting yourself into, sometimes as early as the first line. What you took to be the poor man's version of a novel (the verse novel sometimes fails to get the appropriate amount of respect it deserves) instead has taken a board with a nail in it and is now systematically whacking you in the heart with its text. In the case of Ms. Engle, Cuba serves as her muse, and not in the way you might expect (see: Castro). Through her books kids are learning about historical aspects of Cuba that you simply cannot find anywhere else in juvenile lit. She's already tackled slavery in The Poet Slave of Cuba and the war of independence from Spain The Surrender Tree. Now comes the most child-friendly of her novels. Don't mistake the term "child-friendly" with "simplistic", though. Perhaps the best plotted and conceived of her novels, Engle writes her most touching tribute to Cuba yet. As a place where all people with an inclination have found their own true home.

He was meant to wind up in New York. That was the plan. When Daniel's parents spent all their money buying their son a ticket out of Nazi Germany, the idea was for him to disembark in Manhattan and meet his parents eventually there once they could get across. Instead, his ship was denied access to disembark in America, and sailed south to Cuba. Determined not to forget his parents, Daniel is so committed to his dream that he even has difficulty even parting with his hot winter clothing during the sultry Cuban days. While there he meets and befriends Paloma. Daughter of a corrupt Cuban official leeching money off the refuges, Paloma spends most of her days in her dovecote, living with the birds. The two kids are also friends with David, a Jewish man who once fled Russia, and who gives Daniel the advice and friendship he needs to move on. Secrets are revealed, friendships strengthened, and Daniel finds a way of living without merely going through the motions.

You pay your money for a Margarita Engle book and what do you expect in return? Words words words. You want to see a woman at her craft, and Tropical Secrets will provide. There are lines like "I am thirteen, a young man, / but today I feel / like a baby seagull / with a broken beak." It's particularly sweet when you consider that later he will befriend Paloma, a girl who would care for such a bird. My plucking that line out of context does little to diminish its feel. Just look at these lines as I remove them from the story and tell them to stand on their own:

"I have nothing to say / to any stranger who treats me / like a normal person / with a family / and a home."

"I was taught that there are four / kinds of people in the world - / wise, wicked, simple, / and those who do not yet know how to ask questions."

I'd quote more to you, but many of the best (like a line Paloma has about wolves and saints) retain their power only within the context of the story.

Theme... boy, I hate talking about theme. I'm not a thematically minded person. If I notice a book has done something clever with a theme I'll sort of point at it and, in my customary caveman-like manner go, "Theme. Theme good. *grunt*" In terms of Tropical Secrets there was a moment in particular that just killed me. At one point in the book Japan attacks Pearl Harbor and America declares war. In response, the Cuban government arrests everyone who is German and NOT Jewish. Says Daniel, "I cannot understand / how the J / that condemned me / in Germany / has been transformed / into a mark of safety / on this crazy island-" And later, "and will it help them / understand / that those who feel safe today / could be the ones in need of refuge / tomorrow?" I'm always particularly struck by works of historical fiction that can take crazy true facts like this one, and then get to the nut of the situation in as few words as possible.

Sometimes I feel like Engle works so hard on her imagery that her plotting suffers. But the gaps I felt in something like The Surrender Tree (a man spends practically his entire life hunting down a woman and then just disappears from the text without so much as a bow?) aren't present here. However, like her other novels I didn't get a real sense of the ending of the novel. [Spoiler Alert:] I appreciated that she didn't tack on a happy ending for Daniel, of course. Had he suddenly met the next boat in the harbor and discovered his entire family safe and well and on-board, that would have been something. As it stands, however, his acceptance of his past serves as its own capper. There is room for a sequel here, though. By the end you have a sense of Daniel's story and where it may go, but Paloma's is still wide-open, waiting for a bit of closure beyond her birds.

It's hard to establish character with so few words, but not impossible. In Engle's books, adults are often suspect and flawed. They're victims of their own desires, forgoing basic human decency in the face of greed or obsession. Paloma's father is no exception here. You are allowed a single glimpse into his heart, and the reasons why he does the horrible things he does. But it's a brief glimpse, hardly long enough to make you feel anything for him but mounting disgust. Because Engle likes to switch her point of view from person to person, you have to be constantly on your toes, paying attention to who is saying what. If it works, it's only because she has a firm grip on her own characters. She'd have to in order to make her bad guys understandable and still hideous.

I'm not a fan of violence in books and the sheer torture and gore of The Poet Slave of Cuba meant that I could respect the novel but never love it. That's a personal thing. Some of that feeling remained with The Surrender Tree too. Violence was still prevalent, but at least in the text there was a level of distance. Tropical Secrets is the most removed from this kind of sheer brutality, but you can't tell a story about Holocaust survivors and not mention what it is that they are escaping. The first sentence in this book reads, "Last year in Berlin, / on the Night of Crystal, / my grandfather was killed / while I held his hand." You get no extenuating circumstances other than these words on the page. No gory details. Just the horror of your own imagination. It is enough.

Every person you meet has a point of view. Engle shows kids this. Even the bad people. Even the mean or confused people. She takes moments when humans have done simply terrible things to one another and then enters their heads. Their thoughts become verse, saying what they cannot or could not. Tropical Secrets sits well with the reluctant reader and the world-weary twelve-year-old with a taste for Steinbeck alike. A person always has to consider whether or not a verse novel really needs to be written in that style or if the author is just being lazy. No one will ever say that Ms. Engle is lazy, though. And this style fits the book like a hand in a glove. A remarkable novel about an amazing and true moment you probably will not find in your average elementary school world history textbook.

Ages 8-14.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hauntingly sad. Beware of lies and hatred being spewed toward a people group to incite rejection. This from a boy rescued from the clutches of evil in Germany and welcomed in Cuba before the propaganda against Jews shut down the benevolence: I will never understand
the whole world

or even
one country.

All I can do
is try to understand
the truth and lies
in the simple choices
I face
every day.

[Kris]

Margarita Engle teaches children another fascinating time in Cuban history in Tropical Secrets Holocaust Refugees in Cuba. When Holocaust survivors left Europe they landed in different parts of the Americas. This story focuses on three main characters. Daniel is a young boy whose means of escape was a ship to Cuba. Paloma is a young Cuban girl who wants to help, even hiding people in the dovecote in her backyard. David is a Cuban Jew who is able to connect with Daniel through the Yiddish language. This time in history is told in verse, through the eyes of these three characters. As in her Newbery Honor book, The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba’s Struggle For Freedom, Engle uses beautiful language to convey emotion. This is one of my favorite passages where she describes Kristallnacht:

“The shattered glass of a thousand windows turned into the salty liquid of tears. How can hatred have such a beautiful name? Crystal should be clear, but on that dark night the glass of broken windows did not glitter.”

[Dest · Rating 2 out of 5]

I honestly don't get why this book has received so much critical acclaim. The subject matter was very interesting, yes, (I didn't know Jewish refugees from the Holocaust were turned away from New York harbors and sent to Cuba) but the writing was not what I would call top-notch, especially for poetry. The voices of the different characters were not distinct. It didn't strike me as especially beautiful or moving. In fact, one of the first stanzas made me cringe:

"My parents are musicians--/poor people, not rich." (p. 6)

Really? Isn't "not rich" what "poor" means? I know I'm getting all up on my high horse here, but poetry should be precise. There should be no wasted words. The ability to fit so much meaning into so few words is what sets poetry apart and makes it great. Sadly, this book read like flowery prose with shortened lines.

[Whitney · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story of Holocaust refugees ending up in Cuba is interesting and I would consider investigating it further, but I don't feel like this book really does a wonderful job with it. I think it just fell a bit flat and, as a personal note, I have trouble differentiating between Davids and Daniels in real life so having both names appear as main characters really threw me for a loop.

That being said, the fact that it is written as poems could make it a good book to put in the hands of a reluctant reader. Also, juvenile Holocaust books seems to be everywhere so at least this provides a different angle.

[Georgia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was ok. It was an interesting subject that I haven't really thought of, but it just wasn't interesting enough. I think that with such a difficult topic, I should have felt some more emotion. I think that there should have been a bit more detail, but the book was kind of cute I guess. I don't think that reading it was a waste of time (I learned some new things), I just wouldn't read it again.

[Hannah]

This is one of the most fascinating topics in history and I was really excited to read about it. I was really disappointed with the pacing and confused by the time jumps. I think that verse really wasn't the best choice for this particular story, as it left a little too much out. Really, though, I noped out as soon as the Jewish character quoted from 1 Corinthians.

[Alex Baugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This free verse novel, written from a first person perspective by three separate and distinct voices, introduces the reader to Daniel, a 13 year old German Jewish refugee who held the hand of his grandfather as he died on Kristalnacht; Paloma, the 12 year old daughter of a corrupt Cuban official who determines, for a high price, who gets a visa to enter Cuba. Paloma also works at a shelter to help the refugees adjust to their new surroundings; and David, an elderly Russian Jew who fled his country in the 1920s because of pogroms and with whom Daniel is able to communicate in Yiddish.

The novel begins in June 1939 and, as each of these three characters tell their story, the reader also learns that Daniel's parents are musicians who decided to save Daniel because they could only scrape together enough money to pay for one ticket on a ship and send him away from the Nazis. It was his and their hope that they would be reunited in New York someday.

Paloma, ashamed of her father's abuse of power and the high price he charges desperate people for a visa, works with the American Quakers in Cuba to help people find shelter and provide them with food and clothing more suitable to a warm climate.

David, who hands out ice cream and food to the refugees with Paloma, befriends Daniel and convinces him to take off the heavy winter coat he brought from home, and metaphorically shedding his old life. Over time, Daniel, David and Paloma become friends and David helps Daniel begin to move on with his life, though never forgetting his parents.

In December 1941, when Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, paranoia that Germany has sent spies to Cuba increases and the Cuban government orders all non-Jewish Germans to be arrested. The three friends watch husbands and wives torn from each other because one spouse is Jewish and the other is Christan, and think of the oldest couple in the shelter. Having crossed Europe together, hiding from Nazis any way they could, Miriam, a Jew, and Marcos, a Christian, are about to be separated in what should have been their place of safety. Are Paloma, Daniel and David willing to risk everything to help this elderly couple hide from the police? Does the fear of German spies mean that ships from Germany will now be turned away from Cuba?

Despite being written in free verse, each one of three characters begins to really come to life as they tell their thoughts and secrets and share the different obstacles they must face and overcome, but each is also willing to do what they can to help others in the difficult times and circumstances they find themselves in.

This is the fourth book I've read about the experience of Jews fleeing Europe and Hitler's cruelty, seeking refuge in Cuba. This book covers a three year period, from June 1939 to April 1942. Read carefully, because Engle packs a lot of information about life in Cuba during that time as the characters speak. There is both corruption and kindness to be found, as well as the anti-Semitic propaganda campaign launched by Germany in Cuba; the eventual turning away of other ships and forcing them to return to Germany and death, and the rounding up of Christians married to Jews and believed to be spies. Engle includes that and more in her spare, yet graceful poetic style.

There are a lot of excellent stories written about the experience of people during the Holocaust, but not many about the experience of Jews and Cuba. Books like Tropical Secrets give us another side of what life was like for Jews living under Hitler and their desperate attempts to escape - sometimes successfully, sometimes not. Ships like Daniels continued to be turned away from the US and Canada, and even though Cuba eventually did the same, it did provide a relatively safe haven for 65,000 refugees.

Be sure to read the Author's Note at the end of the book to learn more about Cuba in WWII.

Tropical Secrets is a very moving novel about family, friendship, tolerance, love, and survival.

This book is recommended for readers age 11+
This book was borrowed from the NYPL

[Ethan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tropical Secrets by Margarita Engle is a story that focuses on refugees that were turned away from North America and brought to Cuba. The book was very short and is written from three perspectives. Daniel a young jewish german boy, Paloma a native cuban girl, and David a jewish man from Russia maybe. For the most part though it is mostly told and centered around Daniel.

I am a student who enjoys learning and talking about history which is why I picked up this book. However I really didn’t enjoy it too much. I did learn a little from it but not too much. It was interesting to hear about the hardships and other issues being told directly from the characters but other than that this book didn’t offer too much. The cover description basically tells the whole story or what little story it offers. The book is written in a format that makes it look like a poem but it really isn’t. This format causes the story to be even shorter because and a lot of excess paper real estate to be wasted. The story is short but it couldn’t be called a short story because it is longer than what one should be.

Since the story is written from three perspectives, the name of who is telling the story is always at the top of every page because on almost every page, the book switches perspectives. I found it difficult to read because most books are not written like this. I had to constantly reread pages because I would forget to read the top of the page causing the page to make no sense. I do admit that this is more of a personal problem, however, I feel like I am not the only one who would find this annoying.

Overall this book is not the worst that I have read but is far from the best. There was a few things that I learned from it that I didn’t know about the holocaust but not many. Some issues or culture topics were addressed and I found that interesting. I can not get over the format and how the story could really just be told on a few pages.

[Kathleen Ferrel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Daniel is a young Jewish boy who fled Germany during the Nazi regime. The ship he was on has been turned away from the "golden land" also known as New York. He now finds himself in Cuba facing obstacles he never could have imagined for his young life while he dreams of seeing his parents again one day. Due to discussions between characters of the violence that took place in Nazi Germany this book would be best suited for children grades 5th through 8th. Children who are interested in learning about the Holocaust would be interested in reading this book. Tropical Secrets is from the Sydney Taylor Book Awards List.

KF

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another free verse novel like All The Broken Pieces, but this one doesn't deliver as much "meat" as I would have liked. It introduced me to what went on in Cuba during WWII with Jewish refugees (I had no idea that even happened--shows you how uninformed I am), but the storyline just seemed to skim the surface. It just left me wishing the book had gone deeper. If you want to read a book about a war refugee in free verse, I suggest All The Broken Pieces--different war, but it still gives great insight into the mind and emotions of a displaced child.

[Jeimy · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite is still The Firefly Letters, but I learn so much about Cuba from Engle's books. This one features four narrators, two of them are refugees escaping the horrors unfolding in Europe at the dawn of WWII and the others are a kindhearted young Cuban girl and her greedy father. Through their eyes we learn a little about what life what like for the Germans and Jews who found refuge in the Caribbean island.

[S10_Jessica Oster · Rating 4 out of 5]

format: verse novel (audio version)
age: grades 5-8
protagonist: Daniel

Since this is written in free verse, the audio version has different narrators for each character which is a nice change from the typical one narrator you get with most stories. However, I don't think this book would have been as effective to listen to without the different voices to help signify when the character changes. Overall, I liked listening to it and found it easy to follow with the different narrators.

[Kristy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Daniel has arrived on Cuba with a boat full of other Jews seeking refuge from the Nazis. Told in verse, the book does provide a beautiful sensory experience that I may never visit in my lifetime. I just wish the chacters voices had been more distinct. It was okay.

[Breanna Bongle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Margarita Engle teaches children another fascinating time in Cuban history in Tropical Secrets Holocaust Refugees in Cuba. When Holocaust survivors left Europe they landed in different parts of the Americas. This story focuses on three main characters. Daniel is a young boy whose means of escape was a ship to Cuba. Paloma is a young Cuban girl who wants to help, even hiding people in the dovecote in her backyard. David is a Cuban Jew who is able to connect with Daniel through the Yiddish language. This time in history is told in verse, through the eyes of these three characters. Daniel is alone on this journey and that can be really hard to be alone without your family. Paloma really wants to help by hiding people but her father doesn't has different views then her. One of my favorite parts is when she leaves and helps Miriam and Marcos to the train station. "I will not live in my father's house./He invaded my tower./He frightened my birds./ the refugees just barely escaped---/did Papa know that they were hiding here?/I don't care. I am so tired/of his secrets/ and mine./I will not stay/ in this life/ of lies." (p152) She puts aside her family to help them get away to a better place in Cuba and that shows a lot of courage for a young girl. I would recomend this book to teenagers who are really interested in historical fiction because it really got me hooked and I loved reading it from beginning to end.

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine this- Leaving everything you know on your own is scary. Then being placed on a ship at your age and going to a country whose language you don't speak and being unable to communicate with your family you have left behind.
Read pages 5-8
Daniel- is placed on a ship headed for USA while his family stays in Nazi Germany with no hopes of surviving. The USA is full and the ship is sent to Cuba instead. If Cuba doesn't take the passengers, Daniel will be returned to Germany and certainly killed.
Paloma- daughter of a man with a dark secret. She has secrets of her own. Ones that help those who need help the most.
David- Was a refugee once and Cuba accepted him. Cuba is his home now and although he has found a new path that brings him happiness, memories of his younger days still haunt him
El Gordo- business man looking for every opportunity to make more money. He us the one that decides which passengers will be accepted into Cuba and at what cost. If you don't have the money, you are returned to your homeland that you are fleeing. Oh, he is also Paloma's dad.
Even though Daniel and other refugees have made it safely to Cuba, they are never safe. Get a glimpse at life as refugee during a most turmoil time in our history.

[Shelby Wiley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba by Margarita Engle is a historical fiction book that was published on March 31, 2009. This book is about a young refugee named Daniel who escaped Nazi, Germany in search for his parents. Daniel ended up in Cuba because New York turned away the ship full of refugees that he was on. I rated this book one star because it was not good. I thought it was very disengaging. While reading the book, I really did not think that it had anything to do with the Holocaust besides the fact that he was a refugee in Nazi, Germany. I am not one to put negative reviews about a book, but I would never read it again. I am not sure if it was just me, but I just did not understand it. I believe that the book should have had more emotion to it and maybe could have been longer. If it was more interesting and more descripive, then I would use it when working with children. I cannot work with kids with a book that even I do not like. The only reason I believe that this book would be moe apealing to young readers is because of the cover, it is colorful and eye catching.

[Stephanie Tournas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paperback edition of Engle's 2009 historical novel about Jewish refugees in Cuba at the beginning of World War II. Full of anguish about leaving his parents behind in Germany, 14 yr old Daniel tries to find peace in the strange tropical country. Befriended by 13 yr old Paloma and the old man David, a refugee of the pogroms in Russia, Daniel finds music and friendship, but is always haunted by the question of his parents' fate. Told in alternating voices, the story paints a picture of the time, the place and the characters' complex emotions with Engle's signature spare, evocative text. I love how she manages to do so much with such elegant economy. Daniel's story is haunting, and when the story ended I wished I could follow the characters into the next step of their lives. And, once again, Engle helps to flesh out a moment in Cuba's history, about which so little is taught in our schools.

[Bella Nuzzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Star rating: 4 Stars
Copyright date: 2009
Genre: Poetry, Hitorical Fiction
Summary of book: This book follows the journey of 13 year old Daniel. Daniel is a Jewish refugee seperated from his parents that has found refugee in Cuba. He dreams of one day reuniting with his parents. The longer he lives in Cuba, the more secrets and stories he hears from the other refugees living near him. While this story isn't real, it tells many stories that were reality for people like Daniel.
Thoughts on book: This book was hard to read and pulled on my heart. However, I felt I learned a lot. I think this book is a good way to learn more about these tough times in a "fictional" manner. I see myself using this book to teach my students about the Holocaust and WWII. I think they would enjoy it better than more harsh stories.

[Claire Wrobel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book started with a lot of promise and then became average. I liked the alternating perspectives, except when El Gordo spoke because he was written as such a stereotype. I loved the addition of David as one of the main characters. He added depth beyond what the children could see.

I guess my criticism is with the ending. I didn’t like how they mentioned twice that Poloma and Daniel were “friends, maybe more” but that’s literally all they said about it. If they’re going to have a romance, then make the story a little longer and expand on it. But don’t use literally the same phrase twice and leave it as that flat sentence. I felt the ending could have been expanded more, and I would have liked to see their story through the end of the war.

[Joan Arbogast · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engle does a wonderful job getting to the heart of the story using kernels of truth with every verse she writes. The universal need for love, family, acceptance, friendship, survival... all of these things surface in this story of refugees having to start over in a land not their own.

One of the verses I especially like is this one by David:
Dancing on stilts has always been
my favorite delight of carnival season.
I feel like I am sitting on God's shoulders,
looking down at the beautiful world.
two years ago, carnival was cancelled
when a Cuban official decided
the dances were too African,
too tribal...
but outlawing dance in Cuba
is like trying to hide the sun
with one finger.
Joy and truth both have a way
of peeking through any dark curtain.

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

The young people bring me
a baffling new question,
one that lies far beyond
my own powers of thought.

This question belongs
to the mind of God:

How can people stay sane
in a world that makes
no sense?

I really like Engle's way of telling a story. It was interesting reading a bit more about the Jewish experience in Cuba, especially during WWII. It was more interesting reading it now when refugees, anti-semitism, and propaganda have so much relevance.

Now I wonder
will people in New York
and Toronto
hear about this reversal of danger

and will it help them
understand

that those who feel safe today
could be the ones in need of refuge
tomorrow?

[Erikka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cuba accepted more Holocaust refugees than any other nation and way way more than the US. This book follows a refugee and a few natives as they adapt to their new life and new island residents.

It brought to mind the plight of the St. Louis, which I believe is indirectly referenced at the end of this book. When considering our treatment of refugees today, look no further than the St. Louis. Our history reflects poorly on our asylum seeker and refugee treatment and we're not doing much to improve.

I downgraded this a bit bc it's a bit "poetic" and artsy for the age focus. It's for younger kids and usually they do a bit better comprehension-wise if things are straightforward.