Title: The Red Umbrella
Author: Christina Diaz Gonzalez
Genre: MG Historical Fiction
Length: 284 pages
Publisher: Yearling
Source: bought it
Blurb: In 1961, two years after the Communist revolution, Lucía Álvarez still leads a carefree life, dreaming of parties and her first crush. But when the soldiers come to her sleepy Cuban town, everything begins to change. Freedoms are stripped away. Neighbors disappear. Her friends feel like strangers. And her family is being watched. As the revolution’s impact becomes more oppressive, Lucía’s parents make the heart-wrenching decision to send her and her little brother to the United States—on their own. Suddenly plunked down in Nebraska with well-meaning strangers, Lucía struggles to adapt to a new country, a new language, a new way of life. But what of her old life? Will she ever see her home or her parents again? And if she does, will she still be the same girl?
I really enjoyed this one. It had been sitting on my bookshelf for several weeks before I decided to read it, and I’m really glad I finally did. I really loved that the reason for the title had a very direct link to the book – the MC, Lucy thinks her mother’s red umbrella is hideous, but her mother tells her the color red stands for strength. I loved that.
I enjoyed watching Lucia grow throughout the story, and see her opinions change but her love to her home country, Cuba, stay the same. The character development was great. I thought the conclusion felt a little forced, and honestly, I really would have liked this book to have gone a bit longer. Other than that, I really loved it. A really short, quick read, but the book still has some hard topics. Two thumbs up!!
Four and a half stars!
Wow, this sounds really good! I’ve never read an MG historical before (wait, that’s a lie, I might have once…). But anyway, I haven’t read many, and this sounds fantastic since Cuba’s somewhere I know very little about. Plus it’s a fantastic title. Thanks for bringing this one to my attention 🙂
I really love historical MG. It’s one of my favorite genres!! I really don’t know all that much about Cuba either – when I bought the book my history class was actually learning about the Cuban Revolution, but I tend to learn more about history if it’s told in a story. It’s really good, I definitely recommend it 🙂
Hey 🙂 I just finished reading this book. I agree with you 100%. I loved it!