Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Lucia Alvarez wants what any fourteen year old girl wants--
to spend time talking about boys with her best friend Ivette, to go to the movies and dances, and to avoid babysitting her annoying younger brother Frankie. It's just that her parents are so old-fashioned. Can't they see Lucia is old enough for a little independence?
When soldiers from Castro's Revolution arrive in Lucia's small town, her life becomes more oppressive, not less. Freedoms and friends disappear overnight. Finally her parents make the heart-wrenching decision to send Frankie and Lucia to the U.S. Alone.
The Red Umbrella, set in Cuba during 1961, by debut author Christina Gonzalez brings a culture and its past to life with this story of two children who were part of Operation Pedro Pan. It is, in fact, a personal family story for Ms. Gonzalez as both of her parents were part of the exodus of 14,000 unaccompanied minors who were sent to the U.S. in the early 60's to escape Castro's regime. The story of Lucia and Frankie Alvarez is a part of history that's generally not well known. The Red Umbrella deals with their upheaval with warmth, pathos and sometimes heart-breaking sadness.
-- Reviewed by Michelle Delisle
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