Enchanted Air

Starred review from May 15, 2015
Grades 5-8 *Starred Review* Reflecting on her childhood in Los Angeles and her Cuban heritage, Engle's memoir in verse is, indeed, nothing short of enchanting. Descriptions of Cuba as a tropical paradise and the home of her beloved abuelita come alive in the spare free-verse poems. She evocatively addresses weighty issues, such as her mother's homesickness, being bicultural, the challenge of moving homes and schools, the Cuban Revolution, and negotiating an identity that is being torn apart by politics and social attitudes at complete odds with her feelings and experiences. With characteristic precision, Engle captures a range of emotions and observations salient to a young girl: belonging (to Cuba or the U.S.?), daydreaming (about riding a horse), questioning (the absurdity of Cold War politics), needing (to run, play, fly), wishing (she could fit in), fear (of FBI agents), and more. In addition to the arresting content that provides many opportunities for learning, the craft of this memoir lends itself to creative exploration in the classroom. Poems might be examined in isolation, juxtaposed with others, or used as writing models. The book's poignancy and layered beauty make it a worthy addition to any collection and a fitting companion to Jacqueline Woodson's Brown Girl Dreaming (2014) and Thanhha Lai's Inside Out and Back Again (2011).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2015
Well known for her portrayals of historic Cubans in verse novels such as The Surrender Tree (rev. 7/08) and The Poet Slave of Cuba (rev. 7/06), Engle explores her own past in this collection of emotionally rich memory poems. The daughter of a Don Quixoteobsessed American artist of Ukrainian Jewish descent and a beautiful homesick Cuban emigree, Engle begins with joyful visits to her mother's homeland as a child. Roaming the countryside, she falls in love with the lush beauty of a land so wild / and green that the rippling river / on my great-uncle's farm / shimmers like a hummingbird. Engle effectively contrasts the smoggy air of sprawling Los Angeles with the enchanted air of that small, magical-seeming island, and at first going between the two cultures is fairly seamless: In one country, I hear the sweet words / of another. / Dulce de leche means sweet of milk. / Guarapo is sugarcane juice. But then there's the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and suddenly all is different. Moving through elementary and middle school, the wistful young Margarita struggles to find her American self in a country that views her mother's homeland as the enemy. Ending with a note of optimism -- All I know about the future / is that it will be beautiful -- Engle's personal reverie gives young readers an intimate view of a complicated time and life. A timeline is appended. monica edinger

(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from May 1, 2015
"It really is possible to feel / like two people / at the same time, / when your parents / grandparents / memories / words / come from two / different / worlds." Poet and novelist Engle has won a Newbery Honor, the Pura Belpre Award, and the Americas Award, among others. Of Cuban-American descent, she has mostly written about Cuba and Cuban history. This time she brings readers her own childhood. Employing free verse, she narrates growing up in Los Angeles in the 1950s and early '60s torn by her love of two countries: the United States, where she was born and raised, and Cuba, where her mother was from and where she spent vacations visiting family. Woven into the fabric of her childhood is the anxiety of deteriorating relations between the two countries as the Cuban revolution takes place, affecting both her family and the two countries at large. This is also the time when Engle discovers books and her own poetry as safe places to retreat to. Though it is a very personal story, it is also one that touches on issues affecting so many immigrants, as when she wonders: "Is there any way that two people / from faraway places / can ever really / understand each other's / daydreams?" As so many of our children are immigrants or children of immigrants, we need more of these stories, especially when they are as beautifully told as this one. (Cold War timeline, author's note) (Poetry/memoir. 10 & up)

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Starred review from May 1, 2015

Gr 6-10-A deeply personal memoir-in-verse filled with Engle's trademark intricately woven lyricism. The author's memories focus on the first 14 years of her life, beginning with idyllic summers spent in her mother's homeland of Cuba and ending during the aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis and subsequent travel ban. Engle captures the heart of a quiet, young girl torn between two cultures. This historical memoir/love poem to Cuba couldn't be more timely. With the recent easing of relations with Cuba, teachers can use the text as an accessible entry point into the history behind this very current event. And while the narrative unfolds over 50 years ago, Engle's experiences will still resonate with adolescents and teens today. Any child who has felt like an outsider will recognize themselves in Margarita's tale. When the Cuban Missile Crisis ended and everyone's focus shifted, \the author was left confused, empty and unfulfilled by her school's seemingly senseless focus on what felt like irrelevant historical events. What American child with ties to a country experiencing turmoil couldn't relate to the lingering after-effects of far off events in our era of two-minute news bytes? VERDICT A more than worthwhile purchase for any library in need of a universally applicable coming-of-age tale, a fantastic new memoir-in-verse, or a glimpse into Cuba's past.-Jill Heritage Maza, Montclair Kimberley Academy, Montclair, NJ

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