Your Heart, My Sky
Love in a Time of Hunger
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- $8.99
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
Acclaimed author Margarita Engle tells a “deeply felt and engrossing” (Horn Book Magazine) 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 período 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 período especial?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Three-time Pura Belpré Medalist Engle (With a Star in My Hand) offers a soulful historical novel-in-verse, following a matchmaking dog and two malnourished teenagers who fall in love in 1990s Cuba. Utilizing titled free-verse poems, Engle highlights the "plunging shock of hunger" during Cuba's "special period in times of peace" through three perspectives: Liana, 14, and Amado, 15, in their own words, and the omniscient third-person perspective of "the singing dog" Liana adopts. Full of gnawing hunger and defiant hope, both Liana and Amado have chosen to dodge "a summer of oppressive labor" in the sugar fields—and when their paths cross, sparks fly ("Embers flare/ within the heart's sky/ like fireflies that blink/ as they search/ for mates."). The first poem, "Island of Cuba: Summer 1991," sets the tone immediately with its arresting opening line ("Imagine a year when food suddenly vanishes"), and as readers dig deeper into the story of Liana, Amado, and their canine "Cupid," Engle's words evocatively depict how love can thrive even under the harshest conditions. Back matter includes an author's note. Ages 12–up.
