
The Red Umbrella by Christina Gonzalez
Goodreads says: The Red Umbrella is the moving tale of a 14-year-old girl’s journey from Cuba to America as part of Operation Pedro Pan—an organized exodus of more than 14,000 unaccompanied children, whose parents sent them away to escape Fidel Castro’s revolution.
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?
The Red Umbrella is a moving story of country, culture, family, and the true meaning of home.
The Cuban history of the past 40 years tends to be glossed over and not taught about in schools. Gonzalaz does a really great job of creating a young adult novel which answers those historical questions while creating an interesting plot. The characters are very relatable and the reader gets caught up in the tragedy of the two children, Lucia and her brother, being transported to America - not sure if they will ever see their home or parents again. Gonzalez does a nice job of giving the readers a look into Cuba: What Cubans love about their country and how many were forced to leave their home under the regime of Castro. It is an important history lesson and Gonzalez weaves is so that the reader is immersed in Lucia’s world.