Cuba in My Pocket

Starred review from September 13, 2021
Cuevas (The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez) excavates family history to illuminate the Cuba of 1961 during Fidel Castro’s reign. Cumba, 12, his family, and the other citizens of Cuba are attempting to adjust to the new order after the failed Bay of Pigs invasion a week before, living in fear of “Fidel’s oppressive government” and soldiers. With the threat of Cumba getting drafted into the military, his family sends him to the United States alone. When Cumba arrives in Florida, he must learn to navigate his new home, school, and language, as well as the wave of homesickness that follows. His only respite is his new friends, fellow Cuban refugees Valeria and Alejandro, and letters from his younger brother, Pepito. But when bad news from home reaches Cumba as he is forced to start over again, he spirals into self-doubt and the guilt of leaving his family behind. Cuevas packs this sophomore novel with palpable emotions and themes of friendship, love, longing, and trauma, attentively conveying tumultuous historical events from the lens of one young refugee. Back matter features an author’s note and glossary. Ages 8–12.

October 1, 2021

Gr 4-6-Twelve-year-old Cumba Fernandez is a normal kid in many aspects. He has a loving family, friends at school, and loves building models so one day he can be an architect. However, life in Santa Clara, Cuba, is far from ordinary in 1961. Fidel Castro, now in power after his successful campaign against dictator Fulgencio Batista, has defeated a group of Cuban refugees who tried to overthrow Fidel during the Bay of Pigs invasion. But as Cumba's grandfather noted "we traded one dictator for another," and life was hard in Cuba. Children were sent to Russia for military training or forced to join the Young Rebel forces. In addition, people were executed; schools' curriculum modified to disseminate communist propaganda; neighbors turned against one another; and churches were closed, with foreign priests expelled. Cumba's parents have only one choice. First-generation Cuban American author Cuevas offers a historical novel inspired by the experience of her father, who as a boy had to leave Cuba alone and start a new life in the United States. The 34-chapter work, written in English with some Spanish terms interlaced in the narrative, is divided into two sections-one depicting Cumba's life in Cuba, and the second, starting in chapter 12, exploring his life in Florida. Of interest to educators, the text contains many English vocabulary words. However, the novel is filled with secondary characters that help to move the story forward but lack meaningful character development. What makes this novel strong is Cuevas's ability to capture the spirit of this Caribbean country, its food, flora, and fauna, and Cubans' cultural traits. The book contains a glossary for terms used throughout. VERDICT A fast-moving novel for middle schoolers who enjoy historical fiction that could work well in a social unit covering child migrants, authoritarian governments, and humanitarianism.-Kathia Ibacache, Univ. of Colorado Boulder

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2021
Twelve-year-old Cumba Fernandez carries an unlucky double-nine domino, la caja de muertos, or the "dead man's box," in his pocket as a reminder that "there are worse sources of bad luck than a little white tile." It's April 1961 in Santa Clara, Cuba, and the Cuban exiles fighting to overthrow Fidel Castro have failed in their mission, leaving families like Cumba's who sided with the former president Batista vulnerable to incarceration and violent subjugation. In order to avoid the threat of mandatory military training in Russia, Cumba's parents decide to send him to the United States. Cuevas's (The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez) skillful first-person present-tense narrative follows Cumba's experience of separation from his loved ones; his adjustment to life in Miami as a refugee; and ultimately his reunion with his family in the United States. Cuevas furthers this insider perspective with letters between Cumba and his little brother, Pepito. Incorporating elements from her father's experiences as a Cuban exile and child refugee, the author tells a larger, complicated story about the ways children navigate the geopolitical forces that compel families to make hard choices to ensure their survival. Lettycia Terrones

(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from August 15, 2021
To escape the harsh realities of Castro's Cuba, a 12-year-old boy must leave his family behind and flee to the United States alone. Following the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, Fidel's grip on Cuba tightens. Neighbors whisper and conspire against each other, and those not loyal to Castro's regime face punishment, even execution. When young Cumba is marked for military recruitment, his family decides to send him off to the United States. Escaping to Miami and the home of a distant relative, Cumba struggles to adjust to his new life without his family. The labyrinthlike city's size and the cacophony of English-speaking voices overwhelm the young boy at first. School also brings its share of pains and embarrassments. Thankfully, Cumba gains allies in the unlikeliest ways, including an American schoolmate obsessed with horse races and other Cuban refugee young people. Letters from his little brother back home also bring him some comfort. Then, one day, a letter brings horrible news: Fidel's soldiers have arrested Cumba's parents. Inspired by stories from her father's childhood, Cuevas' latest is a triumph of the heart. Devoting half of the story to Cumba's life in Cuba and the other half to his adjustment to the United States, the author continually reminds readers about the strength provided by community and family and the forces that can threaten to snatch these sources of happiness away. A compassionate, emotionally astute portrait of a young Cuban in exile. (author's note, glossary) (Historical fiction. 8-12)

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Starred review from May 15, 2021
Grades 4-7 *Starred Review* Cuevas' intense and immersive account of a Cuban boy's experience after the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion brings a specific point in history alive (1961 Santa Clara, Cuba) while also feeling extremely relatable and contemporary on matters such as immigration and the overwhelming feelings associated with moving and starting at a new school. Twelve-year-old Cumba loves his family and home in Cuba's mountains, but Fidel Castro's ascent to power has made life chaotic and frightening. Castro's socialist agenda comes with soldiers patrolling the streets and whispers that turn neighbors against one another. Cumba himself is now old enough to be recruited for Castro's "Young Rebels," a precursor to mandatory military training, and that's not a fate the boy's parents will permit. With heavy hearts and secret contacts on the island, they obtain the forged paperwork needed to fly Cumba to the U.S. and to safety. Drawing from her father's boyhood experiences, Cuevas does an outstanding job of eliciting the confusing array of emotions Cumba feels as he is thrown into life in a new country, where he understands only a smattering of English and desperately misses his family in Cuba. Cuevas takes care not to depict Cubans with broad strokes, emphasizing their individuality within a shared culture, and she lovingly raises up family, biological and made, as essential to finding a way forward.

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July 1, 2021
Twelve-year-old Cumba Fernandez carries an unlucky double-nine domino, la caja de muertos, or the "dead man's box," in his pocket as a reminder that "there are worse sources of bad luck than a little white tile." It's April 1961 in Santa Clara, Cuba, and the Cuban exiles fighting to overthrow Fidel Castro have failed in their mission, leaving families like Cumba's who sided with the former president Batista vulnerable to incarceration and violent subjugation. In order to avoid the threat of mandatory military training in Russia, Cumba's parents decide to send him to the United States. Cuevas's (The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez) skillful first-person present-tense narrative follows Cumba's experience of separation from his loved ones; his adjustment to life in Miami as a refugee; and ultimately his reunion with his family in the United States. Cuevas furthers this insider perspective with letters between Cumba and his little brother, Pepito. Incorporating elements from her father's experiences as a Cuban exile and child refugee, the author tells a larger, complicated story about the ways children navigate the geopolitical forces that compel families to make hard choices to ensure their survival.

(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)