The Red Umbrella

by Christina Diaz Gonzalez

Overview

The Red Umbrella is a 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. And soon, 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 touching story of country, culture, family, and the true meaning of home.

“Captures the fervor, uncertainty and fear of the times. . . . Compelling.” –The Washington Post
 
“Gonzalez deals effectively with separation, culture shock, homesickness, uncertainty and identity as she captures what is also a grand adventure.” –San Francisco Chronicle

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780375854897
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	12/13/2011
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	62,501
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.74(h) x 0.69(d)
Lexile:	590L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Christina Diaz Gonzalez based this powerful novel on the experiences of her parents, and of the more than 14,000 other unaccompanied minors who came to the United States through Operation Pedro Pan. This mass exodus of children is a little-known and fascinating piece of history, and Gonzalez has created a story that brings that history vibrantly to life.

 

Gonzalez practiced law for several years before returning to her childhood passion for stories and writing. The Red Umbrella is her first novel.

 

Christina Diaz Gonzalez lives in Miami, Florida, with her husband and two sons. You can visit her on the Web at www.christinagonzalez.com.

Editorial Reviews

An ALA-YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Book
A Top Ten Indie Next List Pick
An ABA New Voices Selection
The  Florida Book Award Gold Medal Winner for Young Adult Literature
A Latina Magazine Book of the Year
A Christian Science Monitor Book of the Year
A Bank Street College of Education Best Book of the Year
A CCBC Choices Book
 
“A remarkable debut novel.” –San Francisco Book Review
 
“The memorable heroine and supporting cast offer a moving portrait of resilience and reinvention.” –Publishers Weekly
 
“Through Lucia’s captivating voice, readers travel in time. . . . Gonzalez enters the literary scene with this exceptional historical novel that portrays the beginning of the Cuban exodus.” –Kirkus Reviews
 
“Based on the author’s parent’s story, Gonzalez’s first novel captures the heart-wrenching, personal drama of family separation.” –Booklist
 
“Through the eyes of (the) likeable young narrator, readers will understand a compelling part of history. Kudos to Christina Diaz Gonzalez for sharing her family’s story, and for telling it so well.” –The Christian Science Monitor
 

From the Publisher

Christina Diaz Gonzalez captures the fervor, uncertainty and fear of the times through Lucía's first-person perspective and the newspaper headlines that begin each chapter…a compelling first novel.
—The Washington Post

Mary Quattlebaum

In this compelling, atmospheric first novel that begins in postrevolutionary Cuba, Gonzalez sketches the immigration experience of thousands of children sent to the United States through likable 14-year-old narrator Lucía. Initially, politics feel removed from Lucía’s life (“I was growing tired of constantly hearing about the revolution, but I privately thanked Castro for postponing my algebra test”). However, Gonzales believably escalates harrowing political events and their personal cost to Lucía’s family, as she finds the family doctor hung from an oak tree, and her father is detained after someone betrays the family’s hidden stash of money and jewelry. The situation forces Lucía’s parents to send Lucía and her seven-year-old brother, Frankie, to America while they await visas. Debut author Gonzalez excels at highlighting the cultural difficulties of their transition, as Lucía and Frankie eventually end up living with a foster family in rural—and quite foreign—Nebraska. Contemporary newspaper headlines such as the 1961 Nevada State Journal’s “Castro Adopts Brainwashing” lead each chapter and offer wider commentary. The memorable heroine and supporting cast offer a moving portrait of resilience and reinvention. Ages 10-up. (May)

Publishers Weekly

Gr 6–9—Fourteen-year-old Lucía lives an easy middle-class life in 1961 Cuba, thinking only about clothes, boys, and dances. When Communist revolutionaries occupy her town, an escalating witch hunt against capitalists compels her parents to send her and her brother to the U.S. under the care of the Catholic Welfare Bureau (as part of "Operation Pedro Pan," which—the endnotes explain—was the largest-ever exodus of unaccompanied children in the West). Lucía eventually settles with a foster family in Nebraska, where she comes to terms with her duel identity as a Cuban exile and an American teen. She must also piece together a picture of what's happening to her parents and friends at home from interrupted phone calls, censored letters, and newspaper articles. This well-written novel has a thoroughly believable protagonist and well-chosen period details. It should be noted, however, that Gonzalez portrays the single sympathetic Communist character as increasingly brainwashed. Few readers will recognize the polemics driving this convincing story, but as an introduction to the history and politics of the Cuban-exile community, it could generate some excellent classroom discussions.—Rhona Campbell, Washington, DC Public Library

School Library Journal

This is the story of Lucia, a Cuban girl who, at the age of 14, leaves her hometown of Puerto Mijares and flies to the United States from Havana with her little brother, Frankie, but without their parents. After arriving at a temporary shelter, they are soon transferred to the Baxters' home in Nebraska. Through Lucia's captivating voice, readers travel in time to the year 1961, when members of the Cuban bourgeoisie witnessed the drastic transformation of their society into a communist system. While Lucia's best friend, Ivette, and her secret sweetheart, Manuel, embrace the revolution and become, with their parents' support, "brigadistas," Lucia's parents, a banker and a housewife, refuse to accept the changes imposed by the new government and make the heartbreaking and, for the times, shocking decision to send their daughter and son to a foreign country, without knowing if they would be able to see them again. Gonzalez enters the literary scene with this exceptional historical novel that portrays the beginning of the Cuban exodus. (Historical fiction. 10 & up)

Kirkus Reviews