From the Publisher
Yara García and her family live a middle-class life in Havana, Cuba. But in 1967, as communist ruler Fidel Castro tightens his hold on Cuba, The Garcías, who do not share the political beliefs of the Communist Party, are forced to flee to Miami, Florida. There, Yara encounters a strange land with foreign customs. She knows very little English, and she finds that the other students in her new school have much more freedom than she and her sisters. Tension develops between her parents, as Mami grows more independent and Papi joins a militant anti-Castro organization. Veciana-Suarez's moving account poignantly documents Yara's story of exile and adjustment to life in a less traditional country.
Novelspot
A well-told story. . . . Full of mystery and misunderstandings, it will keep the reader on edge until the very end.
Marya Jansen-Gruber
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Children's Literature
Imagine having to stand in a line for hours just to get some soap and then not getting any because the store has run out. Imagine being separated from your family and friends for weeks by the government so that you can work on a farm picking tobacco leaves all day long. Imagine what it would feel like if your brother had to join the army when he was just sixteen and you had no news of him. These were things that Yara and her family had to deal with in their daily lives on the island of Cuba in the 1960s. Life was so hard that Yara's parents decided they were going to take advantage of "the Freedom Flights." They were going to take a few possessions and move to Miami for a short while until the political situation in Cuba got better. Written in first person as a diary, we are able experience Yara's exile with her. The author's writing style allows us to feel part of Yara's life and as if we are by her side on that first day in an American school. What a terrible day it is—she cannot understand English and has no idea what she is supposed to do. There are so many things to learn in this new country, like what Thanksgiving is, how American's celebrate Christmas, what a slumber party is, what a grilled cheese sandwich tastes like. Like so many others before and after her, Yara is caught between two worlds. "Do you stop loving your homeland if you live somewhere else...?" she asks herself. Her sisters and mother work hard to adapt to this new country while her father insists that they are going to return to Cuba soon. He actively participates in organizations that want to overthrow the communist government. For Yara, politics is confusing and she hates it all. War is wrong and all it does iskill people and take loved ones away. The author of this touching book succeeds in reminding us that America is still a refuge for people fleeing from oppression and conflict. She shows us with great understanding and sensitivity how hard it is to learn to live in a new place with new people and new ways. At the back of the book the reader will find a very useful and interesting history of Cuba and of the author's family story. This is one of the new "First Person Fiction" books. 2003, Scholastic,
Sherry York
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VOYA
In 1967, thirteen-year-old Yara begins writing in her diary in Havana and records the lives of her family through the following year as they leave their beloved homeland to begin a new life in Miami, Florida. Papi becomes involved in a paramilitary group determined to return to Cuba. Meanwhile Mami gets a job and learns to drive a car despite her traditional husband's objections. Older sister Ileana starts sneaking out to meet a boy, gets involved in the peace movement, and gets a job. Yara endures the agony of going to school without knowing any English, wearing clothes that are all wrong, being without friends, and being laughed at because she does not know how to act in this strange, new culture. While calling them "dark times," the family moves ahead with their lives, never forgetting that their son Pepito was left behind in the army in Cuba. Cousin Efrain joins the U.S. Marines and is likely to be sent to fight in Vietnam. Yara has a birthday, her beloved grandfather Tony dies, and she is allowed to take a trip with her new friend. Always mindful that they are in exile, Yari's father's favorite expression is "Next year we'll be in Cuba." Part of the First Person Fiction books that are based on an author's real-life experiences, this readable story will provide ample material for meaningful discussions about history, government, cultures, and values. This author joins Anilu Bernardo to form a tiny list of fiction for younger readers by Cuban Americans. VOYA CODES: 3Q 4P M J (Readable without serious defects; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9). 2002, Orchard, 197p,
Jackie Bach
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Alan Review
As one of the two novels in of the new First Person Fiction series by Scholastic, Flight to Freedom is a first person fictional account, written in the form of a diary, of Yara Garcia's immigration to Miami. The first quarter of the novel takes place in Cuba, as Yara and her family wait for the government to process their visas to the United States. In the meantime, Yara's Papi must work out in the fields, and she and her sister Ileana spend forty-five days laboring on a tobacco farm. Finally, they arrive in the U.S. only to face a new set of challenges. Yara has left her brother and other relatives behind, and she must contend with learning a new language, and a new way of life. Her Mami (mother) learns to drive and gets a job, while Papi (father) joins an anti-Castro group which hopes to end his rule, by force if necessary. Readers will relate to Yara's struggles with her parents as she tries to convince them to allow her to attend parties and travel with her friend, and as she keeps her sister's secrets. After the end of the diary entries, Veciana-Suarez recounts her own journey from Cuba to the United States, and how she gathered information for Yara's story. The First Person Fiction series resembles the Dear America series, and Scholastic has future accounts planned from Chinese Americans, Haitian Americans, and Puerto Rican Americans. 2002, Orchard Books, 208 pp.,
School Library Journal
Gr 6-9-It is 1967, and Yara Garcia, 13, receives a blank diary from her father with the inscription, "For my studious daughter." He is leaving Havana for the countryside, where he is forced to work in the fields harvesting coffee since he has applied to emigrate to the U.S. The story unfolds via her entries. As the family waits for permission to leave, readers are told about the rationing of food, neighbors spying on neighbors to report disloyalties to Castro, and the humiliation of being labeled a "gusana"-a worm-a Cuban exile. Arrival in Miami is fraught with a new set of difficulties as language and cultural differences make adjustment painful. Yara's father is convinced that their stay in Florida will be temporary and short, to be endured until such time that they can return to their beloved homeland. In an afterword, Veciana-Suarez describes her firsthand experiences living in exile. Similar to titles in the "Dear America" series (Scholastic), this informative novel incorporates historical facts. The story and characters ring true in their portrayal of loss, longing, and the hope of starting a new life.-Elizabeth Fernandez, Brunswick Middle School, Greenwich, CT Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Cuban-born Veciana-Suarez, a Miami journalist and author of two previous novels for adults, brings forth a fine title, set in 1967, about young teen Yara Garcia and her family, immigrants to Miami from their native Havana. Part of the new diary-format First Person Fiction series, the tale describes the dramatic flight of the Garcia family and many others from the harsh conditions and cruel oppression of the Castro regime. The language is somewhat formal and may strike readers as having issued from an older girl, one very well versed in English. Nonetheless, Yara's depiction of her and her family's plight in Cuba and their gradual coming to terms with and adjustment to a very different language and lifestyle in America is credible, absorbing, and uplifting. The dignity of the Garcia family shines through as they attempt to make their way in their new society-which, as Yara frequently points out, is not expected to become their permanent home. The Cuban newcomers of this period, readers learn, fully hoped that they might yet return to their beloved homeland once Castro was ousted. History, of course, has borne witness to the failure of this to happen. Lest one imagine that this makes for dry, political reading, however, it must be noted that there's plenty here for young readers to relate to: new friends, new freedoms, sleepovers, school experiences, the celebration of American holidays, and cute boys all get their fair treatment in this worthy exposition. A feature of the series is a "My Personal Exodus" afterword in which each novelist describes his or her own experiences of coming to the US from another country. (Fiction. 11-15)
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