FLIGHT TO FREEDOM

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)