Coming Up Cuban: Rising Past Castro’s Shadow
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-08-03 01:21:45
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Sonia Manzano
- ISBN：1338065157
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Summary
From Pura Belpré Honoree and Emmy-award winning actor Sonia Manzano--best known as "Maria" from Sesame Street--comes the expansive and timeless story of four children who must carve out a path for themselves in the wake of Fidel Castro's rise to power。
Fifteen-time Emmy Award winner and Pura Belpre honoree Sonia Manzano examines the impact of the 1959 Cuban Revolution on four children from very different walks of life。 In the wake of a new regime in Cuba， Ana， Miguel， Zulema， and Juan learn to find a place for themselves in a world forever changed。 In a tumultuous moment of history， we see the lasting effects of a revolution in Havana， the countryside， Miami， and New York。 Through these snapshot stories， we are reminded that regardless of any tumultuous times， we are all forever connected in our humanity。
Fifteen-time Emmy Award winner and Pura Belpre honoree Sonia Manzano examines the impact of the 1959 Cuban Revolution on four children from very different walks of life。 In the wake of a new regime in Cuba， Ana， Miguel， Zulema， and Juan learn to find a place for themselves in a world forever changed。 In a tumultuous moment of history， we see the lasting effects of a revolution in Havana， the countryside， Miami， and New York。 Through these snapshot stories， we are reminded that regardless of any tumultuous times， we are all forever connected in our humanity。
Reviews
Maya :）
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I picked up this book to learn about Fidel Castro’s dictatorship in Cuba， but was sorely disappointed。While it did give me information on how people reacted to Castro， and had a diverse cast of characters， it didn’t do a very good job of showing what Castro did and his rise to power。Additionally， the writing was pretty bad， and not at all descriptive or enjoyable to read。 The timeline didn’t make sense， and there was no diversity in age range。 1 star if it wasn’t for the informational value， and I picked up this book to learn about Fidel Castro’s dictatorship in Cuba， but was sorely disappointed。While it did give me information on how people reacted to Castro， and had a diverse cast of characters， it didn’t do a very good job of showing what Castro did and his rise to power。Additionally， the writing was pretty bad， and not at all descriptive or enjoyable to read。 The timeline didn’t make sense， and there was no diversity in age range。 1 star if it wasn’t for the informational value， and I would not recommend to advanced readers。 。。。more
Kyle Carson
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Coming Up Cuban takes a look at Fidel Castro's rise to power through the eyes of four young Cubans and their families。 Through multiple novellas， each centering on a different protagonist， Sonia Manzano offers various perspectives on a turbulent political uprising， allowing her to highlight the nuances of the situation while also breaking down complex ideas for middle grade readers。 Filled with love， both for Cuba as well as its resilient peoples， Coming Up Cuban is a story full of joy and heart Coming Up Cuban takes a look at Fidel Castro's rise to power through the eyes of four young Cubans and their families。 Through multiple novellas， each centering on a different protagonist， Sonia Manzano offers various perspectives on a turbulent political uprising， allowing her to highlight the nuances of the situation while also breaking down complex ideas for middle grade readers。 Filled with love， both for Cuba as well as its resilient peoples， Coming Up Cuban is a story full of joy and heartache that celebrates the vibrancy of Caribbean culture while educating readers on a crucial historical moment。Coming Up Cuban keeps its politics centered on its target audience -- 9-12 year olds。 Through their eyes， we see Cuba's transformation， demonstrating how political upheavals can effect every corner of a country。 In this way， the book doesn't focus on fighting and war， but the aftereffects -- refugees scrambling to leave the country， schools closing， forced surrendering of property， new government initiatives， etc。 The book also features a cast of characters from differing backgrounds -- poor to upper middle class -- that offer various perspectives on Castro's takeover -- from those who hate Castro and his changes （which seems to be the dominant opinion）， to people who praise him， to people that agree with parts of his revolution but not all， etc。 In this way， most perspectives are held on equal ground， with few "right" or "wrong" perspectives pushed to the forefront， allowing readers to form their own opinions on Castro's rule。 This equalization of perspectives did have a limit。 Every character seemed to hold America in high regard， as a land to escape to， full of compassionate people who were alluded to be outright saviors a few times。 The only 'negative' opinion of the US came from older characters who did not want to immigrate， mostly due to a love of Cuba and an unwillingness to change。 This felt a little propagandist to me， as the US was a long-term colonizer of Cuba after Spain and largely controlled the country until the revolution， so it feels disingenuous to paint the US only as saviour， when their involvement was just as nuanced as Fidel's。 Considering the book has no problem showing multiple perspectives on the politics within Cuba， it would have been easy to add some diversity on the perspective toward America as well。The book features four novellas， each focusing on a different character at different points during Fidel's early reign。 The characters all know each other and so their stories overlap， thus building an overarching narrative while also allowing the story to branch in very different directions。 Each novella focuses on a different aspect of Fidel's reign to educate readers while entertaining - Ana's section focuses on the revolution and sets the story， Migeul's section focuses on refugee and immigration struggles， Zulema's section focuses on literacy， and Juan's section focuses on radicalization。 The novellas use simple but striking interpersonal conflicts to hook readers in and keep them emotionally invested in each novella。 Manzano's writing style is simple but elegant; no word is wasted。 Everything given page space enhances the themes， plot， or characterization very deliberately， creating a satisfying read for those who wish to analyze the text on a deeper level。 Yet the writing style is also incredibly accessible for its target audience。 Manzano carefully utilizes simple language without simplifying the concepts explored， which shows her mastery of communication。 The book balances darkness with some levity by injecting childlike silliness into the mix of uncertainty， giving the book an endearing quality at its core。 The silliness also helps hooks young readers into the larger political story by promising some fun along the way。 All in all， Coming Up Cuban is a silly and heartfelt story filled with hope that pushes young readers to think， learn and empathize。 Definitely worth adding to your shelves and sharing with your young ones。 I chuckled， teared up， and enjoyed every moment of this Caribbean adventure intended for readers a third my age。 。。。more
Alma
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The stories of these four youngsters， creating new lives in the midst of upheaval， will resonate with their readers。 The dangers of what happens when people blindly follow a fanatical leader， and turn against family and friends in those beliefs， serve as cautionary tales towards the times in which we live。 Read more about this book on my blog: https://shouldireaditornot。wordpress。。。。 The stories of these four youngsters， creating new lives in the midst of upheaval， will resonate with their readers。 The dangers of what happens when people blindly follow a fanatical leader， and turn against family and friends in those beliefs， serve as cautionary tales towards the times in which we live。 Read more about this book on my blog: https://shouldireaditornot。wordpress。。。。 。。。more
Shellie Zeigler
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AudioBook:Amazing！ Highly Recommend。Sonia Manzano explores the impact of the 1959 Cuban Revolution on four young people from diverse backgrounds。 The lives of Ana， Miguel， Zulema， and Juan， each represent different intersections of race during Fidel Castro’s rise to power in this powerful new novel by Manzano （fondly remembered as Maria on Sesame Street）。A cast of narrators brings life to the experiences of these all too real characters。 As their experiences overlap， their voices and stories mel AudioBook:Amazing！ Highly Recommend。Sonia Manzano explores the impact of the 1959 Cuban Revolution on four young people from diverse backgrounds。 The lives of Ana， Miguel， Zulema， and Juan， each represent different intersections of race during Fidel Castro’s rise to power in this powerful new novel by Manzano （fondly remembered as Maria on Sesame Street）。A cast of narrators brings life to the experiences of these all too real characters。 As their experiences overlap， their voices and stories meld into the big picture of the Cuban experience during the Cuban Revolution。 Each story is given the appropriate amount of attention and the narrator for each draws the reader into their story with their own style， pace， and Cuban accents。 Special attention has been made to ensure the most authentic Cuban accents as possible， when appropriate。 Manzano herself has a special section at the end of the book where she discusses the timeline of events that occurred in the book， additional resources， as well as additional information about the Cuban Revolution。 Manzano has created a remarkable novel as well as a learning resource， no small feat。 。。。more
Ms。 Yingling
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E ARC provided by Edelweiss PlusAfter Fidel Castro's revolution in Cuban in 1959， things were very complicated。 The important thing to remember is that Castro was against Bautista's US backed regime， which means that most of the books I've read about this time period by US author， many whose families fled Cuban because of these events， paint a portrait of the revolution being a bad thing。 I tried very hard to remember that many people stayed in Cuba， and that Castro ruled for many， many years an E ARC provided by Edelweiss PlusAfter Fidel Castro's revolution in Cuban in 1959， things were very complicated。 The important thing to remember is that Castro was against Bautista's US backed regime， which means that most of the books I've read about this time period by US author， many whose families fled Cuban because of these events， paint a portrait of the revolution being a bad thing。 I tried very hard to remember that many people stayed in Cuba， and that Castro ruled for many， many years and was succeeded by his brother Raul。 ANY book about this place and time will be extremely complicated， so it is interesting to see different views like Patterson's My Brigadista Year， Gonzalez's The Red Umbrella， and Cuevas Cuba in My Pocket。 It seems a little problematic to me that Manzano， who was raised in New York City by parents who were from Puerto Rico， would be the one to tell this story， but given how complicated the situation is and was， perhaps an outsider's view is helpful？ I did enjoy the wide variety of characters represented。 Told from four different viewpoints， we see events unfold， and the characters intersect in interesting ways。 Ana's family has been suffering because their father has been off fighting on behalf of Castro。 When he comes home， she hardly recognizes him， but he becomes an important person in Castro's government。 She isn't quite as sure that the Revolution is good， but wants to believe her father。 When he gets in trouble for writing a letter critisizing the Revolution， he is put in jail。 When tragedy strikes， Ana and her mother flee and live with a relative in the US。 Zulema lives in the country and is part of a group that Ana's father would term guajiro; the peasant farming class。 I don't know what the percentage of the Cuban population would fall into this category， but Zulema's family is more concerned with surviving。 When people from Castro's government come to their homes and farms and demand they put up teachers in their homes and take classes from them， Zulema and her family are conflicted; she wants to learn to read， but why do the people think they can both push her family around AND tell them that now everyone is equal？ One of Ana's friends， whose family also supported Castro， ends up in Zulema's village as a brigadista， working to teach people to read。 Miguel is a pampered boy whose parents send him to the US as part of Operation Pedro Pan。 He is at a school， but when that becomes over crowded， he is afraid he will have to go into foster care。 His parents， with whom he stays in contact， are trying to leave Cuba and eventually join him。 Juan， an Afro Cuban boy whose parents went to the US but were killed in a traffic accident there， is being raised by his grandfather， who runs a fruit cart。 His health is failing， and Juan worries about his future。 His best friend Paco is heavily invested in being a pionero， and whole heartedly supports Castro， but Juan isn't sure about the violence he is seeing that is justified by the Revolution。 Ultimately， I think this works。 While the overall sentiment is slightly anti-Castro， there is a lot of balanced insight into why some people supported the Revolution， or were simply divided about how to feel。 This seems realistic。 There are many， many books about the Holocaust that are not written by Jewish people from Germany。 Is there a space for books about the Cuban Revolution that are not written by people with Cuban heritage？ The Holocaust was very black and white; the Cuban revolution is this way to many。。。 on both sides。 That's why this is an interesting and well-researched book that could start a lot of conversations about recent history that still affects people's lives。 Not everyone will agree with this。 。。。more
Alexandra Cornejo
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This book follows the lives of 4 teens living in Cuba during the Cuban Revolution。 This event affects all four profoundly but very differently。 The reader is able to catch a glimpse of the Cuban migration to the USA， the brigadistas and pioneros in Cuba， and of Operación Pedro Pan。 These four stories not only give us a healthy dose of history and entertainment， but it does very well in describing the complicated emotions these youths are feeling when their world turns upside down。 Excellent for This book follows the lives of 4 teens living in Cuba during the Cuban Revolution。 This event affects all four profoundly but very differently。 The reader is able to catch a glimpse of the Cuban migration to the USA， the brigadistas and pioneros in Cuba， and of Operación Pedro Pan。 These four stories not only give us a healthy dose of history and entertainment， but it does very well in describing the complicated emotions these youths are feeling when their world turns upside down。 Excellent for middle grade and high school， and anybody who is a fan of historical fiction。 Loved it！ 。。。more
Hannah
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