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Cuba in My Pocket - Paperback | Diverse Reads

Cuba in My Pocket

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From Pura Belpré Honoree Adrianna Cuevas is a sweeping, emotional middle grade historical novel about a twelve-year-old boy who leaves his family in Cuba to immigrate to the U.S. by himself, based on the author's family history.

“I don’t remember. Tell me everything, Pepito. Tell me about Cuba.”

When the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 solidifies Castro’s power in Cuba, twelve-year-old Cumba’s family makes the difficult decision to send him to Florida alone. Faced with the prospect of living in another country by himself, Cumba tries to remember the sound of his father’s clarinet, the smell of his mother’s lavender perfume.

Life in the United States presents a whole new set of challenges. Lost in a sea of English speakers, Cumba has to navigate a new city, a new school, and new freedom all on his own. With each day, Cumba feels more confident in his new surroundings, but he continues to wonder: Will his family ever be whole again? Or will they remain just out of reach, ninety miles across the sea?

A Kirkus Best Children's Book of the Year
2024 Middle Grade Read Aloud list

"...Cuevas’ latest is a triumph of the heart...A compassionate, emotionally astute portrait of a young Cuban in exile." —Kirkus, 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." —Booklist, STARRED REVIEW

"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." — Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW

ISBN-13: 9781250853165

Media Type: Paperback

Publisher: Square Fish

Publication Date: 09-20-2022

Pages: 320

Product Dimensions: 5.10(w) x 7.50(h) x 1.00(d)

Age Range: 8 - 12 Years

Adrianna Cuevas is the author of The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez (FSG BYR, 2020). She is a first-generation Cuban-American originally from Miami, Florida. After teaching Spanish and ESOL for sixteen years, she decided to pursue her passion for storytelling. Adrianna currently resides outside of Austin, TX with her husband and son where they enjoy hiking, traveling, and cooking lots of Cuban food.