This is a beautifully written story of a young girl whose parents must go into hiding when a dictator takes over the government of Chile. Soon after she is sent to live with her Tia in Maine. The 1st part of this book was gripping and hard, but it lost me in the middle, with what felt more like a traditional middle school narrative. I think it is to be recommended, though daunting at 450 pages. ( )

This is an amazing book for teachers to have on their shelves for students. I would recommend this book for grades 6th-8th. A way you can connect this to instruction is by reading a few chapters as a class when talking about different forms of government. This book uses eleven-year old Celeste Marconi's letters, journals, and poem entries to talk about he life in Chile when suddenly taken under dictatorship. Her and her family face many difficult situations and must go into hiding. She is sent to the U.S. for her safety and experiences life in Maine for two years. She then returns to Chile after the dictator is overthrown and sets out to find her parents and has a goal of helping her country heal. ( )

This story was about a young girl and her family's move from Chile to America. Another intriguing aspect is the illustrations at the beginning of each chapter. I would recommend this book to 2nd-4th grade as the content would likely suit and appeal best to that age group.I also feel like students in that age group would be able to understand family history a little bit better and appreciate the aspect of belonging. Belonging within their heritage culture as well as the new cultures that await them. ( )

What a nice novel of friendships, among both adults and kids.
The author's writing style is wonderful and graphic.
I like how the main character develops and matures emotionally during the 5 years of the story.

I would have preferred to hear more of an ending on some of the secondary characters than what the author left us with. But overall, it was a nice refreshing story among a backdrop of temporarily hard times for the participants. ( )