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bargainsleuth's review
5.0
For this and other reviews, visit www.bargain-sleuth.com.
One of my reading challenges has the reader cover a wide variety of genres and specific types of books. One was an Own Voices book. When NetGalley offered Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna to me, I knew I’d found the perfect type of Own Voices book: historical fiction of events for which I had no knowledge, reading about another culture, a middle grade/YA book about a child coming of age. I was given an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Wow. Just wow. This book was just incredible. I could not put it down, I could not believe it was a children’s book. I could seriously see this book winning the Newbery medal next year. That’s how good it is.
Petra is a very strong young lady that has had to grow up fast. There’s been a revolution going on for a while (in 1913 Mexico), her mother died during childbirth the year before, and her father was taken away by the Federales to fight for them or face death. Petra is left living with her grandmother, her 6-year old sister and 1-year old brother. It’s up to her to keep food on the table. She does this by chopping firewood and selling it.
Then the Federales come to town and take everything of value from the homes before they burn down the village. Petra and her family are forced to take to the road to find the next town with a train station. Along their trip through the desert, the come upon a church which provides respite for a few days. Then, the priest kicks them out because the Federales are on their way. They need to find the train station, which requires a few days walking in the desert with very little water or food.
The family runs into some members of Pancho Villa’s revolutionary forces and Petra is asked to become a soldier. Instead, she says the family will make it’s way to the Rio Bravo and cross it to America to escape the revolution. Once they get to the border, the price to cross is so large, there’s no way they can afford it. To top it off, the few rebel soldiers in town at the border are leaving, and the Federales are on the way.
The tension throughout the book is palpable. The danger Petra’s family faces at every turn seems insurmountable. This is a gripping tale, where if you don’t know the history of Mexico’s revolution, and even if you do, you might not know this particular tale. The author says this book was inspired by family events that had been passed down orally. Then Dobbs researched the information and found a newspaper article describing the events she’s been hearing about for years confirming the family story.
I highly recommend this book, not just for children, but for adults, too It’s a harrowing tale that needs to be old.
Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna will be released in September 2021.
One of my reading challenges has the reader cover a wide variety of genres and specific types of books. One was an Own Voices book. When NetGalley offered Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna to me, I knew I’d found the perfect type of Own Voices book: historical fiction of events for which I had no knowledge, reading about another culture, a middle grade/YA book about a child coming of age. I was given an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Wow. Just wow. This book was just incredible. I could not put it down, I could not believe it was a children’s book. I could seriously see this book winning the Newbery medal next year. That’s how good it is.
Petra is a very strong young lady that has had to grow up fast. There’s been a revolution going on for a while (in 1913 Mexico), her mother died during childbirth the year before, and her father was taken away by the Federales to fight for them or face death. Petra is left living with her grandmother, her 6-year old sister and 1-year old brother. It’s up to her to keep food on the table. She does this by chopping firewood and selling it.
Then the Federales come to town and take everything of value from the homes before they burn down the village. Petra and her family are forced to take to the road to find the next town with a train station. Along their trip through the desert, the come upon a church which provides respite for a few days. Then, the priest kicks them out because the Federales are on their way. They need to find the train station, which requires a few days walking in the desert with very little water or food.
The family runs into some members of Pancho Villa’s revolutionary forces and Petra is asked to become a soldier. Instead, she says the family will make it’s way to the Rio Bravo and cross it to America to escape the revolution. Once they get to the border, the price to cross is so large, there’s no way they can afford it. To top it off, the few rebel soldiers in town at the border are leaving, and the Federales are on the way.
The tension throughout the book is palpable. The danger Petra’s family faces at every turn seems insurmountable. This is a gripping tale, where if you don’t know the history of Mexico’s revolution, and even if you do, you might not know this particular tale. The author says this book was inspired by family events that had been passed down orally. Then Dobbs researched the information and found a newspaper article describing the events she’s been hearing about for years confirming the family story.
I highly recommend this book, not just for children, but for adults, too It’s a harrowing tale that needs to be old.
Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna will be released in September 2021.
book_concierge's review
4.0
Set during the Mexican Revolution of 1913, this novel is based on the author’s family history. When he was forcibly taken by federal troops to join the war, thirteen-year-old Petra promised her father that she would keep the family together until they could be reunited. Now those same Federales have burned her village and she, her grandmother, younger sister, Amelia, and baby brother, Luisito, must flee across the desert.
This is a marvelous story of courage in the face of adversity, easily enjoyed by middle-school children as well as adults. Petra is a wonderful character: strong, intelligent, observant, loyal, resourceful and a born leader. She is NOT going to be one of the women her grandmother insists she is destined to become: subservient, obedient, quiet, content to be at home caring for her husband and children. No, Petra has bigger dreams. She will learn to read and to care for herself.
On their dangerous trek towards the promised safety of the “other side” (i.e. the United States), Petra encounters a few people who help her and who nourish her dreams. She also learns from her grandmother’s experience, and always keeps in mind her promise to her father.
Petra carries her most treasured possession with her: a lump of coal her father brought her from the mine he worked. He explained how diamonds are formed by the pressure exerted on such black rocks. Petra contemplates how the pressures she is enduring are also forming her strong character. Like her rock, she is a “baby diamond” who will one day sparkle and shine.
Dobbs includes notes about how her own great-grandmother related her story of fleeing their village for the safety of the United States. Those stories sparked curiosity and Dobbs went searching for confirming details in recorded news accounts of the day. She includes a timeline of Mexican history leading to the critical events depicted in the book.
This is a marvelous story of courage in the face of adversity, easily enjoyed by middle-school children as well as adults. Petra is a wonderful character: strong, intelligent, observant, loyal, resourceful and a born leader. She is NOT going to be one of the women her grandmother insists she is destined to become: subservient, obedient, quiet, content to be at home caring for her husband and children. No, Petra has bigger dreams. She will learn to read and to care for herself.
On their dangerous trek towards the promised safety of the “other side” (i.e. the United States), Petra encounters a few people who help her and who nourish her dreams. She also learns from her grandmother’s experience, and always keeps in mind her promise to her father.
Petra carries her most treasured possession with her: a lump of coal her father brought her from the mine he worked. He explained how diamonds are formed by the pressure exerted on such black rocks. Petra contemplates how the pressures she is enduring are also forming her strong character. Like her rock, she is a “baby diamond” who will one day sparkle and shine.
Dobbs includes notes about how her own great-grandmother related her story of fleeing their village for the safety of the United States. Those stories sparked curiosity and Dobbs went searching for confirming details in recorded news accounts of the day. She includes a timeline of Mexican history leading to the critical events depicted in the book.
bookish_mrs_w's review
4.0
What a beautiful story of journey, courage and hope. There was something so stunning and yet gorgeously “simple” in the writing. It wasn’t bogged down by too much writing. The personal connections were effortless. You couldn’t help but cheer for Petra and root her on. This book took me by surprise and I would’ve devoured it in one sitting if my husband hadn’t gotten home! Lol!
nicolemhewitt's review
5.0
This review and many more can be found on my blog: Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Set during the Mexican Revolution, this book tells the story of a family torn apart by the ravages of war. Petra has to take charge of her family since her mother died in childbirth and her father has been forced to fight in a war (against the rebels who he would support if given the choice). Her grandmother tries, but caring for three young children at her age---and during a war---is difficult, to say the least. When their village is destroyed, the whole family ends up on a trek to nowhere, searching for any sanctuary they can find. Petra has to find strength and peace within and decide where her loyalties lie. The end of the book really shines as it finds Petra and her family in a historical moment fraught with danger (which is based on the author's grandmother's actual experiences). The book will help kids get a glimpse of history they probably know nothing about and will allow them to experience the true resiliency of the human spirit!
***Disclosure: I received this book from the author for review purposes. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
Set during the Mexican Revolution, this book tells the story of a family torn apart by the ravages of war. Petra has to take charge of her family since her mother died in childbirth and her father has been forced to fight in a war (against the rebels who he would support if given the choice). Her grandmother tries, but caring for three young children at her age---and during a war---is difficult, to say the least. When their village is destroyed, the whole family ends up on a trek to nowhere, searching for any sanctuary they can find. Petra has to find strength and peace within and decide where her loyalties lie. The end of the book really shines as it finds Petra and her family in a historical moment fraught with danger (which is based on the author's grandmother's actual experiences). The book will help kids get a glimpse of history they probably know nothing about and will allow them to experience the true resiliency of the human spirit!
***Disclosure: I received this book from the author for review purposes. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
henry10's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I liked the book a lot, but the author kept writing in something bad and tragic moments after something good happens, and this only has one exception. it made the book very predictable at times (oh, they found a water hole? yeah there's definitely something coming in the next page). sometimes it would even be on the same page!!
katiegrrrl's review
5.0
I realize I know nothing about Mexican history or any of the revolutions. Petra is such a strong, amazing character. It is heartbreaking that the journey for survival by kids from Mexico (and Central and South America) is still so dangerous and difficult.
2022 YMA Pura Belpre Children’s Author Honor book
2022 YMA Pura Belpre Children’s Author Honor book
jwinchell's review
4.0
This powerful work of historical fiction is based on the author’s great-grandmother’s real experiences crossing the desert and staying away from the Federales and crossing the border from Mexico to the US during the Mexican Revolution in 1913. This is a powerful refugee story.
trix21's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
stitchsaddiction's review
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna is an incredible and emotional read based on stories handed down through generations of a family.
Set during the Mexican Revolution, our protagonist is a young girl, Petra Luna, who has, through necessity, taken on the roles her father would be doing of caring for and supporting her small family. With the menfolk dead or serving in the army, many villages in Mexico are only home to young children and the elderly (often female), and they are destitute. Author, Alda P. Dobbs describes this world in an honest and vivid manner that brings this hot and deserted country to life.
Their heartbreaking journey to escape the cruelty of the revolution is written with a lot of thought consideration because these events happened. People starved, and people were killed. I will add a warning that one person to die in an accident is a toddler, and it had me in tears, but it is written respectfully. I just felt it is imperative that if you do read this wonderful book, there is tragedy, and it may be something you may not wish to read.
I couldn't put down Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna because you're drawn in so deeply to the journey Petra and her family go through. All I wanted was for them to reach America and find the sanctuary they desperately needed and for each of them to survive. Petra is inspirational with her fierce determination to not only survive but to break the generational roles where a girl shouldn't be anything more than her husband's cook, cleaner, etcetera.
I hope she did get to live her Barefoot Dreams in the end.
The book not only gives us the reader insight into a historical event not many are taught about, but there is also a brief explanation of the factual event the story is based upon. Families like Petra's are incredible and true heroes for never giving up on the desire to simply live.
I highly recommend this book.
Set during the Mexican Revolution, our protagonist is a young girl, Petra Luna, who has, through necessity, taken on the roles her father would be doing of caring for and supporting her small family. With the menfolk dead or serving in the army, many villages in Mexico are only home to young children and the elderly (often female), and they are destitute. Author, Alda P. Dobbs describes this world in an honest and vivid manner that brings this hot and deserted country to life.
Their heartbreaking journey to escape the cruelty of the revolution is written with a lot of thought consideration because these events happened. People starved, and people were killed. I will add a warning that one person to die in an accident is a toddler, and it had me in tears, but it is written respectfully. I just felt it is imperative that if you do read this wonderful book, there is tragedy, and it may be something you may not wish to read.
I couldn't put down Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna because you're drawn in so deeply to the journey Petra and her family go through. All I wanted was for them to reach America and find the sanctuary they desperately needed and for each of them to survive. Petra is inspirational with her fierce determination to not only survive but to break the generational roles where a girl shouldn't be anything more than her husband's cook, cleaner, etcetera.
I hope she did get to live her Barefoot Dreams in the end.
The book not only gives us the reader insight into a historical event not many are taught about, but there is also a brief explanation of the factual event the story is based upon. Families like Petra's are incredible and true heroes for never giving up on the desire to simply live.
I highly recommend this book.
thenextgenlibrarian's review
4.0
“There's no curse that'll last a hundred years, nor a body that can withstand it.”