Reviews

Your Heart My Sky by Margarita Engle

madieanne's review against another edition

2.0

the verse writing style wasn’t my cup of tea, but the story was beautiful nonetheless.

charireads's review against another edition

4.0

I was given a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The people of Cuba are living in el periodo especial en tiempos de paz—the special period in times of peace. That’s what the government insists that this era must be called, but the reality behind these words is starvation.

Liana is struggling to find enough to eat. Yet hunger has also made her brave: she finds the courage to skip a summer of so-called volunteer farm labor, even though she risks government retribution. Nearby, a quiet, handsome boy named Amado also refuses to comply, so he wanders alone, trying to discover rare sources of food.

A chance encounter with an enigmatic dog brings Liana and Amado together. United in hope and hunger, they soon discover that their feelings for each other run deep. Love can feed their souls and hearts—but is it enough to withstand el periodo especial?

Margarita Engle is a master - written in poetic form this book is a masterpiece. #NetGalley #YourHeartMySky

yapha's review against another edition

3.0

This novel in verse takes place in Cuba after the USSR was dissolved and Cuba is no longer receiving aid from them. This has a devastating effect on the the citizens of Cuba who are slowly starving to death. Told from alternating perspectives of a teenage girl and boy, we come to understand the choices so many people made to make the dangerous journey by raft to Florida or to buy and sell food on the black market. For grades 7 & up.

eARC provided by publisher via Edelweiss

mezzythedragon's review

3.0

Do read the Author’s Note. The fact that this period happened in the early 1990s is a reminder that history is a lot more current than you think.

merricatct's review against another edition

3.0

A short, emotional YA book in verse about two young people falling in love during a time of famine in early 90’s Cuba. I don’t know much about Cuba’s history, which I’m trying to rectify. It’s especially sad given that I’m half-Cuban - I have this whole huge part of my heritage that I’m missing. Books like this help me learn - not just the history, but the emotional people-centered truth that gets left out of traditional history books.

pucksandpaperbacks's review against another edition

library hold expired, prob will pick it back up in the future!

mexican_ninjas's review against another edition

sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

suzannemseidel's review against another edition

emotional informative sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

There's a famine in Cuba and these two teenagers from different circumstances meet and kind of navigate it together. There's not that much substance (not in a mean way) because

they are literally starving to death.

tsundoku_'s review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I enjoyed this. I liked the verse writing. The singing dog added an interesting aspect to the story. 

library_kb's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.25

I see the purpose of this story--telling the story of two individuals living in Cuba during the hardships of dictatorship and U.S. embargo and the day to day struggles. However, I had a hard time connecting with the characters and their relationship did not feel developed (lots of poems about love but not a lot of time spent on why they loved each other). So, overall, I just didn't connect with this one.