A review by meaganmart
Isla to Island by Alexis Castellanos

3.0

Isla to Island was the next installment in my middle school graphic novel deep dive. While this novel is beautifully illustrated, it is mostly wordless, and the words that we do have are a mix of English and Spanish. As an adult reader I really enjoyed the story and thought it was wonderfully told. I'm not sure, however, that this would be as impactful for middle grades readers. Without context I'm not sure that many of them could recognize Fidel Castro or understand the impact that his takeover had on the Cuban nation. I would imagine that most of my kids have no frame of reference for Project Peter Pan, and while there are resources at the end of the novel that are suggested for further reading, I think for our particular group of kids we could have used a little more context within this work. We did purchase it, because I think it's a story that will still resonate with readers.