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A review by karenstory
The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba by Chanel Cleeton
4.0
Overdue review now coming to Goodreads.
This is an inspirational tale of courage, love, and losses for 3 women.
The real-life Cuban revolutionary Evangelia Cisneros is the book’s title character, joined by 2 fictional women, Grace Harrington, a newspaper reporter who is inspired by real-life Nelly Bly, and Marina, the wife of a farmer’s son who has been thrown out by her wealthy family.
Readers are placed in New York City in 1896. We find Grace Harrington wanting to become a respected female reporter for one of the city’s major newspapers. This ambition puts her in the middle of the circulation wars between William Randolph Hearst (New York Journal) and Joseph Pulitzer (New York World). The term “yellow journalism” – describing sensationalized and sometimes false coverage – which aptly describes Hearst, was encouraged in the midst of solid news reporting. Grace wants to be a solid reporter, although she eventually finds herself working for Hearst.
Meanwhile, 18-year-old Cuban Evangelina, who had joined her exiled rebel father in the Isle of Pines, is attacked by a Spanish colonel. Unfortunately, she is arrested and sent to one of Havana’s worst jails. Here, her survival is tenuous. Still, she refuses to retract her accusation.
Marina, married to Mateo, a farmer’s son, is in the midst of the conflict in Spain. As the conflict escalates, she finds herself separated from her husband and forced to leave the farm. Transported to Havana with her daughter and mother-in-law with little money to survive, she has no way of knowing if her husband is still alive.
History, war, politics, pain, suffering, imprisonment – all of this is complicated and well-documented within the pages of this book. And the fact that a publishing tycoon would exploit all these factors to sell papers – not surprising. Cleeton shows the complexities of this era in a very cohesive, compelling way by also weaving in historical facts.
(BTW, although this has nothing to do with the story, Hearst Castle is not too far from where I live. The pure ostentatiousness of it, is reflective of the way this man lived.)
Let’s consider the title of the book. Cleeton weaves together Grace’s stark reporter’s tale against the backdrop of Gilded Age NYC with Evangelina’s transformation from the beautiful girl in the headlines to a woman dedicated to her country’s freedom, and Marina’s resourcefulness and sacrifices.
When their stories eventually intertwine – it is surprising and memorable.
There is also some romance – but I won’t say whom and what may or may not happen between them.
But…
Love is a critical theme here, and not only for a husband, child, parent, or possible future partner.
In addition to the history, this story includes finding love, losing love, and keeping love in one’s heart despite the uncertainty of life and death that surrounds those characters.
History in this book includes Cuba, Spain, and NYC – as well as the Spanish American War. But mainly, Evangelina Cisneros.
But what we will also find throughout this story…
Heroes. Villains. Greed. Danger. Excitement. Inspiration. Courage. Empowering Women.
This is an inspirational tale of courage, love, and losses for 3 women.
The real-life Cuban revolutionary Evangelia Cisneros is the book’s title character, joined by 2 fictional women, Grace Harrington, a newspaper reporter who is inspired by real-life Nelly Bly, and Marina, the wife of a farmer’s son who has been thrown out by her wealthy family.
Readers are placed in New York City in 1896. We find Grace Harrington wanting to become a respected female reporter for one of the city’s major newspapers. This ambition puts her in the middle of the circulation wars between William Randolph Hearst (New York Journal) and Joseph Pulitzer (New York World). The term “yellow journalism” – describing sensationalized and sometimes false coverage – which aptly describes Hearst, was encouraged in the midst of solid news reporting. Grace wants to be a solid reporter, although she eventually finds herself working for Hearst.
Meanwhile, 18-year-old Cuban Evangelina, who had joined her exiled rebel father in the Isle of Pines, is attacked by a Spanish colonel. Unfortunately, she is arrested and sent to one of Havana’s worst jails. Here, her survival is tenuous. Still, she refuses to retract her accusation.
Marina, married to Mateo, a farmer’s son, is in the midst of the conflict in Spain. As the conflict escalates, she finds herself separated from her husband and forced to leave the farm. Transported to Havana with her daughter and mother-in-law with little money to survive, she has no way of knowing if her husband is still alive.
History, war, politics, pain, suffering, imprisonment – all of this is complicated and well-documented within the pages of this book. And the fact that a publishing tycoon would exploit all these factors to sell papers – not surprising. Cleeton shows the complexities of this era in a very cohesive, compelling way by also weaving in historical facts.
(BTW, although this has nothing to do with the story, Hearst Castle is not too far from where I live. The pure ostentatiousness of it, is reflective of the way this man lived.)
Let’s consider the title of the book. Cleeton weaves together Grace’s stark reporter’s tale against the backdrop of Gilded Age NYC with Evangelina’s transformation from the beautiful girl in the headlines to a woman dedicated to her country’s freedom, and Marina’s resourcefulness and sacrifices.
When their stories eventually intertwine – it is surprising and memorable.
There is also some romance – but I won’t say whom and what may or may not happen between them.
But…
Love is a critical theme here, and not only for a husband, child, parent, or possible future partner.
In addition to the history, this story includes finding love, losing love, and keeping love in one’s heart despite the uncertainty of life and death that surrounds those characters.
History in this book includes Cuba, Spain, and NYC – as well as the Spanish American War. But mainly, Evangelina Cisneros.
But what we will also find throughout this story…
Heroes. Villains. Greed. Danger. Excitement. Inspiration. Courage. Empowering Women.