A review by pagingmrsvarnum
Serafina's Promise by Ann E. Burg

emotional hopeful

4.0

I absolutely loved this book. It’s a novel in verse and a quick read, but it’s full of hope and emotion. Serafina is a young girl living in Haiti who dreams of being a doctor. She lives with her parents and grandmother, and her mother is pregnant after previously having a newborn pass away. Serafina wrestles with grief and makes a promise to herself that she will become a doctor so that she can help other sick children, despite all the obstacles in her way, which include poverty, responsibilities at home, and natural disasters. 

I enjoyed listening to this book so that I could hear the correct pronunciations of the Creole and French words, but the narrator’s rhythm and tone while reading the poetry was a little grating at times. This is the second book by the author that I’ve read this year, but it won’t be the last! I love her lyrical words - I can really see the characters and scenes in my mind, even though the settings are so far removed from my own experiences. Grades 3+