Hurricane Dancers

Reach for this book when your teenager is wrestling with questions of identity, heritage, or the feeling of being caught between two worlds. Through the rhythmic pulse of verse, Margarita Engle tells the story of Quebrado, a boy born of both Taino and Spanish blood who finds himself a slave to a pirate and a survivor of a shipwreck. It is a powerful exploration of freedom, the resilience of the human spirit, and the search for belonging in a world of colonial violence. This book is best suited for older readers due to its depictions of historical cruelty and peril, offering a profound way to discuss how we define ourselves when history tries to define us first. It is an evocative choice for parents who want to foster empathy and an appreciation for the complex roots of Latin American culture.