
Reach for this book when your child is starting to ask complex questions about their family history or when you sense they are struggling with the gaps in their own origin story. This moving story follows Alma, a girl raised by a single mother who has kept the truth about Alma's father and her Cuban heritage under lock and key. When the chance to visit Cuba arises, Alma must navigate the messy reality of family secrets and the realization that truth is rarely simple. It is a sophisticated look at identity and trust for the upper elementary and middle school years. Parents will appreciate the nuanced way it handles the tension between a child's right to know and a parent's desire to protect, ultimately celebrating the courage it takes to define oneself on one's own terms.
Your experience helps other parents find the right book.
Sign in to write a reviewA mother lies to her child for years, sparking discussion on whether protection justifies lying.
The book deals with parental abandonment and the ethics of withholding information from children. The approach is deeply realistic and secular. While the resolution is hopeful, it avoids a fairy-tale ending, instead opting for a realistic reconciliation with the truth.
An 11-year-old who feels like a piece of their identity is missing, perhaps a child in a single-parent or adoptive home who is beginning to question the 'official' version of their family story.
Parents should be prepared for the theme of parental fallibility. It is helpful to read this alongside a child to discuss why adults sometimes hide things to protect children, even when it causes harm. A parent may choose this after their child says, 'You never tell me the truth,' or after a child expresses frustration about not knowing their extended family.
Younger readers will focus on the adventure of the trip to Cuba. Older readers will resonate with Alma's struggle for autonomy and the realization that her mother is a flawed human being.
Unlike many 'search for birth parent' stories, this book places a heavy emphasis on the setting of Cuba as a character itself, blending cultural discovery with personal identity.
Alma has grown up in a two-person universe with her mother, who refuses to discuss Alma's father or their Cuban roots. When Alma's mother wins a trip to Cuba for a social media contest, Alma sees it as her one chance to find her father. The narrative follows her journey through Havana as she pieces together fragments of her history, eventually discovering that her mother's silence was born of pain and a desire to protect Alma from a complicated reality.
This overview was generated by AI based on the book's content and reviews, and may not capture every nuance.