A parent would reach for this book when their teenager is struggling to reconcile their love for a parent with that parent's destructive behaviors, or when a teen is starting to question the complicated nature of political and social justice. This historical novel follows Tina as she travels to Chile to visit her estranged father, only to find him spiraling into alcoholism while risking everything to resist the Pinochet dictatorship. It is a powerful exploration of loyalty, disappointment, and the realization that parents are flawed humans. This story is best suited for older middle schoolers and high schoolers due to its mature themes of substance abuse, political violence, and the emotional weight of family secrets. It offers a mirror for teens who feel like they have to grow up faster than their peers to manage a parent's instability.
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Sign in to write a reviewCharacters face danger from secret police and political unrest.
Depictions of police brutality and protests.
Themes of abandonment and the disappointment of realizing a parent's flaws.
A subplot involving first love and a burgeoning relationship.
The book deals directly and realistically with alcoholism and political trauma. The approach is secular and gritty. The resolution is realistic and bittersweet: while there is personal growth and political change, the father's addiction is not magically cured, emphasizing the long-term nature of recovery.
A thoughtful 14-year-old who feels like the 'adult' in their relationship with a parent or a teen interested in how personal lives intersect with major historical revolutions.
Parents should be aware of scenes involving police brutality and descriptions of binge drinking. It is helpful to provide a brief overview of the Pinochet era in Chile to help the child understand the stakes of the resistance. A parent might choose this after seeing their child withdraw or express anger regarding a family member's substance abuse, or if a teen is expressing a desire to understand their cultural heritage beyond the surface level.
Younger teens (12-13) will focus on the romance and the high-stakes 'spy' elements of the resistance. Older teens (15-18) will better grasp the nuanced tragedy of Lucho's character and the systemic nature of political oppression.
Unlike many YA novels that treat revolution as a hero's journey, this book highlights the messy, unglamorous, and deeply personal toll of activism on family units, specifically through the lens of the Chilean-American experience.
In 1989, sixteen-year-old Tina travels from the U.S. to Santiago, Chile, to reconnect with her father, Lucho. She discovers him living in a state of neglected alcoholism while secretly working for the underground resistance against the Pinochet regime. As Tina navigates her first real romance with a boy named Vicente, she must also decide how much she is willing to risk to protect her father from the secret police and himself.
This overview was generated by AI based on the book's content and reviews, and may not capture every nuance.