  | Soaring earth : a companion memoir to Enchanted air Author: Engle, Margarita | |
| Price: $23.28 | ||
Summary:
In this follow-up to her award-winning memoir Enchanted Air, Margarita Engle details her teenage years in Los Angeles against the turbulent backdrop of the Vietnam War. In vulnerable verse, she addresses the notions of peace, civil rights, freedom of expression, and environmental protection that are once again under threat. Despite these circumstances, young Margarita was able to find solace and empowerment through her education.
| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: MG+ Reading Level: 7.20 Points: 2.0 Quiz: 508107 |
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (+) (01/15/19)
School Library Journal (+) (03/01/19)
Booklist (02/01/19)
The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (00/02/19)
The Hornbook (+) (00/03/19)
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 02/01/2019 Engle chronicles her high school, college, and post-college years—turbulent times for her, for the country, and for the world. She dreams of traveling to India, a place she imagines to be as enchanted as Cuba, where she can no longer visit due to the Cold War crisis. The poems in this memoir are terse, filled with the bleak imaginings of a teenager seeking emotional resonance. Despite the temporal difference, contemporary youth will find parallels with Engle as she seeks connection with a peer group, a close friend, or a lover—someone with whom she can make sense of her context. This companion to her award-winning Enchanted Air (2015) packs a historical wallop with references to Martin Luther King Jr., the Vietnam War, the Cold War, Second Wave Feminism, Watergate, Nixon’s secret bombing of Cambodia, and more. Engle lets all of this consume her, and she drifts for a while, living precariously. The memoir ends on a positive note, as she finds her place with nature, poetry, and a life partner. - Copyright 2019 Booklist.
School Library Journal - 03/01/2019 Gr 7 Up—In this stirring companion to her acclaimed memoir Enchanted Air, the Young People's Poet Laureate recounts the tumultuous late 60s and early 70s—a perfect parallel to her turbulent high school and college years. Using mostly free verse with smatterings of tanka and haiku, Engle shines a light on the uncertainty and restlessness of the time period—the Vietnam War; civil, women's, and labor rights movements; the rise of hippie and drug culture; and more—with raw, painful, but always poignant honesty. The peace-loving young woman often found herself at odds with her parents, boyfriends, fellow students, and institutions, but she never lost touch with her roots. No matter how much time passed, at her core, Cuba and her family are knit into the fabric of her identity. The author's evocative language, vivid imagery, and authentic portrayal will engage teens. Her bumpy and circuitous road filled with failures, homelessness, and eventual resolution and academic success will encourage young adults on their own paths. VERDICT An unforgettable peek into an important and relevant time period brought into perspective by a masterly poet. A must-have for every collection.—Shelley M. Diaz, BookOps: The New York Public Library and Brooklyn Public Libraryl - Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
