  | Wings in the wild Author: Engle, Margarita | |
| Price: $23.28 | ||
Summary:
When a hurricane exposes Soleida's family's secret sculpture garden, the Cuban government arrests her artist parents, forcing her to escape alone to Central America where she meets Dariel, a Cuban American boy, and together they work to protect the environment and bring attention to the imprisoned artists in Cuba.
| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: UG Reading Level: 7.10 Points: 2.0 Quiz: 519799 |
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (+) (12/01/23)
School Library Journal (+) (12/08/23)
Booklist (04/01/23)
The Hornbook (00/05/23)
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 04/01/2023 Pura Belpré winner Engle touches on topical climate and social issues in her newest verse novel, told from two viewpoints during 2018 and 2019. The first belongs to a young Cuban girl named Soleida, whose parents face criminal charges for breaking Ley 349, which censors artists from expressing themselves. She is also concerned about natural disasters occurring in her country. The second viewpoint comes from Dariel, a Cuban American boy from California with celebrity parents. To escape the destruction of wildfires, Dariel’s grandfather invites him to Costa Rica to help refugees. Thus, Soleida’s and Dariel’s paths cross, leading to a bond that builds on trust and trauma recovery. Drawing on their talents for music and art, both teens beautifully and uniquely express themselves as their romance unfolds amid real-world catastrophes. Readers will admire the determination of both young activists as they rebel to make the world a safer place to inhabit. A must-buy for schools and public libraries eager to build on their collection of social issues. - Copyright 2023 Booklist.
School Library Journal - 12/08/2023 Gr 6 Up—Amid the verdant foliage of a secret sculpture garden, 16-year-old Soleida and her Cuban dissident parents try to flee after their illegal artwork is revealed by the ravages of a storm. Disguised as tourists, they arrive at the airport, where her parents are apprehended as she boards the plane. Lifting off should feel like freedom, but Soleida feels trapped and alone, a refugee in flight. At the same time in the California hills, teen Dariel and his famous telenovela-actor parents flee the wildfires that ravage their lavish home and threaten the surrounding wildlife. Both cataclysmic events were caused by global climate change, leaving the teens uprooted, desperate and angry. Drawn together by tragedy and determination, the survivors undertake a human rights campaign to help free incarcerated dissidents, and a reforestation project to protect endemic and endangered flora and fauna. The Cuban teens are from different backgrounds, but their divergent paths cross in Costa Rica, where, like lush rainforest flowers, a romance blooms. Masterful storyteller Engle uses non-rhyming verse in concise stanzas, isolating single words for emphasis. Told in alternating chapters, lyrical verse flows in evocative forms. Symbolism is evident throughout with references to birds and wings for flight and freedom. Other themes center around climate change and activism, connecting with one's roots, and the transformative and healing power of music and song. VERDICT Readers who enjoyed Engle's past works will get swept away, and new readers are given many points of entrance and connection in this relevant and poignant work. Hand to fans of Ellen Hagan's Don't Call Me a Hurricane.—Rebecca Jung - Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
