Surviving Santiago

March 15, 2015
Tina, 16, travels from Madison, Wisconsin, to Santiago, Chile, to spend her summer visiting her father, whom she hasn't seen in three years. Chile in 1989 is still under the rule of the Pinochet dictatorship, but the demand for democracy is growing. Tina's father, Marcelo, is an important figure in the democracy movement. Considered a subversive by the government, Marcelo was imprisoned and tortured. He survived the experience but suffered debilitating injuries and became suicidal and an alcoholic. Tina knows her old papa is gone, but she finds it difficult to accept her new papa, who spends his days working and his nights drinking. She is bored and lonely until she meets Frankie. Their shared love of Metallica and understanding of what it is like to have an alcoholic father bonds them. As she falls in love with Frankie, Tina misses several warning signs that he may not be who he claims to be. The story ramps up to its crescendo when the true danger of the situation is revealed. Suddenly the novel is no longer about family drama and summer love but survival. Smooth dialogue, a quick pace, and palpable suspense combine to make a compelling read. Supporting characters are treated with compassion; violence brings suffering to those on all sides. A riveting story of love and acceptance amid a tumultuous political landscape. (author's note) (Historical fiction. 14 & up)

March 1, 2015

Gr 9 Up-This companion to Miller-Lachmann's Gringolandia (Curbstone, 2009) focuses on Daniel's 16-year-old younger sister, Tina. In 1989, Tina is sent to Chile for the summer to be with her father and aunt. Her father is a known anti-government activist, and though he is able to work as a reporter for a radio station, his home life is difficult due to the large amount of alcohol that he consumes and his physical handicaps, which were caused by the beatings he endured when he was locked up as a political prisoner. His sister feels an obligation to help care for him, even though they have a rocky relationship. Tina finds herself in an uncomfortable situation. She is lonely and spends much of her time at her father's house trying to keep busy while her father and aunt are at work. When she meets a delivery boy named Frankie, she believes that he will save her from the agonizing summer ahead. The first two-thirds of the book set the stage for the political climate of Chile in the late 1980s and the interpersonal relationships of the main characters. However, the last third of the novel does not ring true, as Tina stands by a character who betrays her, even when it could mean life or death for her and the ones she loves, and the end seems too pat and implausible. VERDICT Purchase for collections in need of literature with Hispanic protagonists and historical time periods not often covered in schools.-Elizabeth Kahn, Patrick F. Taylor Science & Technology Academy, Jefferson, LA

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2015
Grades 9-12 Tina Aguilar's now-divorced parents immigrated to the U.S. following her father's imprisonment and torture for his radical anti-Pinochet rhetoric. Several years later, Tina comes to Santiago to spend the summer of 1989 with her father, who has returned. There has been a referendum removing Pinochet from power, but far from feeling victorious because of the plebiscite, her father is deeply troubled by alcoholism, bitterness, and lingering injuries from his time in prisonand he hasn't given up his fight against fascism. All of that leaves little time for Tina, but she is mostly happy to be preoccupied with Frankie, the handsome boy she meets at a record store. Soon, however, she discovers a secret about Frankie that puts her father in danger. Miller-Lachmann's companion to Gringolandia (2009) is intriguingly multilayered: she captures Tina's ambivalent feelings about what constitutes home, the lingering danger in Chile even after Pinochet is deposed, and Tina's exciting but ultimately risky romance with Frankie. Central and South American politics continue to be turbulent, and teens whose families have experienced some of that turmoil might especially relate to Tina's experiences.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)