Tropical Secrets

April 6, 2009
Newbery Honor–author Engle (The Surrender Tree
) again mines Cuban history for her third novel in verse, this time focusing on Jewish refugees who sought asylum from the Nazis in Havana. Covering the period from 1939 to 1942, first-person poems alternate among 13-year-old Paloma, whose father is a corrupt Cuban bureaucrat; David, a Russian immigrant; and Daniel, whom readers meet aboard a ship in Havana harbor. Daniel, also 13, is alone: “My parents are musicians—/ poor people, not rich./ They had only enough money/ for one ticket to flee Germany.” The boy's isolation anchors the story emotionally. Daniel is befriended by Paloma, who feels guilt over her father's acceptance of bribes for visas, and mentored by David, who warns Daniel that he must tame “three giants”—the heat, the language and loneliness. Worries about German spies among the refugees suddenly makes the “J” label on Daniel's passport a coveted symbol, as only non-Jewish Germans are arrested. Engle gracefully packs a lot of information into a spare and elegant narrative that will make this historical moment accessible to a wide range of readers. Ages 12–up.

Starred review from June 1, 2009
Gr 5-9-It's 1939 and 13-year-old Daniel is aboard a ship filled with Jewish refugees fleeing Hitler's Germany. Having been turned away from harbors in New York and Canada, the exiles seek entry into Cuba. His parents were unable to get passage for themselves, and when he's finally allowed to come ashore, Daniel finds himself alone in an unfamiliar country. Two new friends help him to adjust and heal. David, an elderly Russian Jew, came to the island many years before and has assimilated into the culture. Paloma, 12, sympathizes with the exiles and keeps secret the fact that her father is a corrupt official with the power to grant or deny entry visas. As World War II continues and Cuba becomes unfriendly to non-Jewish German refugees, the three friends are determined to save an elderly couple from persecution. Engle's prose poems in this novel in verse are spare yet complete, conveying worlds in a few brief lines. The character development is convincingly realistic: Daniel not only comes to accept his new life but also learns to assist others; quiet Paloma gets braver as the story progresses, taking enormous risks to help refugees; and David's compassion is consistent and reassuring. This book is an outstanding choice for young people of all reading skills. Reluctant readers will be encouraged by the open layout and brief text, and everyone will be captivated by the eloquent poems and compelling characters."Geri Diorio, The Ridgefield Library, CT"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2009
Grades 7-11 As inThe Poet Slave of Cuba (2006) and The Surrender Tree (2008), both selected as Booklist Editors Choice titles, Engles latest booktells another story set in Cuba of those left out of the history books. In fluid, clear, free verse, two young people speak in alternating personal narratives. Daniel, 13, is a German Jewish refugee whose ship is finally allowed entry in Cuba afterbeing turned away from both the U.S. and Canada. He longs to be reunited with his parents, who sent him away after Kristallnacht. Paloma, 12, discovers that her father is getting rich selling visas to refugees and then selling refugees to the Cuban authorities. She and Daniel help hide a Jewish woman and her Christian husband, who is suspected of being a Nazi spy. When adult narrators fill in background, the voices become diffused. But the international secrets make for a gripping story about refugees that becomes sharply focused through the viewpoint of the boy wrenched from home, haunted by the images of shattered glass and broken family.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)