From award-winning author Margarita Engle comes an inspiring and luminous love story told in verse about childhood friends, once lost and now reconnected, and their fight to protect endangered animals.

Every day, Vida reads to the creatures at the wildlife rescue center and dreams of her childhood in Cuba, where she and her best friend Ad?n adventured through the island rescuing animals from harm. Unbeknownst to her, Ad?n has also moved to Florida and is feeling trapped in his new home, buffeted by the stormy fights between his abuelo and papi. When a chance encounter with a captive fox leads to their reunion, Vida and Ad?n are able to find refuge from the cruelty that surrounds them in their soaring, rekindled romance.

Their love reaches new heights as they work together at the zoo that rescues rare species, but soon they realize that this peace is only temporary. Much like the wildlife they want to protect, Vida and Ad?n are caught in a cycle of distrust and heartlessness. As old family grudges and painful memories come to light, can they and their families learn to heal and forgive each other for a brighter, kinder future?

Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Published: 07/08/2025
ISBN: 9781665959957
Pages: 272
Size: 8.25h x 5.50w x 0.59d

Review Citations: Publishers Weekly 04/14/2025