My Brigadista Year

In an engrossing historical novel, the Newbery Medal-winning author of Bridge to Terabithia follows a young Cuban teenager as she volunteers for Fidel Castro's national literacy campaign and travels into the impoverished countryside to teach others how to read.

When thirteen-year-old Lora tells her parents that she wants to join Premier Castro's army of young literacy teachers, her mother screeches to high heaven, and her father roars like a lion. Lora has barely been outside of Havana -- why would she throw away her life in a remote shack with no electricity, sleeping on a hammock in somebody's kitchen? But Lora is stubborn: didn't her parents teach her to share what she has with someone in need? Surprisingly, Lora's abuela takes her side, even as she makes Lora promise to come home if things get too hard. But how will Lora know for sure when that time has come? Shining light on a little-known moment in history, Katherine Paterson traces a young teen's coming-of-age journey from a sheltered life to a singular mission: teaching fellow Cubans of all ages to read and write, while helping with the work of their daily lives and sharing the dangers posed by counterrevolutionaries hiding in the hills nearby. Inspired by true accounts, the novel includes an author's note and a timeline of Cuban history.

Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Candlewick Press (MA)
Published: 10/16/2017
ISBN: 9780763695088
Pages: 160
Weight: 0.85lbs
Size: 7.90h x 5.50w x 0.90d

Review Citations: Publishers Weekly 08/21/2017
Kirkus Reviews 09/15/2017
BookPage 10/01/2017
School Library Journal 10/01/2017
Booklist 10/01/2017 pg. 84
Voice of Youth Advocates 10/01/2017 - Recommended - Better Than Most
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 11/01/2017
Horn Book Magazine 01/01/2018 pg. 86
Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2018 pg. 119 - Superior,Well Above Average

Accelerated Reader Quiz #/Name: 192449 / My Brigadista Year
Reading Level: 5.3 / Interest Level: Middle Grade / Point Value: 5