Book Review of Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Engle, Margarita. 2015. ENCHANTED AIR: TWO CULTURES, TWO WINGS: A MEMOIR. Ill. by Edel Rodriguez. New York, NY: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division. ISBN 9781481435222

PLOT SUMMARY

The story begins in 1947, the year the author’s parents meet. The story continues years later after the author’s parents have gotten married. The 1950’s are an interesting time for the author. As a child, she goes to Cuba to meet her mother’s family. She discovers how strong they are in their own ways. She and her family travel from place to place, California, Cuba, Mexico. She lives with her mother, father, and sister. At school she is confronted by questions about her family as the Cuban Revolution rages. In 1960, the author and her mother travel to Cuba to be with her mother’s family. Later, they return to the U.S. The Cuban Revolution continues, and the Bay of Pigs Invasion occurs in 1961. After that is the Cuban Missile Crisis. It finally ends peacefully. Civil rights in the U.S. becomes the next political crisis. The family travels to Europe in 1965. The Cold War between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. continues. The author uses poetry to make sense of the world and to find peace in it.                 

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

This book would make excellent supplemental reading for a course in the history of the time, specifically that of the U.S. and Cuba. Margarita Engle uses personal experiences to document the current events of the time that she and her family lived through. The political turmoil of the 50’s and 60’s is described with poignancy and honesty.  

AWARDS AND REVIEW EXCERPTS

2016 ALA NOTABLE CHILDREN’S BOOK, OLDER READERS

2016 WALTER DEAN MYERS AWARD HONOR BOOK

2016 YALSA AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN NONFICTION FINALIST

2016 PURA BELPRÉ AWARD: “Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir brings us a memoir in free verse that conveys the story of growing up in two cultures during an era of great tension between the United States and Cuba. Poet Margarita Engle takes her young audience on a journey of longing. It is a story that touches on issues affecting numerous immigrant children today.”

KIRKUS: “As so many of our children are immigrants or children of immigrants, we need more of these stories, especially when they are as beautifully told as this one.”

CONNECTIONS

* This book can be an introduction to how to write about one’s family and genealogy. It is also a good introduction to immigration and diversity.  

* Other books related to this one:

Lai, Thanhha. INSIDE OUT & BACK AGAIN. ISBN 9780061962783

Warga, Jasmine. OTHER WORDS FOR HOME. ISBN 9780062747808    

Glaser, Linda. EMMA’S POEM: THE VOICE OF THE STATUE OF LIBERTY. ISBN 9780547768953

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