Synopses & Reviews
An eleven-year-oldand#8217;s world is upended by political turmoil in this searing novel from an award-winning poet, based on true events in Chile.andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Celeste Marconi is a dreamer. She lives peacefully among friends and neighbors and family in the idyllic town of Valparaiso, Chileand#8212;until the time comes when even Celeste, with her head in the clouds, canand#8217;t deny the political unrest that is sweeping through the country. Warships are spotted in the harbor and schoolmates disappear from class without a word. Celeste doesnand#8217;t quite know what is happening, but one thing is clear: no one is safe, not anymore.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;The country has been taken over by a government that declares artists, protestors, and anyone who helps the needy to be considered and#8220;subversiveand#8221; and dangerous to Chileand#8217;s future. So Celesteand#8217;s parentsand#8212;her educated, generous, kind parentsand#8212;must go into hiding before they, too, and#8220;disappear.and#8221; To protect their daughter, they send her to America.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;As Celeste adapts to her new life in Maine, she never stops dreaming of Chile. But even after democracy is restored to her home country, questions remain: Will her parents reemerge from hiding? Will she ever be truly safe again?andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Accented with interior artwork, steeped in the history of Pinochetand#8217;s catastrophic takeover of Chile, and based on many true events, this multicultural ode to the power of revolution, words, and love is both indelibly brave and heartwrenchingly graceful.
About the Author
Marjorie Agosandiacute;n is the Pura Belprandeacute; Award-winning author of andlt;iandgt;I Lived on Butterfly Hillandlt;/iandgt;. She was raised in Chile by Jewish parents. Her family moved to the United States to escape the horrors of the Pinochet takeover of their country. Coming from a South American country and being Jewish, Agosandiacute;nandrsquo;s writings demonstrate a unique blending of these cultures. She has received the Letras de Oro Prize for her poetry, and her writings about, and humanitarian work for, women in Chile have been the focus of feature articles in andlt;iandgt;The New York Timesandlt;/iandgt;, andlt;iandgt;The Christian Science Monitorandlt;/iandgt;, and andlt;iandgt;Ms. Magazineandlt;/iandgt;. She has also won the Latino Literature Prize for her poetry. She is a Spanish professor at Wellesley College.Lee White lives with his wife and their three crazy cats in Portland, Oregon, and you can visit him online at LeeWhiteIllustration.com.