Cuba in My Pocket by Adrianna Cuevas

A 12-year-old refugee flees Cuba for a better life but can’t forget his home and people.

Cuba in My Pocket by Adrianna Cuevas. Farrar Strauss Giroux, 2021, 275 pages.

Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12

Recommended for: ages 10-14

What would it be like to lose your country, your home, and your family, within a few short months? Cumba Fernandez is old enough at age 12 to understand his parents are not fans of the revolutionary government of Fidel Castro, but since the revolutionaries have started silencing and even shooting undesirables, the grownups have become even more anxious. Now the government appears to be rounding up young teenage boys to be sent to the USSR for military training. When a revolutionary soldier shows an interest in Cumba’s age, his Mamí and Papí decide it’s time to act. With a forged passport and one small suitcase, Cumba finds himself on a plane bound for Miami, to stay an uncertain length of time with a distant cousin he’s never met.

Prima Benita is a devout Methodist with a kind heart, but Cumba’s homesickness is almost physical. “Everyone wants me to have hope. Everyone wants me to think that things will get better . . . It’s hard to argue with hopeful people.”

Fidel stole hope from three generations of Cubans, but some escaped and still look forward to the possibility of return. Cumba’s experiences are based on those of the author’s father, who was sent to the US at the age of 15. The foreignness of the culture, along with missing one’s own food, music, language, and family, are palpable—but the last word is hope. There’s no hope in Communism, as this story makes clear.

Considerations:

• The abundance of Spanish words may discourage some readers, even though the meaning is clear from the context.
• Por Dios, mi Dios, etc. are frequent expressions. Also, although Cumba and his family are Catholic, they’re familiar with Santería, a syncretic religion that leans heavily on spiritism.

Overall Rating: 4 (out of 5)

• Worldview/moral value: 3.5
• Artistic value: 4.25

Read more about our ratings here.                 

Also at Redeemed Reader:

• Reviews: 90 Miles from Havana and Refugee also feature stories of young people fleeing from Cuban repression.
• Reviews: The Berlin Wall provided another dramatic instance of families separated by Communist tyranny. See our reviews of Wall and A Night Divided.(starred review).

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