2022 Newbery Buzz #5: Cuba in My Pocket

Cuba in My Pocket (see our review) appears on many Newbery favorites lists right alongside Fallout, the book Megan and Betsy mulled over yesterday. In many ways, today’s buzz book offers a prelude to Steve Sheinkin’s masterful treatment of the Cuban Missile Crisis. It takes place shortly after Castro’s revolution set in motion the events that would later come to a head in Fallout. But it also offers contemporary American kids a glimpse of how that revolution affected ordinary people—particularly those who weren’t entirely on board with the Communist program.

Today, Janie talks it over with Lori Schusterman, who has taught middle-school English in Texas for the last twenty years.

A novel with strong emotional appeal

Janie: Thanks for joining me, Lori. Let’s get right to it: Cuba in My Pocket is a novel of Adrianna Cuevas, who has won Pura Belpre honors last year for The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez. This novel is largely based on experiences of her own father. The protagonist, 12-year-old Cumba Fernandez, has enjoyed a secure childhood with loving parents and grandparents in Santa Clara, Cuba. But suddenly, his world turns upside-down.  The revolution led by Fidel Castro has established itself in Havana, and Castro has gone full-bore Communist with close ties to the Soviet Union. An attempt by Castro’s enemies to overturn his rule has failed miserably at the Bay of Pigs. Now Castro’s police have been rounding up Cubans who were sympathetic to the counter-revolutionaries, and there are rumors that the government has begun recruiting–or essentially kidnapping–young teenage boys to ship to the USSR for military training.

This is the last straw for Cumba’s parents. They tell the boy they’ve booked a flight to Miami for him, where he can stay with a cousin he’s never met. His feelings at this announcement aren’t hard to imagine, but what can he do? The rest of the novel concerns Cumba’s difficult adjustment to life in the United States.

Lori, you liked Cuba in My Pocket a lot. What did you see as its particular strengths?

Lori: Thank you, Janie.  You are right.  This novel is compelling for middle grade students as well as adults.  In fact, when I recently held it up in one of my morning class periods, sharing with students my current read, a student stated his mom was reading it, too.  

Ms. Cuevas must have paid close attention while sitting at her father’s knee as he shared his childhood struggles with her.  The evidence of evil is real as Communist-Party pressure advances in Cumba’s neighborhood and home.  There is one powerful scene of a resistant citizen’s execution that really brings this center stage.  It affects Cumba deeply and dramatically.  As an 8th Grade English teacher, I have taught ESL students for two decades.  While reading about the desperation Cumba experiences, I heard echoes of some of their personal stories about moving to America.

A particular strength of Cuba in my Pocket is Curvas’ riveting use of imagery. For example, as Cumba aches with longing for his parents and grandparents after moving to Florida, memories of his Mother’s lavender perfume increases his homesickness, yet also sustains him in his loss.

I was also moved by the spiritual role represented by Cuba’s Aunt Prima Benita, with whom he lives in Florida.  As a Methodist former missionary, Benita reads her well-worn Bible to him and a fellow refuge in her home each morning.  She also tells Cumba how she prays unceasingly each day for his family to make it safely to the States.  (Spoiler alert: They did!) Her answered prayer should remind readers that there is a Heavenly Father who hears our cries and acts on them. 

Janie, what did you think about the impact the letter-writing between Cumba and his little brother Manuelito provides?

The immigrant experience, from the inside out

Janie: I love that you shared the book with your students and got their reaction. And I can see how your experience with ESL students in Texas makes this story resonate with you. Your observation about the sensory images is something I hadn’t thought about much, but I can see what you mean. The author uses Cumba’s memories to communicate something of the very texture of his homeland.

Regarding the letters, I think the main purpose they serve is to emphasize Cumba’s sense of homesickness and isolation. When Americans consider immigration, we often don’t think about how the immigrants themselves may be feeling. It’s true that many of them come to the States seeking a better life and more opportunity, or refuge from serious danger, but that doesn’t mean they leave their feelings for home behind. Cumba misses everything: the climate, the sounds, the smells, and especially the food. (He can’t understand why oatmeal could be considered fit for anyone except horses!) Home is such a loaded word–no one can fully appreciate it unless they’ve left it. Adding to the poignance is something we know that Cumba doesn’t: he can’t go back to Cuba. He expects—or at least hopes—that Castro will be overthrown and he can return within years or even months. But as we know from history, that didn’t happen.

Would you recommend this book generally, Lori, or just for particular students? And do you see any drawbacks to it?

Lori:  I think most middle-grade students, as well as adults, will find this novel worthwhile.  It would be a wonderful read-aloud, too (as long as the reader can navigate the occasional Spanish dialogue).  One of the strengths of a good story is how it brings families together and allows for life-molding principles to be sown. One violence caution: as I mentioned earlier, one scene depicts an impromptu execution carried out by Castro’s police. It’s powerful, but not overly graphic. There’s also some mischievous and borderline dangerous behavior among 6^th-grade boys, particularly Cumba’s daredevil cousin, but nothing off limits.  Some Christian readers may object to the frequent use of Dios, literally translated as “Oh, God.”  I asked a Spanish-speaking friend about this: it means what we would say as “My goodness” or “My Lord” and not necessarily intended as taking God’s name in vain.  Another strength I should mention is the kindness extended toward Cumba and the other immigrant children by their American foster families.

Janie, tell me what you think its chances are of earning any awards like the Newbery?  How does that work?

What will the Newbery committee think?

Janie: Nobody knows! Every Newbery committee is different, with different priorities. In one year, it seems they want to stretch the boundaries of what’s acceptable in a children’s book. In another, they lean in a more traditional direction. I see Cuba in My Pocket as a more “traditional” children’s book, in that it addresses standard themes like separation from parents and personal growth through trial. Another tradition: Newbery selections tend to be more serious, with historical fiction as a favored genre. Cuba checks all those boxes, but it also has the more contemporary virtue of diversity. Novels with “non-white” protagonists tend to move up in the line. With those considerations, I’d give it a 50-50 chance at a Newbery honor, but probably not Newbery gold. Would you care to take a guess?

Lori:  Yes, I think your evaluation regarding its Newbery attention is spot on and has a chance to at least win an honorable mention. I will be looking forward to the announcement.  

Janie: Me, too!

For previous Buzz discussions this month, see:

• The Beatryce Prophecy by Kate DiCamillo
• The One Thing You’d Save by Linda Sue Park
• Gone to the Woods by Brian Paulsen
• Fallout by Steve Sheinkin
• Newbery Buzz Round-Up #1: DaVinci’s Cat, Playing the Cards You’re Dealt, Harry Versus the First 100 Days of School, and Black Boy Joy
• Newbery Buzz Round-Up #2: Starfish, Born on the Water, Too Bright to See, and The Legend of Auntie Po