Description
An eleven-year-olds world is upended by political turmoil in this lyrically ambitious tale of exile and reunification (Kirkus Reviews) from an award-winning poet, based on true events in Chile.
Celeste Marconi is a dreamer. She lives peacefully among friends and neighbors and family in the idyllic town of Valparaiso, Chileuntil one day when warships are spotted in the harbor and schoolmates start disappearing from class without a word. Celeste doesnt quite know what is happening, but one thing is clear: no one is safe, not anymore.
The country has been taken over by a government that declares artists, protestors, and anyone who helps the needy to be considered subversive and dangerous to Chiles future. So Celestes parentsher educated, generous, kind parentsmust go into hiding before they, too, disappear. Before they do, however, they send Celeste to America to protect her.
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?
Accented with interior artwork, steeped in the history of Pinochets 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.
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