The Red Umbrella

Christina Gonzalez has created a fictionalized story inspired by the experience of her parents who as children came to this country from Cuba between 1960-62. The number of unaccompanied Cuban children who arrived on these shores during that time grew to 14,000. They joined a program that became known as "Pedro Pan," sponsored by the Catholic Welfare, and were sent to private homes or orphanages while waiting to be reunited with their loved ones. While this separation was intended to be a short one, in reality it extended over many years and some of these children never saw their parents again. Christina's book is marketed as a novel for Young Adults, but the crisp writing and the universal feeling of loss and longing for home will appeal to readers of all ages. The story revolves around a 14 year of girl, Lucia, who dreams of celebrating her "quinces" in her native Cuba, and her 7-yr-old brother. After a short time in Miami at a camp for Cuban children they are sent to live in a farm up north where they experience snow for the first time. Although their new family shows them kindness and tries to make their adjustment to this country a pleasant experience, Lucia and her brother want nothing more than to be reunited with their parents. The title of the book comes from a red umbrella Lucia's mother owns, an umbrella Lucia hates but whose color the mother defends. It's not until the end of the book that we understand the true symbolism of the umbrella. Red stands for strength, courage. For me it stood for genius. Christina has personalized the story of two Pedro Pans--this reviewer was one of them--with dignity and heart! Brava, Christina!

This was great!!! It was a wonderful look at the early days of Castro's revolution and Cuban and American relations in 1961. The story is told from a 14 year old girl's point of view, Lucia.Lucia has normal 14 year old growing pains. She likes boys, wants to wear make up, is irritated by her younger brother, Frankie, but instead of having a normal teenager's life, Cuba, her country and home, goes into turmoil. When Castro and his revolutionary followers take over the government, not only is there soldiers everywhere, but also people being branded as traitors to the revolution. Unfortuneately, because her parents believe it's ok to have a different opinion from Castro, Lucia's family is branded as traitors. To save her, Lucia's parents send both her and her brother to the United States.Lucia and Frankie go to live with a foster family in Nebraska until her parents can join them or the revolution ends. Lucia must learn a new language, eat new foods, and make new friends. She adjusts rather well, but all the time she worries about her mother and father back in Cuba and wonders if she will ever see them again because the revolution doesn't seem to be ending and American/Cuban relations are getting very tense...The first half of the book takes place in Cuba and offers an amazing look into life in Cuba during Castro's early days and the fear or fanaticism some people felt. The second half of the book is about Lucia adjusting to American life and presents an idea of what it was like to be a Latina immigrant in 1961.Superb. The ending brought tears to my eyes. I really connected to Lucia. This is a book I will read again.

This is a well written book, with a great story behind it.

The Red Umbrella overall was a striking and heartfelt historical fiction novel written by Christina Diaz Gonzalez. This is a story about a 14-year-old girl (Lucia) undergoing the Cuban Revolution in the 60s whereafter the revolution goes too far, her parents send her to America. This was my most recent read and I am still marveling at its composure. Throughout the story, my heart would sink and tense up at suspenseful or warmly depressing moments. Many chapters, a moment would be so sentimental it was difficult for me to stop reading. Lucia speaks from a very personal perspective and shows the great traumas she faces and how she overcomes this. I would one-hundred percent recommend striving to get your hands on this novel! You will not regret it!

So many aspects of The Red Umbrella appealed to me. I love the fact that it is historical fiction, in a time and place I can only assume most teens don't know much about (I'm making that assumption based on the fact that I personally don't know much about the Communist Revolution in Cuba). I love the fact that Lucia is an incredibly likable character - to say I fell in love with her instantly would be an understatement. She is smart but naive, resourceful yet not knowledgeable about her new life, protective of her brother yet seeking to be taken care of herself. In other words, a perfectly normal teen thrown into an unbelievably difficult, scary situation. I love how close Lucy's family is, and how her parents do the unthinkable to keep their kids safe - what parent wants to send their kids away to a place they know nothing about, to be cared for by complete strangers? And I also love the fact that I read the entire book in one sitting - I literally could not put the thing down! This book is fabulous for so many reasons, and I very highly recommend it.

Finally a real sense of what my parents endured as children and their parents endured at the hands of this coward who hides his own madness and hatred behind a leadership that is anything but… I have always felt respect and admiration for my parents but this book has taken those sentiments to a whole new level. I am so thankful that the author decided to put this into writing and to share it with the world. I am so thankful that my parents insisted that I read this, my only regret is having taken this long to get around to doing so. It was only because a teacher at my children's school insisted on making it a mandatory reading for her grade level this year that I was reminded to read this touching book. I've never felt more proud of my heritage and more in awe of my family's bravery!

After a slow start, I really got into this book and totally enjoyed it. Lucia and her brother Frankie are sent unaccompanied by their parents to avoid them being indoctrinated by Castro's revolution. The story is about them being taken in by an American foster family and their adjustment to American life whilst their parents are struggling to get out of Cuba to join them. Quite emotional in parts and there a couple of beautiful written and emotional sentences which just bought tears to my eyes. I need to write them down somewhere.Note: the author's assertion that it was the biggest exodus of unaccompanied children in the Western Hemisphere seems wrong. While I can't quite remember for sure, I thought the 'kinder transport' of Jewish children out of Europe just before WW2 was pretty big - just as the evacuation of British children from the cities duelling the Blitz was huge.

I was looking for a book to read whilst on holiday in Cuba and found this. Really its a book for young people, but is no less readable for that. It follows the story of a teenage girl living in Cuba after the Revolution. It doesn't particularly evoke the place but it does capture the time and the fear of growing up during such a turbulent period. The innocent tribulations of a 14 year old girl were wonderfully contrasted with her growing understanding of the horrors taking place around her. An emotional read and a good way to learn more about Cuba's politics from an American perspective.

This is such a inspiration and shows strength and bravery and gives hope and happiness I really love this book and recommend 100%