Welcome to Litsy!

It took me longer to get into the 3rd book in the Loyal League series than any of the others. Janeta's perspective was hard to read, as a mixed race Cuban woman initially spying for the Confederecy who didn't understand the horrific system she was helping to perpetuate while also falling victim to. That said, her journey was handled with thoughtfulness and honesty that I think is important to show, and I was eventually fully swept up in the story.

Getting into the last of Alyssa Cole's Loyal League romances and finally starting one of my #AuldLangSpine picks from @Laughterhp @monalyisha

#WeekendReads

"As exiles, that hope is embedded in the very essence of our soul, taught from birth--
Next year in Havana--
It's the #toast we never stop saying, because the dream of it never comes true"

#25Alive

This is a short novella by a grandson of Che Guevara that expresses the disillusionment and lost promise of the revolution in Cuba. Playing on the theme of a “scratched record” that repeats, it is written as 33 very short chapters. While I thought it had potential, I found the repetition of the scratched record theme somewhat annoying. #europacollective #booksintranslation

Refugee, created by Alan Gratz, follows 3 refugees from specific timeframes who are trying to leave from warfare and oppression. Isabel, a Cuban girl in 1994 who herself and her family are seeking safety from political rebellion as they flee to United States; Josef, a Jewish boy in the 1930's embarks on a journey to escape Nazi Germany, also known as the Holocaust; and Mahmoud, a Syrian boy in 2015 who struggles to outlive the Syrian War and

“Whether you were visible or invisible, it was all about how other people reacted to you.“

This book is past on true events that happened in three different time periods with three fictional characters. All three characters are 13 years old and all the stories are told from their perspectives. These would be important times in history to tell students about. Some of the descriptions may be graphic for younger students but can be summarized to meet each grade.

This book is a good book for advanced readers or older children. This book would be too intense of a reading level for younger readers. This book has a unique perspective on true stories based on fictional characters.

“Head down, hoodie up, eyes on the ground. Be unimportant. Blend in. Disappear. That was how you avoided the bullies.”

This book would be good to read to upper elementary grades and help them understand the importance of sticking up for people who may be being bullied or excluded. Although this book shows more extreme versions of this, it allows students to have different perspectives of children who faced hardships.