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May 25, 2015brangwinn rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Reading children’s historical fiction I am always amazed at how much I don’t know about other countries. Celeste’s family is torn apart by a dictator’s rule in Chile. Although never mentioned by name, Pinochet is the model. History does repeat itself, as evidenced in her grandmother’s memories of escaping the Nazis in Germany. Agosin’s description of the dictatorship as an “earthquake of the soul” is poetic language for a horrible event. Eleven-year-old Celeste’s account of the disruption of school and family puts a real face to history. Both her parents go into hiding and she emigrates to Maine, living with an aunt until the dictator is deposed. Excellent historical fiction.