The Children's Book Compass

The Queen of Water by Laura Resau and Maria Virginia Farinango. (2011). 352 pages. Delacorte Press. Ages 12-adult. Realistic Fiction.

This moving novel is based on the life experiences of Farinango who at seven was taken from her rural, very poor family in Ecuador and made a servant to a family in the city.  In the face of very difficult challenges the girl manages to teach herself to read and write and finally escapes when she is  a teenager.  The story shows the cost of being caught between two cultures.

Hurricane Dancers by Margarita Engle.  (2011).  145 pages.  Henry Holt.  Ages 12-adult.

The setting is 1510 in the Caribbean.  A young boy of Spanish and Taino ancestry is a slave on a pirate ship that is eventually shipwrecked during a hurricane. The boy speaks the language of the native people who save him.  He suddenly is given power over his former captors who also survive the storm.  Engle tells her story in lyrical verse in the voices of five different characters.  This book would make an effective choice for readers theater.  Historical notes at the end provide a fuller picture of the events.

Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall.  (2011).  224 pages.  Lee & Low Books.  Ages 12-adult.

This is another novel told in verse.  The story is about a Hispanic family whose mother is battling cancer.  The oldest daughter, Lupita, tells how she becomes responsible for her seven younger siblings.  However, she is still able to enjoy her passion for acting in her high school drama classes.  The author captures the loving tenderness of the family.