Soaring Earth: A Companion Memoir to Enchanted Air

(Hardback)

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A School Library Journal Best Nonfiction Book of 2019!

In this powerful companion to her award-winning memoir Enchanted Air, Young Peoples Poet Laureate Margarita Engle recounts her teenage years during the turbulent 1960s.

Margarita Engles childhood straddled two worlds: the lush, welcoming island of Cuba and the lonely, dream-soaked reality of Los Angeles. But the revolution has transformed Cuba into a mystery of impossibility, no longer reachable in real life. Margarita longs to travel the world, yet before she can become independent, shell have to start high school.

Then the shock waves of war reach America, rippling Margaritas plans in their wake. Cast into uncertainty, she must grapple with the philosophies of peace, civil rights, freedom of expression, and environmental protection. Despite overwhelming circumstances, she finds solace and empowerment through her education. Amid the challenges of adolescence and a world steeped in conflict, Margarita finds hope beyond the struggle, and love in the most unexpected of places.

Reviews

* Engle doesnt shy away from portraying the impact of the Vietnam War; the injustices prevalent in society at the time; the protests and resistance of students and workers; and black and brown solidarity. The poems display Engles customary sincerity and reflect the parallels and divergences between her two worldsher Cuban and U.S. American heritages. -- The Horn Book, starred review
* Engle shines a light on the uncertainty and restlessness of the time periodthe Vietnam War; civil, womens, and labor rights movements; the rise of hippie and drug culture; and morewith raw, painful, but always poignant honesty. . . . An unforgettable peek into an important and relevant time period brought into perspective by a masterly poet. A must-have for every collection. -- School Library Journal, starred review
* Margarita's thirst for adventure is strong and bold, even when she sees herself as anything but daring or courageous. . . . Engle keeps her narrative intimate, as though readers are viewing pages of her diary. Introspective and inquisitive, Soaring Earth traverses adolescence and early adulthood with grace, grit and unflinching realism. -- Shelf Awareness, starred review
Contemporary youth will find parallels with Engle as she seeks connection with a peer group, a close friend, or a loversomeone with whom she can make sense of her context. This companion to her award-winning Enchanted Air packs a historical wallop. . . . The memoir ends on a positive note, as she finds her place with nature, poetry, and a life partner. -- Booklist
This is a lesser-seen take on the political activism of the late 1960s, through the eyes of a young woman supportive of its goals but validly unnerved by the violence and wary of the drugs that have damaged her friends. Young Margarita is perhaps a more consistent character to readers, with her love of travel, longing for Cuba, and fascination with finding the beautiful, than she is to herself, and its fortunate readers have the pre-known eventual happy ending to hold on to as shes buffeted by fate and isolated from support. Shes therefore a touchingly sympathetic figure to whom many young people will relate, and the spare ease of the free verse especially invites those who may be struggling themselves into her story of finding her way. -- BCCB

Author Bio

Margarita Engle is the Cuban American author of many books including the verse novelsRimas Rebellion;Your Heart, My Sky;With a Star in My Hand;The Surrender Tree, a Newbery Honor winner; andThe Lightning Dreamer. Her verse memoirs includeSoaring EarthandEnchanted Air, which received the Pura Belpr Award, a Walter Dean Myers Award Honor, and was a finalist for the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction, among others. Her picture books includeDrum Dream Girl,Dancing Hands,andThe Flying Girl. Visit her at MargaritaEngle.com.