Your Heart, My Sky

by Margarita Engle

Genres: YA Romance; Young adult

Synopsis

Acclaimed author Margarita Engle tells a painful, poignant story of love in a time of hunger inspired by her own family’s struggles during a dark period in Cuba’s history. The people of Cuba are living in el per í odo especial en tiempos de paz —the special period in times of peace. That’s what the government insists that this era must be called, but the reality behind these words is starvation. Liana is struggling to find enough to eat. Yet hunger has also made her brave: she finds the courage to skip a summer of so-called volunteer farm labor, even though she risks government retribution. Nearby, a quiet, handsome boy named Amado also refuses to comply, so he wanders alone, trying to discover rare sources of food. A chance encounter with an enigmatic dog brings Liana and Amado together. United in hope and hunger, they soon discover that their feelings for each other run deep. Love can feed their souls and hearts—but is it enough to withstand el per í odo especial?

Release date: March 23, 2021

Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Print pages: 224

Sample

sland of Cuba

Summer 1991

Imagine a year when food suddenly vanishes.

It’s the beginning of a decade known as

el período especial en tiempos de paz—

the special period in times of peace.

Hunger drives tens of thousands

into the ferocious blue sea

on fragile rafts.

Hunger teaches others how to cling to red soil

and green fields, reinventing ancient ways

to survive.

Hunger

helps lonely beings

sing.

Emptiness

Liana, age 14

Haunted belly,

the memory of food

so vivid.

We’re ordered to call this plunging shock of hunger

el período especial en tiempos de paz—

the special period in times of peace—

meaning warlike sacrifices

with hope as our only defensive weapon.

I obey the government’s instructions

for referring to an alarming absence of food,

even though official words always

seem tricky.

Special, I repeat,

meaning ravenous.

Peace, I recite,

imagining meat.

Global Games

Liana

In just a few weeks, athletes from many nations

will arrive on our isolated isla, to compete

in los Juegos panamericanos.

I close my eyes and picture airplanes landing,

foreigners emerging to play fútbol, béisbol,

and básquetbol tournaments, all the world

watching the Pan American Games on televisions

in well-fed lands

far away.

I imagine the kitchens in those homes.

Full refrigerators and a fragrance of cooking…

Our quiet town is remote, so the global games

in Havana

might pass

without any travelers

ever finding us.

No witnesses.

We are like an outer isle

off the shore of another island.

Forgotten.

But what if a few sports fans do show up?

We’re not allowed to talk to foreigners,

but I, for one, would love to break official rules

just to see how fairness feels.

Curiosity

is stronger

than fear.

Wondering about the World