THE LIGHTNING DREAMER: CUBA’S GREATEST ABOLITIONIST

THE LIGHTNING DREAMER

a. Bibliographic data:

Engle, Margarita. THE LIGHTNING DREAMER: CUBA’S GREATEST ABOLITIONIST. New York, New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2013. ISBN-13: 978-0547807430.

b. Plot summary: 
        From an excruciating time of exile and oppression in Cuba come the words of a girl who, although entrapped by society’s harsh rules, can write the most freeing of words with the simple stroke of her feather pen. Margaret Engle is fully capable of making the reader experience life through the eyes of Gertrudis Gomez de Avellaneda, also known as Tula, a woman willing and brave enough to voice her thoughts on the injustice that surrounded her. “My life is a balancing act as dangerous as any carnival performance.” –Tula (p. 91).

       Engle takes us through the life of Tula, from a young girl learning that being smart was the most unattractive thing she could do, to being forced into marrying a well-to-do man without choice, which meant providing her family with wealth and prosperity. Tula finds an outlet (poetry) to her not-so-secret, yet desperate, need to express her thoughts, which was inspired by her discovery of rebel poet books and daring abolitionists’ writings. Will she rebel against her mother’s wish for her? Will she be as brave as the rebels in the banned books that she reads?

    

  

c. Critical Analysis: 
         This book of deep-rooted, free verse poetry of a girl whose words speak freedom in a time of exile and oppression in Cuba’s late 1800 slavery-ridden world, puts us in the front line of what it must have felt like to be Tula. Margarita Engle, the author behind every word of every character, has the ability to express emotions that seem as though she were the one living in the shoes of Gertrudis Gomez de Avellaneda (Tula), Manuel (her brother), Mama, and so on.  

         Through the mostly one-paged, double-spaced poems expressed by Tula and other close people in her life, we see Tula grow in her passions and poetry. In the beginning, she expresses ideas in lively repetition and reiteration. Starting younger than age 13, she explains what a book even is, since it was something she was banned from touching. The free-flowing, yet rhythmic poetry evokes deep thought and emotion because Tula expresses her frustration of being told to amount to nothing, seeing orphans dropped by parents who love them, being told to marry at a young age for money, etc. As life continues, the words and language that Tula uses become more mature and intense in emotion, bringing us to the deepest expressions of how poetry is the soul of her life by her twenties. Although Tula was the main writer of poetry in this book, there are other characters that speak truth in the first person, giving us greater insight into who Tula was and how her life played out.

         This book is not for the young reader, containing concepts that may be too difficult to comprehend, such as arranged marriages, slavery, oppression, etc. Although there are no pictures for this book, Margaret Engle is able to help us “see” the scenery of Tula’s surroundings with her descriptive wording. This book carries a strong and powerful message of fighting injustice, striving for woman’s rights, and standing up for what one believes to be right. “We risk everything, all for the crime of listening to poems.” –Manuel (p. 89).

d. Reviews:

“This is the context for a splendid novel that celebrates one brave woman who rejected a constrained existence with enduring words that continue to sing of freedom.”
—Booklist, starred review

“An inspiring fictionalized verse biography of one of Cuba’s most influential writers. . . . Fiery and engaging, a powerful portrait of the liberating power of art.”

—Kirkus

“In these poems, their longings for freedom, their fears, their loves, and their heartaches are elegantly crafted through images that make the island of Cuba and its people vividly real and connect them to the hearts of contemporary readers.”

—Bulletin

“A quick and powerful read worthy of addition to any collection. The verses speak of tolerance and acceptance beyond the context of this story.”

—VOYA 

“Engle adds another superb title to her lengthening list of historical novels in verse. This is a must-have for collections where Engle’s other works are known and loved or for anyone in need of a comparative study to our own country’s struggle with slavery.”

—School Library Journal

Awards/Honors:

Pura Belpré Award Nominee for Narrative (2014)

A Pura Belpré Honor Book


Winner of the 2014 PEN Literary Award for Best Young Adult Book


VOYA Top Shelf for Middle School Readers 2013 list


2014 International Latino Book Award Honorable Mention


An NCTE Notable Book for the Language Arts


An ALSC Notable Children's Book for 2013


YALSA 2014 Best Fiction for Young Adults

2014 Notable Trade Books for Social Studies

e. Connections:

 This book could be paired with any of Margaret Engle’s other books to compare aspects of poetry.

Students could write their own poetic version of their life, based on the same writing style as Margaret Engle’s THE LIGHTNING DREAMER: CUBA’S GREATEST ABOLITIONIST.

This book could be used as a study on the abolitionist movement, learning about women’s rights or about Cuba’s history of slavery.

Students can write about the importance of the written word used in getting message across to certain audiences, even when that written word could mean serious consequences.

Women’s History Month would be a great chance to write about Tula’s mark in history.

Students could compare the fictional parts of this book to the non-fictional parts of Gertrudis Gomez de Avellaneda’s real life.