Description: Told in alternating voices, this novel in verse follows teens Ana and Leandro, who are determined to make a difference and heal from their troubled pasts by deciding to fight to protect California wildlife and the endangered puma.
Brief description: Margarita Engle is the Cuban American author of many books including the verse novels Rima's Rebellion; Your Heart, My Sky; With a Star in My Hand; The Surrender Tree, a Newbery Honor winner; The Lightning Dreamer; and Wild Dreamers, a Pura Belpré Young Adult Author Honor book. Her verse memoirs include Soaring Earth and Enchanted Air, which received the Pura Belpré Award, a Walter Dean Myers Award Honor, and was a finalist for the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction, among others. Her picture books include Drum Dream Girl, Dancing Hands, and The Flying Girl. Visit her at MargaritaEngle.com.
Review Quotes: * "In this stirring novel-in-verse, award-winning Engle brings together themes of love, resilience, and environmental activism in a way that feels urgent and timeless. . . . Engle's verse glimmers with tenderness while confronting themes of survival, identity, and hope. A moving addition to YA collections, this novel will resonate with teens navigating personal challenges while dreaming of a better world."--School Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW