Fourteen-year-old Lucia’s parents aren’t happy with recent changes in Cuba under Fidel Castro, but they stay silent, hopeful that things will calm down. As more and more people around them join the revolutionary cause—some out of genuine fervor, others out of fear—Lucia’s family gains attention for their obvious lack of revolutionary enthusiasm. When Lucia’s parents decide to send her and her little brother to the United States as part of the Pedro Pan airlift in 1961, Lucia and Frankie are told it will be only for a few weeks, just until things get better in Cuba. But things don’t get better, and Lucia and Frankie end up living with an older couple in Grande Isle, Nebraska. The Baxters don’t know much about Cuba or about contemporary teenage life. But they prove to be caring, loving foster parents, helping Lucia and Frankie adapt to life in America even as the children hunger for news of and from their parents. This swiftly moving debut novel, told in Lucia’s authentically teen-like voice, is based on the experiences of the author’s parents. The terrific storytelling is rooted in details of family life and friendship that cover expansive emotional territory. (Age 12 and older)

The Red Umbrella is a moving tale of a 14-year-old girl's journey from Cuba to America as part of Operation Pedro Pan—an organized exodus of more than 14,000 unaccompanied children, whose parents sent them away to escape Fidel Castro's revolution.

In 1961, two years after the Communist revolution, Lucía Álvarez still leads a carefree life, dreaming of parties and her first crush. But when the soldiers come to her sleepy Cuban town, everything begins to change. Freedoms are stripped away. Neighbors disappear. And soon, Lucía's parents make the heart-wrenching decision to send her and her little brother to the United States—on their own.

Suddenly plunked down in Nebraska with well-meaning strangers, Lucía struggles to adapt to a new country, a new language, a new way of life. But what of her old life? Will she ever see her home or her parents again? And if she does, will she still be the same girl?

The Red Umbrella is a touching story of country, culture, family, and the true meaning of home.

“Captures the fervor, uncertainty and fear of the times. . . . Compelling.” –The Washington Post
 
“Gonzalez deals effectively with separation, culture shock, homesickness, uncertainty and identity as she captures what is also a grand adventure.” –San Francisco Chronicle