Book Bag
Across So Many Seas
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Description
"As lyrical as it is epic, Across So Many Seas reminds us that while the past may be another country, it's also a living, breathing song of sadness and joy that helps define who we are." --Alan Gratz, New York Times bestselling author of Refugee
Spanning over 500 years, Pura Belpré Award winner Ruth Behar's epic novel tells the stories of four girls from different generations of a Jewish family, many of them forced to leave their country and start a new life.
In 1492, during the Spanish Inquisition, Benvenida and her family are banished from Spain for being Jewish, and must flee the country or be killed. They journey by foot and by sea, eventually settling in Istanbul.
Over four centuries later, in 1923, shortly after the Turkish war of independence, Reina's father disowns her for a small act of disobedience. He ships her away to live with an aunt in Cuba, to be wed in an arranged marriage when she turns fifteen.
In 1961, Reina's daughter, Alegra, is proud to be a brigadista, teaching literacy in the countryside for Fidel Castro. But soon Castro's crackdowns force her to flee to Miami all alone, leaving her parents behind.
Finally, in 2003, Alegra's daughter, Paloma, is fascinated by all the journeys that had to happen before she could be born. A keeper of memories, she's thrilled by the opportunity to learn more about her heritage on a family trip to Spain, where she makes a momentous discovery.
Though many years and many seas separate these girls, they are united by a love of music and poetry, a desire to belong and to matter, a passion for learning, and their longing for a home where all are welcome. And each is lucky to stand on the shoulders of their courageous ancestors.
Publication date
February 06, 2024
Classification
Fiction
Page Count
-
ISBN-13
9780593323403
Lexile Measure
830
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Nancy Paulsen Books
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV013030 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | Multigenerational
JUV039250 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Emigration & Immigration
JUV039120 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Prejudice & Racism
JUV016000 - Juvenile Fiction | Historical | General
JUV039250 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Emigration & Immigration
JUV039120 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Prejudice & Racism
JUV016000 - Juvenile Fiction | Historical | General
Library of Congress categories
Family life
Refugees
Jews
Novels
Refugees
Jews
Novels
Kirkus
Starred Review
Powerful and resonant.
None
This welcome historical novel traces a Sephardic Jewish family whose members travel from one country to another with first-person narrators from four generations and spanning centuries. . . .
ALA/Booklist
Behar's sprawling saga, based in part on her own family history, captures the poignancy of being expelled from one's home. . . .
Publishers Weekly
Starred Review
Behar (Lucky Broken Girl) delivers a moving tale about four generations of a Sephardic Jewish family navigating cultural and societal upheaval from 1492 to 2003. When the Spanish Inquisition forces 12-year-old Benvenida and her family to flee from Toledo, Spain, the religious refugees settle in what is now Istanbul. In 1923, an act of defiance sees Benvenida's descendant, 12-year-old Reina, banished by her father from Turkey to Cuba. Subsequent years follow Reina's daughter Alegra who, in 1961, teaches literacy in the Cuban countryside, until political unrest prompt her to emigrate to Miami. And in 2003, Alegra's Afro-Cuban daughter Paloma unravels her ancestors' history during a trip to Spain. Divided into four parts, this enlightening read depicts one family's determination to embrace and preserve her Jewish identity and offers glimpses into the long history of Jews in Spain. Behar crafts each included era with painstaking period detail and lush language, delivering a stunning portrayal of immigration and Jewish culture and religion that expounds upon the importance of remaining true to oneself, explores themes of prejudice and racism, and exposes the harm that bigotry can inflict on both individuals and society. The author includes English translations alongside songs and words in Ladino; concluding source notes add further historical context. Ages 10-up. Agent: Alyssa Eisner Henkin, Birch Path Literary. (Feb.)
Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.
Ruth Behar
Ruth Behar (ruthbehar.com), the Pura Belpré Award-winning author of Lucky Broken Girl and Letters from Cuba, was born in Havana, Cuba, grew up in New York, and has also lived in Spain and Mexico. Her work also includes poetry, memoir, and the acclaimed travel books An Island Called Home and Traveling Heavy. She was the first Latina to win a MacArthur "Genius" Grant, and other honors include a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship and being named a "Great Immigrant" by the Carnegie Corporation. An anthropology professor at the University of Michigan, she lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
International Latino Book Awards
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Gold Winner 2024
ALSC Notable Children's Books
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Commended 2025
Sydney Taylor Book Award
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Honor Title 2025
John Newbery Medal
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Honor Title 2025
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