Publisher Description

Sometimes parents are creative when they punish you. But not Rafael's dad. He doesn't bother with a traditional punishment when he finds out Rafael and his friends tried to steal a slushie machine from the school cafeteria. He skips right over creative, too. He blasts all the way to completely unhinged and bonkers.That's how Rafael ends up on a ranch in Middle of Nowhere, New Mexico, thousands of miles from home in Miami. He's content to keep his head down and do as he's told, but his work is inexplicably sabotaged by a strangely familiar man, one with the same floppy brown hair and anxious tics as Rafa. Who is he, and why is he trying so hard to get Rafa kicked off the ranch? Meanwhile, rafa can't help but notice that his mom looks weaker with every video chat. With the help of the ranch manager and Rafa's new friends, he gets to the bottom of the mystery, and confronts his grief along the way.

Author Biography

Adrianna Cuevas is the author of 2021 Pura Belpré Honor Book The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez and Cuba in My Pocket. She is a first-generation Cuban American originally from Miami, Florida. After teaching Spanish and ESOL for sixteen years, she decided to pursue her passion for storytelling. Adrianna currently resides with her husband and son outside of Austin, Texas, where they enjoy hiking, traveling, and cooking lots of Cuban food. adriannacuevas.com, Twitter @acuevaswrites

Review

2024 Edgar Allan Poe Award Nominee

"Adrianna Cuevas deftly weaves together friendship and mystery in a tale that is not just about the ghosts of the departed, but also of love, loss, and lingering grief." --Julie C. Dao, author of Team Chu and the Battle of Blackwood Arena "Another humorous, sensitive, and compelling story." --Horn Book "[...] readers of all ages will be compelled to reflect upon their own lives and legacies after this gripping read." --Booklist "Cuevas crafts a whirlwind mystery populated by a compassionate community of lovable characters with effervescent personalities, to explore themes of grief, healing, and PTSD with tenderness and well-timed humor." --PW "An intriguing mystery with a satisfying emotional payoff." --Kirkus Praise for Cuba In My Pocket: Kirkus Best Book of the Year
2024 Indiana Library Federation Read Aloud

"Cuba in My Pocket is an authentic and moving portrayal of a tragic era in Cuban history, told with empathy and hope." -- Margarita Engle, Newbery Honor-winning author and Young People's Poet Laureate Emeritus

"Adrianna Cuevas has written a book that is a beautiful gift to the memory of her father, filled with love and a great respect for the culture and folklore of Cuba. The travails of Cumba Fernandez, a young Cuban wrenched into exile, will make all readers want to root for him, as he finds courage he didn't know he had, dares to be hopeful when his heart is broken, and learns to always carry Cuba in his pocket."
-- Ruth Behar, author of Pura Belpr Award-Winning book, Lucky Broken Girl, and Sydney Taylor Notable book, Letters from Cuba

"A harrowing and important read. Cuevas explores an often-hidden moment in Cuban American history with heart, compassion, and authenticity." -- Ernesto Cisneros, author of Pura Belpr Award-Winning book Efrn Divided

"Cuba in My Pocket is beautifully told and vividly realized. Cuevas thoughtfully explores the agonizing loss of home and family and what it means to try and hold onto both from across the sea. Cumba's journey is specific, deeply personal, and a love letter to the freedom to dream. Heartbreaking but stubbornly hopeful, I will carry this story with me forever." -- Nina Moreno, author of Don't Date Rosa Santos "From the riveting glimpse into 1960s Cuba, to narrator Cumba--beautifully drawn in all his bravery, wit, and spirit--this story is a triumph." -- Laura Taylor Namey, New York Times bestselling author of A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow "Cuba in My Pocket is an expertly written, emotional roller coaster you don't want to miss." -- Saadia Faruqi, author of Yusuf Azeem Is Not A Hero "Inspired by stories from her father's childhood, Cuevas' latest is a triumph of the heart...A compassionate, emotionally astute portrait of a young Cuban in exile." -- Kirkus, STARRED REVIEW "Cuevas' intense and immersive account of a Cuban boy's experience after the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion brings a specific point in history alive ... Drawing from her father's boyhood experiences, Cuevas does an outstanding job of eliciting the confusing array of emotions Cumba feels as he is thrown into life in a new country." -- Booklist, STARRED REVIEW

"Cuevas packs this sophomore novel with palpable emotions and themes of friendship, love, longing, and trauma, attentively conveying tumultuous historical events from the lens of one young refugee." -- Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW Praise for The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez:

2021 Pura Belpr Honor Book
NYPL Best Book of 2020
2020 Evanston Public Library Great Books for Kids "A marvelous, magical mystery that deftly blends family, friends and folklore." -- David Bowles, author of Pura Belpr Honor Book and Walter Dean Myers Honor Book They Call Me Gero

"Mystery, adventure, humor, friendship, and...talking animals--The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez has it all! Readers will love this funny, fast-paced, heartwarming story." -- Celia C. Prez, author of the Pura Belpre Honor book The First Rule of Punk "A charming and vibrant debut fantasy." -- Kirkus Reviews "Readers will devour this fast-paced adventure as they root for Nestor and his ragtag bunch of friends and animal allies . . . In a unique take on South and Central American folklore, Cuevas brings to life an earthly type of twisted magic that transcends spells and transfiguration, extending into the feelings of belonging and finding a true home." -- Booklist

"With this heartwarming debut, Cuevas draws upon Central American legends and her Cuban heritage to flesh out Nestor's experiences . . . crafting a tense, satisfying tale of magic, family, and finding one's true home." --Publisher's Weekly "Cuevas crafts a riveting story based on folktales from Panama and Costa Rica." -- School Library Journal

Promotional

A new contemporary middle-grade fantasy novel about a Cuban American boy who's sent to work on a ranch as punishment for a school prank gone wrong where he is confronted with a troubling supernatural mystery.

Review Quote

"The Ghosts of Rancho Espanto is funny, moving, and heartwarming. Adrianna Cuevas deftly weaves together friendship and mystery in a tale that is not just about the ghosts of the departed, but also of love, loss, and lingering grief. Her writing shines with a wry touch of humor, and Rafa is a delightful protagonist!" -- Julie C. Dao, author of Team Chu and the Battle of Blackwood Arena Praise for Cuba In My Pocket: "Cuba in My Pocket is an authentic and moving portrayal of a tragic era in Cuban history, told with empathy and hope." -- Margarita Engle, Newbery Honor-winning author and Young People''s Poet Laureate Emeritus "Adrianna Cuevas has written a book that is a beautiful gift to the memory of her father, filled with love and a great respect for the culture and folklore of Cuba. The travails of Cumba Fernandez, a young Cuban wrenched into exile, will make all readers want to root for him, as he finds courage he didn''t know he had, dares to be hopeful when his heart is broken, and learns to always carry Cuba in his pocket." -- Ruth Behar, author of Pura Belpr

Details