Book Review: THE FIREFLY LETTERS: A SUFFRAGETTE'S JOURNEY TO CUBA by Margarita Engle

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Books in Print (via TWU Databases).  Accessed October 03, 2013.

http://ezproxy.twu.edu:2125/DetailedView.aspx?hreciid=|28468089|27349174&mc=USA#

               

Engle, Margarita. (2010). The Firefly Letters: A Suffragette’s Journey to Cuba. New York: Henry Holt and Company, LLC. ISBN 9780805090826

         The topic of the verse novel The Firefly Letters: A Suffragette’s Journey to Cuba by Margarita Engle is based on three female characters that experience life in Cuba during the 19^th century slave trade. Fredrika represents the female adult, Swedish born, who escapes her own version of female slavery by traveling and writing verse. A similar type of female slavery is experienced by Elena, the Cuban teen who is trapped by society and circumstance. Cecilia is the third female identity, an African slave “traded for a stolen cow.” Only a few poems are attributed to a male named Beni. He is the husband of Cecilia, a slave, pregnant and fearful of her unborn child’s future. The ray of hope arrives when Elena sells her handmade handkerchiefs to buy the unborn child’s freedom.  One young woman’s enslavement becomes the key to the freedom of another woman equally enslaved. 
 

          It is organization as a series of poems, each poem is written in the voice of an individual character.  The use of Spanish includes many references to the Cuban fireflies, or “cocuyos.”  A masterful use of imagery leaves the reader with a mental picture of these fireflies.  The language is even descriptive as the reader considers the setting is in Matanzas, Cuba, located on the northern shore of the island. The term “matanzas" is translated to English as “massacre.”  Strong emotion is evoked as the words of each verse lead us to a climactic moment when we discover Elena’s secret decision to sell the handkerchiefs. A personification of the fireflies is present as Fredrika tells how the cocuyos help her decide what to write. 

          The story contains reference to the Swedish consulate as the entity responsible for granting the writer, Fredrika, to travel to Cuba.  Based on the actual journey of women’s rights activist Frederika Bremer, The Firefly Letters is a Pura Belpré honor book.  The beautiful verses can be used for older children when focusing on poetry as a theme.  The harsh reality of the topic of child slavery may best be reserved for use with middle-school youth or older.  Younger children may appreciate a few selected portions that describe the fireflies and their beautiful green lights. As stated by Hazel Rochman in her Booklist review, the storing is a moving combination of historical viewpoints (Books in Print, 2010).

References:

Books in Print (via TWU Databases).  Accessed October 03, 2013.

http://ezproxy.twu.edu:2125/DetailedView.aspx?hreciid=|28468089|27349174&mc=USA#

Engle, Margarita. (2010). The Firefly Letters: A Suffragette’s Journey to Cuba. New York: Henry Holt and Company, LLC.