Engle tells the story of Cuba's troubled past of wars and slavery through a powerful narrative free verse. Rosa, a nurse throughout three wars in Cuba, was continuously hiding from Cuban leadership who wanted her dead. One of the major strengths of this book is that teenagers ages 13 and up will be inspired by the strength of ordinary people. For example, many people thought Rosa was a witch or had magical powers. In reality, she was just an ordinary person with the knowledge and love to heal others. The clear short lines of the varying characters of the past enticed me to continue reading to see what would happen next. This is also a great poetry book because it effectively uses figurative language and imagery to help readers create mental images. For example, there was one point when Engle not only described how the hideout caves looked but went on to describe the unpleasant smells as well. The word choice made me feel I was actually there in the book experiencing the events with the characters.
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