Lion Island: Cuba's Warrior of Words (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781481461139)

In this "beautifully written, thought provoking" (School Library Journal, starred review) novel in verse, award-winning author Margarita Engle tells the story of Antonio Chuffat, a young man of African, Chinese, and Cuban descent who becomes a champion for civil rights.

Asia, Africa, Europe--Antonio Chuffat's ancestors clashed and blended on the beautiful island of Cuba. Yet for most Cubans in the nineteenth century, life is anything but beautiful. The country is fighting for freedom from Spain. Enslaved Africans and near-enslaved Chinese indentured servants are forced to work long, backbreaking hours in the fields.

So Antonio feels lucky to have found a good job as a messenger, where his richly blended cultural background is an asset. Through his work he meets Wing, a young Chinese fruit seller who barely escaped the anti-Asian riots in San Francisco, and his sister Fan, a talented singer. With injustice all around them, the three friends are determined to prove that violence is not the only way to gain liberty.

Author: Margarita Engle
ISBN-10: 1481461133
ISBN-13: 9781481461139
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Language: English
Published: 08/29/2017
Pages: 192
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.30lbs
Size: 7.40h x 5.00w x 0.60d

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 6.8
Point Value: 2
Interest Level: Middle Grade Plus
Quiz #/Name: 184607 / Lion Island: Cuba's Warrior of Words