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Book Review

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Publisher's Note:

NEWBERY HONOR WINNER * 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.…

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Across So Many Seas

by Ruth Behar

Reviewer: Cindy M
Genre: Historical Fiction
Recommended Age: 9+

Overall Book Review:

Across So Many Seas is a 2025 Newbery Honor Book. It is broken into four sections with each section having a different 12-year-old female protagonist in a different time period over a 500-year span. The connection between the characters is that they are all from the same family tree and they experience an expulsion or travel from their homeland, but for varying reasons. One of the more impressive features of the novel is the strong thematic material including religion, cultural heritage, women, music, and family. The writing style and dialogue is somewhat formal and the author poetically brings things full-circle. This is a true historical fiction lover’s best kind of book.

The book has an insightful and extensive author’s note that shares deeply with the reader the personal sources of inspiration for the story and why the author wrote certain things they way she did. This book is likely to become a classroom staple because of the wide range of historical periods it covers, its classic writing style, and the opportunities it provides for deep discussion on a variety of themes.

Review the unabridged audiobook

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language: None

Violence/Gore: Group of people are officially threatened by the government with death if they do not leave; former friends throw stones at a character; characters are threatened at sword point with violence and death if they do not leave; death of a family member from physical strain; report of a war and reference to people who died in it; twelve year old braces to be hit by a parent, but is not; character has bruise on face and reports he was in a fight; references to revolution in a country; reports of beating and mistreatment by government authorities; report of death of a family member.

Sex/Nudity: Suggestive comment that a girl could share a man’s bed (meant to be insulting and threatening); 12-year-old girl is told not to bring shame on her family by talking and being with boys.

Mature Subject Matter:

Prejudice, Anti-Semitism, Spanish Inquisition, Cuban Revolution, displacement, historical perceptions and attitudes about women’s roles and place in society.

Alcohol/Drug Use:

None

Overall Book Rating
Profanity/Language
Rating:
0
10
Violence/Gore
Rating:
2
10
Sex/Nudity
Rating:
1
10

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About the Reviewer

Cindy M
An accountant and CPA by profession, I found myself a book reviewer for Squeaky Clean Reads by happenstance. When the opportunity came to transform that website into Compass Book Ratings, I was excited to seize it and meld my business background with my love of books. As the mother of three teenage sons, I have read a large number of children and young adult books and I believe that there is great value in a content review service. As much as we would love to read everything our children read, there just isn’t enough time. I also appreciate being able to select books for myself that are really worth my precious and limited reading time. I believe there is a book out there for everyone–they just have to find it!

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