Romanticizing/Reality

Romanticizing about living in a different place offers the possibility of living one's dreams. Engle romanticizes Cuba as a place where she will be able to achieve her dreams of bravery. Engle sees herself as a “misfit bookworm” in America. In Cuba, however, she imagines herself “a rogue island girl / who feels almost / as brave / as / a / boy” (76). While Engle’s belief that she has a secret self that only reveals itself in Cuba is not realistic, she does have experiences in Cuba that allow her to be brave.

Because Engle is a Cuban-American, she does not feel fully at home in either country, especially after the revolution in Cuba. During the school year in California, Engle feels out of place with her dark hair and her love for books and poetry. When she is skipped forward several grades because she is so intelligent, Engle feels even...