Evamar
From award-winning author Margarita Engle comes an enthralling and heartrending novel in verse about first love, hidden cultures, and ancestral connections that follows a teen’s journey to uncover her late grandmother’s roots in Cuba.

Just before she was transformed
into an invisible spirit
my grandmother whispered her last wishes
into my ear:

Sprinkle my ashes in a patch of girasoles,
wait patiently, harvest the seeds,
fly to la isla, find el jardín,
plant las semillas.
Then and only then—
read my diaries.

Evamar has arrived in Cuba with her abuela’s ashes and her mother’s warnings: Don’t talk politics, boil the tap water before you drink, y por favor absolutamente, don’t fall in love. But then she meets Río, a captivating drummer whose music and presence she can’t ignore.

Río bears his own scars, separated from his family in the United States. As their bond deepens, Evamar discovers an ancestral treasure that could change her future—and the lives of millions of Caribbeans.
1148559953
Evamar
From award-winning author Margarita Engle comes an enthralling and heartrending novel in verse about first love, hidden cultures, and ancestral connections that follows a teen’s journey to uncover her late grandmother’s roots in Cuba.

Just before she was transformed
into an invisible spirit
my grandmother whispered her last wishes
into my ear:

Sprinkle my ashes in a patch of girasoles,
wait patiently, harvest the seeds,
fly to la isla, find el jardín,
plant las semillas.
Then and only then—
read my diaries.

Evamar has arrived in Cuba with her abuela’s ashes and her mother’s warnings: Don’t talk politics, boil the tap water before you drink, y por favor absolutamente, don’t fall in love. But then she meets Río, a captivating drummer whose music and presence she can’t ignore.

Río bears his own scars, separated from his family in the United States. As their bond deepens, Evamar discovers an ancestral treasure that could change her future—and the lives of millions of Caribbeans.
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Evamar

Evamar

by Margarita Engle
Evamar

Evamar

by Margarita Engle

Hardcover

$19.99 
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    Available for Pre-Order. This item will be released on July 28, 2026

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Overview

From award-winning author Margarita Engle comes an enthralling and heartrending novel in verse about first love, hidden cultures, and ancestral connections that follows a teen’s journey to uncover her late grandmother’s roots in Cuba.

Just before she was transformed
into an invisible spirit
my grandmother whispered her last wishes
into my ear:

Sprinkle my ashes in a patch of girasoles,
wait patiently, harvest the seeds,
fly to la isla, find el jardín,
plant las semillas.
Then and only then—
read my diaries.

Evamar has arrived in Cuba with her abuela’s ashes and her mother’s warnings: Don’t talk politics, boil the tap water before you drink, y por favor absolutamente, don’t fall in love. But then she meets Río, a captivating drummer whose music and presence she can’t ignore.

Río bears his own scars, separated from his family in the United States. As their bond deepens, Evamar discovers an ancestral treasure that could change her future—and the lives of millions of Caribbeans.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781665988070
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Publication date: 07/28/2026
Pages: 272
Product dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x 0.58(d)
Age Range: 12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Margarita Engle is the Cuban American author of many books including the verse novels Rima’s RebellionYour Heart, My SkyWith a Star in My HandThe Surrender Tree, a Newbery Honor winner; The Lightning Dreamer; and Wild Dreamers, a Pura Belpré Young Adult Author Honor book. Her verse memoirs include Soaring Earth and Enchanted Air, which received the Pura Belpré Award, a Walter Dean Myers Award Honor, and was a finalist for the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction, among others. Her picture books include Drum Dream GirlDancing Hands, and The Flying Girl. Visit her at MargaritaEngle.com.

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