Surviving Santiago

by Lyn Miller-Lachmann

Overview

Returning to her homeland of Santiago, Chile, is the last thing that Tina Aguilar wants to do during the summer of her sixteenth birthday. It has taken eight years for her to feel comfort and security in America with her mother and her new husband. And it has been eight years since she has last seen her father.

Despite insisting on the visit, Tina's father spends all his time focused on politics and alcohol rather than connecting with Tina, making his betrayal from the past continue into the present. Tina attracts the attention of a mysterious stranger, but the hairpin turns he takes her on may push her over the edge of truth and discovery.

The tense, final months of the Pinochet regime in 1989 provide the backdrop for author Lyn Miller-Lachmann's suspenseful tale of the survival and redemption of the Aguilar family, first introduced in the critically acclaimed Gringolandia.

CCSS-aligned curriculum guidecan be found online at http://www.rpcurriculumguides.com/curriculum_guides.html

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780762456338
Publisher:	Running Press Book Publishers
Publication date:	06/02/2015
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.30(d)
Lexile:	HL690L (what's this?)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Lyn Miller-Lachmann is the author of Gringolndia (a 2010 ALA Best Book for Young Adults) and Rogue. She has an M.F.A. in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts and an M.S. in Library and Information Science from the University of Wisconsin. She is the former editor of MultiCultural Review, and has taught English, social studies, and Jewish studies. She is the assistant host of Vientos del Pueblo, a bilingual radio show featuring Latin American and Spanish music, poetry, and history. She grew up in Houston and currently lives in Albany, NY, with her family.

Editorial Reviews

Smooth dialogue, a quick pace, and palpable suspense combine to make a compelling read. . . . A riveting story of love and acceptance amid a tumultuous political landscape.

—Kirkus Reviews


[F]or collections in need of literature with Hispanic protagonists and historical time periods not often covered in schools.School Library
Journal—School Library Journal


[I]ntriguingly multilayered.—Booklist

While Surviving Santiago is a companion novel to Gringolandia (Curbstone, 2009), it can be read as a standalone. The setting in Chile creates a tense atmosphere for this historical fiction novel.—VOYA

From the Publisher

03/01/2015
Gr 9 Up—This companion to Miller-Lachmann's Gringolandia (Curbstone, 2009) focuses on Daniel's 16-year-old younger sister, Tina. In 1989, Tina is sent to Chile for the summer to be with her father and aunt. Her father is a known anti-government activist, and though he is able to work as a reporter for a radio station, his home life is difficult due to the large amount of alcohol that he consumes and his physical handicaps, which were caused by the beatings he endured when he was locked up as a political prisoner. His sister feels an obligation to help care for him, even though they have a rocky relationship. Tina finds herself in an uncomfortable situation. She is lonely and spends much of her time at her father's house trying to keep busy while her father and aunt are at work. When she meets a delivery boy named Frankie, she believes that he will save her from the agonizing summer ahead. The first two-thirds of the book set the stage for the political climate of Chile in the late 1980s and the interpersonal relationships of the main characters. However, the last third of the novel does not ring true, as Tina stands by a character who betrays her, even when it could mean life or death for her and the ones she loves, and the end seems too pat and implausible. VERDICT Purchase for collections in need of literature with Hispanic protagonists and historical time periods not often covered in schools.—Elizabeth Kahn, Patrick F. Taylor Science & Technology Academy, Jefferson, LA

School Library Journal

2015-03-03
Tina, 16, travels from Madison, Wisconsin, to Santiago, Chile, to spend her summer visiting her father, whom she hasn't seen in three years. Chile in 1989 is still under the rule of the Pinochet dictatorship, but the demand for democracy is growing. Tina's father, Marcelo, is an important figure in the democracy movement. Considered a subversive by the government, Marcelo was imprisoned and tortured. He survived the experience but suffered debilitating injuries and became suicidal and an alcoholic. Tina knows her old papá is gone, but she finds it difficult to accept her new papá, who spends his days working and his nights drinking. She is bored and lonely until she meets Frankie. Their shared love of Metallica and understanding of what it is like to have an alcoholic father bonds them. As she falls in love with Frankie, Tina misses several warning signs that he may not be who he claims to be. The story ramps up to its crescendo when the true danger of the situation is revealed. Suddenly the novel is no longer about family drama and summer love but survival. Smooth dialogue, a quick pace, and palpable suspense combine to make a compelling read. Supporting characters are treated with compassion; violence brings suffering to those on all sides. A riveting story of love and acceptance amid a tumultuous political landscape. (author's note) (Historical fiction. 14 & up)

Kirkus Reviews

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