Engle, Margarita. Wild Dreamers. Simon & Schuster/Atheneum, 04/2024. 224pp. Fiction. Trade $18.99. 978-1-6659-3975-1. GRADES 8–12. HIGH ADDITIONAL.
Leandro, a Cuban refugee experiencing PTSD, largely relies upon his therapy dog Cielo as his sole companion; Ana, a Cuban American experiencing homelessness, worries about the wild pumas and other urban wildlife she sees struggling to survive in the San Francisco Bay Area. Over the course of their junior year of high school, the two teens are bonded together in a way that allows them to not only envision a better future for themselves, but to actively work towards creating a better world around them as well. Engle has the two encounter such a wide range of different social and political issues that it is difficult to focus on any one element of the story beyond the romance itself, but it is the romance between these two engaging and empathetic characters that elevates the novel to a higher level. Told in verse from the alternating perspectives of Leandro and Ana, with occasional interludes from Cielo the singing dog, Engle’s novel depicts the nature of first love as a transformative experience that is quite literally magical. Includes California-specific content.
Jennifer Taylor—Palo Alto City Library