In Margarita Engle’s stunning novel-in-verse, “Wild Dreamers” (Atheneum 2024), Leandro speaks first: “My family fled Cuba/on a lashed-together jumble/of
inner tubes, balsa wood, and fear/exactly ten years ago, when I had just learned/ how to read, and all I craved were tales/ of adventure.” But his father drowns on their way to Florida. Now Leandro is frightened of water and struggles with panic attacks.
The other main voice, Ana, also seventeen, is unhoused, living with her mother out of their car, and hiding from her father who is wanted by the FBI. The two teens meet at a California wilderness park, not far from where they live, and spot a pregnant puma. The teens share an immediate magical connection in part because they’re both drawn to both animals and science.
The third voice is Cielo, a blue merle puppy who was a stowaway on Leandro’s raft ten years prior. Cielo says: “I hum a song/ into his hand/ until he understands…” Cielo is telling Leandro to be still before he faints and avoid the worst of a panic attack. Cielo knows that Leandro and Ana are “scent mates,” and the “singing” dog acts as their matchmaker, delivering a thread of wisdom to the new lovers and to the reader, throughout the book.
Leandro’s uncle is a champion athlete who surfed from Cuba to Florida and who now owns Dulce’s Cuban Bakery, where Leandro works, as well as a plant nursery. Ana’s mother gets a job at the plant nursery which includes quarters for Mother and daughter.
The pregnant puma shows up one night at the plant nursery, which is both frightening and invigorating. Should Ana feed the hungry puma or alert the scientists? She knows she’s not supposed to feed wild animals. It’s ultimately dangerous for the puma, but she’s emaciated. And still pregnant.
The two teens start a rewilding club at their school, working with scientists. They pledge to build wildlife crossings so wild pumas and other animals will be able to cross the highway more safely, increase their areas of habitat, and be able to search for each other. Both teens become immersed in wildlife biology and work.
This National Book Award long listed offers wisdom about immigration, wildlife, homelessness, and romance. If you know a reader who is interested in even one of these topics, get this book into their hands.
Patricia Hruby Powell is the author of the award-winning books: Lift As You Climb; Josephine; Loving vs Virginia; and Struttin’ With Some Barbecue all signed and for sale at Jane Addams bookstore. Her forthcoming books are about women’s suffrage, Martha Graham, and Ella Fitzgerald, as well as waterfowl. talesforallages.com
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