As I recently revealed, in the past fourteen years I've reviewed over 2,900 books. With that much experience I tend to be pretty confident about my skill set...
...but every now and then I encounter a book that is so powerful, so evocative, so rich and nuanced I wonder if I have the words to do it justice. Bessie Flores Zaldivar's Libertad is most definitely one of those. It has ❤️ and soul. It brings to life both a city, Tegucigalpa in Honduras, that most American readers know nothing about and a protagonist, Libertad, coming of age --finishing high school and trying to envision her life after graduation. It's a story of love, of family, of community and tradition, of sexuality, and of the struggle to survive under a cruel and oppressive right wing government.
2017 is an election year. Juan Orlando has been president since he came to power in a 2008 coup. Even though it's forbidden by the Honduran constitution he is gunning for another term in office. The opposition is not expecting a fair election. But they don't plan on giving up without a fight.
The president is sending the Military Police into major cities. There are videos of them beating protesters and firing rubber bullets. One day they fire real bullets into a group of students at the university where Libertad's older brother, Maynor, is enrolled, killing three. That night there is no mention of the incident on TV news.
Libertad begins writing political poetry and posting it anonymously on social media. She gets a lot of support for putting in words what many people feel. But of course there are haters.
On election day it seems that a miracle might happen. The left's candidate is ahead with over half the votes counted. But in the wee hours there is a country wide power outage. When the electricity comes back on the incumbent is ahead.
"It was clear, then, that he was going to win. But he had already won, hadn't he? He had won before we even walked to the voting center that morning."
A massive of protesters goes to the building where the votes are being counted. The military police arrive. Some protesters are killed...
...including Libertad's beloved brother, Maynor. Now she's left with quite a dilemma. Her school has been encouraging her to apply to out of nation colleges. She wants to live in a country where people aren't killed for speaking their minds. Maybe leaving her family, friends, and nation is the only way to do that.
Libertad has a lot of subject matter that might trigger some readers. But I believe that it's a deeply engaging and thought provoking narrative, perfect for older YA readers and their college siblings. It would be a great curriculum addition for classes on topics like social justice and a valuable acquisition for high school and public libraries.
On a purrrsonal note, reading Libertad I saw so many similarities to America now: a president gunning for an additional term that his nation's constitution forbids, brutal assaults on peaceful protesters, armed military sent into liberal cities...creepy!
A great big shout out goes out to Zaldivar for her poignant, powerful, and thought provoking narrative and to my daughter, Amber, for letting me run this review by her before posting it.
Jules Hathaway
Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone
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