Review: How to Say Goodbye in Cuban

By Daniel Miyares

New York: Random House, 2025. Comic. 240 pgs.

In 1956, 12-year-old Carlos likes his life in Ceiba Mocha, in the Cuban countryside. He spends lots of time with his family and his abuelo is his best friend. Carlos doesn't understand why his papi is always trying to win the lottery to move their family away from Abuelo and Abuela's farm. Almost unbelievably, one day Papi wins the lottery and Carlos' family moves to the city. Everyone keeps telling him this is a good thing, but he doesn't see how. But Carlos' life is due for even more big changes - Fidel Castro and his revolutionaries overthrow the Cuban government and after men with guns seize his business, Papi disappears to set up a life for the family in America.

This fictionalized account of the author's father's experiences as a child in Cuba is a window into a world of political upheaval. The story has a good balance of following Carlos and his perspective on the changes in his daily life, while also including updates about the political unrest. The story feels very realistic to how many children experience world events, Carlos knows a little about what's happening, but adults won't give him the full picture. This is an emotional historical fiction comic, that's receiving a lot of end of year buzz. Recommend this to tweens interested in the 20th century or refugee stories.

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