Spanning over 500 years, Pura Belpré Award winner Ruth Behar\'s epic novel tells the stories of four girls from different generations of a Jewish family, Many of them forced to leave their country and start a new life.
And each is lucky to stand on the shoulders of their courageous ancestors..
Though Many years and Many Seas separate these girls, they are united by a love of music and poetry, a desire to belong and to matter, a passion for learning, and their longing for a home where all are welcome.
A keeper of memories , she\'s thrilled by the opportunity to learn more about her heritage on a family trip to Spain, where she makes a momentous discovery.
Finally, in 2003 , Alegra\'s daughter, Paloma, is fascinated by all the journeys that had to happen before she could be born.
But soon Castro\'s crackdowns force her to flee to Miami all alone, leaving her parents behind.
In 1961 , Reina\'s daughter, Alegra, is proud to be a brigadista, teaching literacy in the countryside for Fidel Castro.
He ships her away to live with an aunt in Cuba, to be wed in an arranged marriage when she turns fifteen.
Over four centuries later, in 1923 , shortly after the Turkish war of independence, Reina\'s father disowns her for a small act of disobedience.
They journey by foot and by sea, eventually settling in Istanbul.
In 1492 , during the Spanish Inquisition, Benvenida and her family are banished from Spain for being Jewish, and must flee the country or be killed.
Spanning over 500 years, Pura Belpré Award winner Ruth Behar\'s epic novel tells the stories of four girls from different generations of a Jewish family, Many of them forced to leave their country and start a new life
