3 Stars: The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty

Goodreads.com Description: The Chaperone is a captivating novel about the woman who chaperoned an irreverent Louise Brooks to New York City in 1922 and the summer that would change them both.
 
Only a few years before becoming a famous silent-film star and an icon of her generation, a fifteen-year-old Louise Brooks leaves Wichita, Kansas, to study with the prestigious Denishawn School of Dancing in New York. Much to her annoyance, she is accompanied by a thirty-six-year-old chaperone, who is neither mother nor friend. Cora Carlisle, a complicated but traditional woman with her own reasons for making the trip, has no idea what she’s in for. Young Louise, already stunningly beautiful and sporting her famous black bob with blunt bangs, is known for her arrogance and her lack of respect for convention. Ultimately, the five weeks they spend together will transform their lives forever.
 
For Cora, the city holds the promise of discovery that might answer the question at the core of her being, and even as she does her best to watch over Louise in this strange and bustling place she embarks on a mission of her own. And while what she finds isn’t what she anticipated, she is liberated in a way she could not have imagined. Over the course of Cora’s relationship with Louise, her eyes are opened to the promise of the twentieth century and a new understanding of the possibilities for being fully alive.
 
Drawing on the rich history of the 1920s,’30s, and beyond—from the orphan trains to Prohibition, flappers,  and the onset of the Great Depression to the burgeoning movement for equal rights and new opportunities for women—Laura Moriarty’s The Chaperone illustrates how rapidly everything, from fashion and hemlines to values and attitudes, was changing at this time and what a vast difference it all made for Louise Brooks, Cora Carlisle, and others like them. 

I really liked this book. It was well written and straight to the point throughout. I didn't enjoy the last fifty pages or so, because they added nothing to the story, and it was a good story. There was so much more the author could have added if there was a page number requirement from the publisher. 

I said as much on my review at Goodreads.com. The essence of the story was amazing. The last chapter was not necessary. That being said, lets focus on the good 95% of the story. 

The setting: glamour, dancers, New York, theaters. It was everything I liked about the century! With some good ole' drama thrown in.

The characters: A rebellious (and talented) teen, a chaperone with a secret of her own, their respective families. All of them with three-dimensional personalities and as real as myself. I was very impressed with the author's ability to make me think about the characters and feel for their faults and successes.

The story: riveting and (kudos to the author) unpredictable. It was heartfelt and sincere, without stepping into 'mushy' territory. It was special. It will have a place in my heart forever. 

Why only 3 stars then?

Well, it didn't change anything in me. After reading other wonderful books this summer the bar is raised higher and higher. It's not the book's fault. It's more of a personal preference and connection. I was impressed with Cora's mother figure and her need for her own mother. I was moved by it, but not to the point it would teach me something new about life. I can see how someone with a different life story will find the meaning of the universe in this book, but I've had better. That is all.

4 Stars: "The Boy Who Said No" by Patti Sheehy

Goodreads.com Description: As a boy Frank Mederos's grandfather teaches him to fish, to navigate the seas, and to think for himself, much needed skills under the new Castro regime. When Frank is drafted into the army, he is soon promoted to the Special Forces, where he is privy to top military secrets. But young Frank has no sympathy for Fidel. He thirsts for freedom and longs to join his girlfriend who has left Cuba for America. 
Frank yearns to defect, but his timing couldn't be worse. After two unsuccessful escape attempts, Frank learns that the departure of the next available boat conflicts with upcoming military exercises. If he stays, he will miss the boat. If he doesn't, he will be the object of a massive manhunt. 
Problems abound: How will Frank escape the army base without being seen? Where will he hide until the boat comes? How can he outwit his commanding officer? And how can he elude hundreds of soldiers ordered to bring him back "dead or alive"? 
Frank's true story, a tale of love, loss and courage that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the last page is turned.

"The Boy Who Said No" was a very accurate and easy to relate story of a young man seeking the freedom that was snatched from him and his family upon the rise to power of the communist government in Cuba in 1959. Although the story is very well written and includes great detail on the day to day life of Cubans it doesn't accurately represent the way that Castro rose to power (he was not the president elected from the outset). This was the only fault I found in the book.

I enjoyed living through the culture of the island as well as the lives of people who were left without their properties and businesses. The book showed great insight into the ranks of Cuba's officials and I enjoyed being able to connect my own experiences when dealing with Cuban officials as to those described in the book. I've been witness to shaming and demonstrations against dissidents just as described in the novel. I've met with people that left the island illegally and the feelings conveyed by them are very much the same as those of the protagonist. The hurt of leaving your loved ones behind as well as the resentment towards the party for forcing you out of the only place you've ever called home is a common feeling that every Cuban living abroad can identify with.
I fell in love with the characters; I remembered family members that are still behind and those that have already passed on without ever seeing their country free from oppression and hunger. I can see my mother and the mothers of millions of Cubans in the way that the characters in the book sacrifice themselves for their children and loved ones.
The maturity shown by the characters at young ages can seem unreal to many north-americans but poverty and necessity make children age faster. It's hard to forget all worries and play when you hear your neighbours being beaten by police for expressing what they believe in; for not agreeing with a statement or new law; when unemployment skyrockets and young men spend the days sitting on their porch gossiping like old ladies.
This is the truth of what Cuban culture has become, and the stories told in the book make reading the decline of the country much more bearable to people like me, who can imagine the true potential of the island.
The thrilling chase will keep your eyes glued to the pages (or screen) throughout this very emotional and exciting read. You will blink as you look around you after feeling teleported into the Cuba of 1960s and visiting places unheard of by locals and tourists alike.
"The boy who said no" is so accurate that the hearts of hundreds of Cubans will break upon seeing in its pages the streets, parks, and cities  left behind; the aunts and uncles that didn't make it out; and wondering what happened to their long-lost childhood friends.