I wonder when I read beginnings like those in Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna by Alda P. Dobbs if the writing can be maintained at that level for a whole book.
“The smoking star lit the night sky as women wept, holding their babies close. Men kept quiet while the old and the weak prayed for mercy. It was on that night, that all of us huddled under the giant crucifix, the night when everyone – everyone but me – awaited the end of the world.”
During the Revolution in Mexico in 1913, twelve-year-old Petra Luna’s mother is dead and her father carried away by soldiers. She has promised him she will care for her abuelita, her little sister and baby brother. Little does she know this will entail the burning of her town, days trying to cross the desert hoping she is heading toward freedom in the United States, and efforts to avoid the fighting. Small havens of safety turn out to be temporary. Through it all, she dreams of a time when she will have a better life and learn to read. Abuelita helps her care for the younger children but discourages her aspirations calling them “barefoot dreams,” unattainable by peasants like themselves.
In a YouTube video, “Book Talk: Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna by Alda P. Dobbs,” the author says the book was inspired by a great-grandmother’s real-life experience. She wanted to verify the stories her great-grandmother had told but encountered difficulty in doing research in order to add details and authenticity to the novel. When she was ready to give up, she gives credit goes to a librarian who helped her find newspaper accounts of those who experienced the difficult flight to safety in America from the Revolution.
The writing lived up to its beginning promise and left the door wide open for a sequel showing how Petra Luna learned to read. I hope the sequel is in the works.