EACH TINY SPARK

Author/narrator Pablo Cartaya easily transitions between English and Spanish, authentically representing the bilingual world of Cuban-American Emilia Rosa Torres, who has ADHD. Cartaya's emotional presentation allows listeners to feel Emilia's struggles when her stable homelife changes. Her mother travels for business, her father returns home from deployment, her abuela becomes even more controlling, and Emilia must adjust. Cartaya's nuanced narration shows how Emilia gradually reveals her true self, her voice gaining power in the face of her father's PTSD, shifts in friendships, and encounters with prejudice. As life grows more complex, Cartaya reveals the depth of a girl whose intelligence and love are strengthened by an awareness of her heritage, and the economic and social injustices around her. S.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2019]