Red Glass, Laura Resau
Red Glass, Laura Resau
1 Rating(s)
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Red Glass

Author: Laura Resau

Narrator: Emma Bering

Unabridged: 7 hr 56 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/10/2009

Synopsis

With a dazzling and thoughtful voice, this critically acclaimed novel deals directly with the challenges and dangers of immigration, exploring the ties that bind us together in an age when issues threaten to divide us.

One night Sophie and her parents are called to a hospital where Pedro, a six-year-old Mexican boy, is recovering from dehydration. Crossing the border into Arizona with a group of Mexicans and a coyote, or guide, Pedro and his parents faced such harsh conditions that the boy is the only survivor. Pedro comes to live with Sophie, her parents, and Sophie's Aunt Dika, a refugee of the war in Bosnia.
 
Sophie loves Pedro—her Principito, or Little Prince. But after a year, Pedro’s surviving family in Mexico makes contact, and Sophie, Dika, Dika’s new boyfriend, and his son must travel with Pedro to his hometown so that he can make a heartwrenching decision.

An IRA Award Winner
An Américas Award Honor Book
An ALA-YALSA Best Book for Young Adults
A Colorado Book Award Winner
A Cybil Award Finalist
A School Library Journal Best Book
An Oprah’s Kids’ Reading List Selection
A CCBC Choice List Selection
A Richie’s Pick
 
★ “A captivating read.”—School Library Journal, Starred Review

★ "The vivid characters, the fine imagery, and the satisfying story arc make this a rewarding novel." –Booklist, Starred Review

★ "The prose captivates from the first chapter ... a vibrant, large-hearted story." –Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

About The Author

Laura Resau lived in the Mixtec region of Oaxaca, Mexico, for two years as an English teacher and anthropologist. She now lives with her husband and her dog in Colorado.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Wendy on March 12, 2008

A really lovely and original book, filled with unique characters. I love a YA that I don't feel like I've already read a dozen times. My only problem was that the author set up Mexico to sound like heaven, Guatemala like hell. She does have nice and generous Guatemalan characters, and she has good de......more

Goodreads review by Erica Gale on September 04, 2014

An Improper Review : Red Glass by Laura Resau Rating : 5 out of 5 Stars Last week, I was browsing for any interesting book in my local library, running my finger over the plastic covered spines until my eyes caught sight of this gem. I read the summary and it seemed interesting. I needed a break from......more

Goodreads review by Maggie on September 06, 2016

Call me naive, but I've always wondered why immigration (illegal and otherwise) across our southern border, especially from Mexico, is a political issue and not a humanitarian one. Red Glass perfectly illustrates why. Its opening scene is so visceral and heartbreaking, especially for me as an older......more

Goodreads review by Valerie on February 24, 2012

If nothing this book is unique. Sophie is really afraid about losing someone, germs, murderers, etc. People are scared of these things to some degree but Sophie thinks about it all the time. But Sophie is going to be tested she will need to go on a journey, not a very safe journey either. Sophie isn......more

Goodreads review by Rivvy on January 28, 2021

In this beautifully written YA book, Laura Resau reveals the thoughts and feelings of Sophie, a young girl who is not yet aware of her strength, beauty, and calling and is about to be awakened to all three, as well as to love. Laura captures perfectly her young heroine’s anxieties, even panic attack......more

Quotes

"Suffused with the region's vibrant colors, Resau's (What the Moon Saw) memorable novel deftly blends Latin America's richness and mystery with the brutal realities its emigrants carry away... The prose captivates from the first chapter... Central themes of fear and emotional survival permeate the multilayered plot... A mystical overlay from the practices of Pablo's Mixtec relatives adds even more luster to a vibrant, large-hearted story." –Publishers Weekly, STARRED, Featured Book on PW's Children's Bookshelf
 
"The author's love for the culture and physical setting of rural Oaxaca and northern Guatemala is shown in beautiful, descriptive detail. Rich, poetic language, elements of the hero quest story pattern, and quotations from St. Exupéry's The Little Prince are braided through this coming-of-age romance as Sophie grows from amorphous onlooker into a strong, risk-taking young woman. Secondary characters, especially the 60-year-old Dika and her "boyfriend," Mr. Lorenzo, are well developed. Readers will sympathize with Pablo and agonize as he chooses whether to stay in Mexico or return to Sophie's family in Arizona. The satisfying love stories and moving glimpse of the immigrant experience make this a captivating read." –School Library Journal, STARRED
 
"Resau works her magic again in this compelling first-person narrative. Full of longing and trepidation, Sophie is limited at the beginning of the story. But as she travels and comes to understand people better; life-altering perspectives awaken a newfound courage." –Booklist, STARRED
 
"The characters are so compelling and sympathetic that the reader really cares how they all fare. Emotionally charged and powerful." –Kirkus Reviews
 
"Resau, who capably treats the topic of self-discovery in her first novel, What The Moon Saw, continues along similar lines here, with poignant descriptions of illegal border crossings and guerilla warfare providing a substantive background for the foreground story of coming into one's own and joining the larger organism that is one's family. The book is strengthened by a core of storytelling and intertextuality (Angel tells personal narratives in the car, Sophie reads aloud from Pablo Neruda and e.e. cummings, and each of seven parts is prefaced by a passage from The Little Prince) and suspense (which family will Pablo choose? How will Sophie overcome her fears?). An unexpectedly empowering moment that has Sophie laughing in the face of a filthy washroom is truly liberating and uplifting, and her new fearlessness should prove bolstering for readers who are on their way to discovering their own inner chispa, or spark." –Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
 
"The characters in this book are all delightful. They are warm and real, with varying degrees of unconventional... The are quite different from each other, but still they connect... The reader becomes very close to them... The themes of civil violence, a desire to better one's life, and the dilemma of how to do it-legally or illegally-make it a great book for class discussions on current events... The writing is so rich that it would also be a great read-aloud." –VOYA 

Awards

  • ALA Best Books for Young Adults
  • Américas Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature
  • Colorado Book Award
  • Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices
  • IRA Young Adult Choices
  • Kentucky Bluegrass Award
  • Maine Student Book Award
  • Missouri Mark Twain Award
  • Nebraska Golden Sower Award
  • School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
  • Texas TAYSHAS High School Reading List
  • YOYA Top Shelf Fiction for Middle School Readers
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