---
product_id: 18317143
title: "The Lightning Dreamer: Cuba's Greatest Abolitionist"
price: "€ 16.79"
currency: EUR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 8
url: https://www.desertcart.gr/products/18317143-the-lightning-dreamer-cubas-greatest-abolitionist
store_origin: GR
region: Greece
---

# The Lightning Dreamer: Cuba's Greatest Abolitionist

**Price:** € 16.79
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- **What is this?** The Lightning Dreamer: Cuba's Greatest Abolitionist
- **How much does it cost?** € 16.79 with free shipping
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## Description

“I find it so easy to forget / that I’m just a girl who is expected / to live / without thoughts.” Opposing slavery in Cuba in the nineteenth century was dangerous. The most daring abolitionists were poets who veiled their work in metaphor. Of these, the boldest was Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda, nicknamed Tula. In passionate, accessible verses of her own, Engle evokes the voice of this book-loving feminist and abolitionist who bravely resisted an arranged marriage at the age of fourteen, and was ultimately courageous enough to fight against injustice. Historical notes, excerpts, and source notes round out this exceptional tribute.

Review: Every young girl should read this book. - Poetic dystopian? Well, not really but in this gorgeously written, wonderful little book the author describes a girl ahead of her time whose voice cannot be quieted despite many attempts by her mother and mother country. Engle's "Tula" rejects the status quo of slavery and women as property. She is ahead of her time and "fights" injustices through words, stories and actions. She pays a price for her voice because silence is unbearable. A beautiful book.
Review: Using The Lightning Dreamer in the Classroom - I have never been disappointed by one of Margarita Engle’s books and The Lightning Dreamer is no exception. It’s the fascinating true story of a Cuban woman who worked both for the abolition of slavery and equal rights for women. My guess is that many of you have never heard of Gertrudis Gómez de Avellanda, I certainly hadn’t. Engle’s ability to bring to life these lesser known but incredibly important historical characters is part of what makes her work so significant. Her novels in verse make historical characters like Tula accessible and real to younger readers. In writing this review, I was reminded of my obsession with biographies when I was in elementary school. When I was eight years old I decided that I was going to read every biography in my school’s library. Our biographies were shelved alphabetically by the name of the person the book was about. When I think about the books that I read then, I remember a number of books about Davy Crockett, Grover Cleveland and Amelia Earhart. Obviously, I didn’t make it all the way through, it would seem I stopped somewhere around E. But in thinking back, I’m struck by the lack of diversity in the people represented on my library’s shelves. I can only hope that with the availability of books like that of Engle things aren’t the same now. If books such as The Lightning Dreamer, The Surrender Tree, or Hurricane Dancers had been available to me then, I may have made it past E in my quest to read all those biographies. In telling the story of Tula, Engle’s book opens up a number of relevant topics for classroom discussion. As Tula becomes increasingly aware of the disparities in society, she begins to both ponder and write about things such as slavery, interracial marriage, and women’s rights. Tula grapples with these moral and ethical dilemmas in a language that invites students to question and struggle with her. She provides a way to teach our younger students about times when equal rights for people of color and women were explicitly denied. While it’s important to continue to discuss the ways in which equality is still not a reality for all people today, it’s just as important to discuss the historical contexts that our contemporary struggles for equality come from. Engle gives us a strong female protagonist who fights to remain authentic to the things she believes in, but in doing this, Engle also shows how hard it is to be that kind of person. It’s never easy to go against main stream society or to be the outcast among one’s friends or family. Through Tula, Engle gives voice to what it feels like to be alienated or exiled for one’s beliefs. These are powerful ideas for our students to think about—both those who can identify with Tula’s loneliness and those who realize they may be like the people who mocked Tula for being different. Tula is a powerful character, not just because of what she believed, but because of how she chose to stand up for those beliefs. She fought for equality and human rights through her stories and her poetry. She used the power of words as a means to change the minds of those around her. How valuable a lesson for the students in our classrooms—that our words are one of the most powerful tools we have for fighting against the things that try to hold us back. I’ll leave you with the words from Gertrudis Gómez de Avellanda that inspired the title of the book— “The slave let his mind fly free, and his thoughts soared higher than the clouds where lightning forms.” The Lightning Dreamer: Cuba's Greatest Abolitionist has received a number of awards: 2014 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults, School Library Journal's Top Ten Latino-themed Books for 2013, Teaching for Change 2013 Favorite, Center for the Study of Multicultural Children's Literature selection as a Best Multicultural Book of 2013, 2014 Pura Belpré Honor Book, and International Reading Association Top Chapter Book for 2013. Our free educator’s guide is available on our wordpress blog Vamos a Leer.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #145,675 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #23 in Teen & Young Adult Nonfiction on Prejudice (Books) #29 in Poetry for Teens & Young Adults #31 in Teen & Young Adult Women Biographies |
| Customer Reviews | 4.4 out of 5 stars 83 Reviews |

## Images

![The Lightning Dreamer: Cuba's Greatest Abolitionist - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81ogL1AX5CL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Every young girl should read this book.
*by Z***E on June 26, 2014*

Poetic dystopian? Well, not really but in this gorgeously written, wonderful little book the author describes a girl ahead of her time whose voice cannot be quieted despite many attempts by her mother and mother country. Engle's "Tula" rejects the status quo of slavery and women as property. She is ahead of her time and "fights" injustices through words, stories and actions. She pays a price for her voice because silence is unbearable. A beautiful book.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Using The Lightning Dreamer in the Classroom
*by V***R on August 11, 2015*

I have never been disappointed by one of Margarita Engle’s books and The Lightning Dreamer is no exception. It’s the fascinating true story of a Cuban woman who worked both for the abolition of slavery and equal rights for women. My guess is that many of you have never heard of Gertrudis Gómez de Avellanda, I certainly hadn’t. Engle’s ability to bring to life these lesser known but incredibly important historical characters is part of what makes her work so significant. Her novels in verse make historical characters like Tula accessible and real to younger readers. In writing this review, I was reminded of my obsession with biographies when I was in elementary school. When I was eight years old I decided that I was going to read every biography in my school’s library. Our biographies were shelved alphabetically by the name of the person the book was about. When I think about the books that I read then, I remember a number of books about Davy Crockett, Grover Cleveland and Amelia Earhart. Obviously, I didn’t make it all the way through, it would seem I stopped somewhere around E. But in thinking back, I’m struck by the lack of diversity in the people represented on my library’s shelves. I can only hope that with the availability of books like that of Engle things aren’t the same now. If books such as The Lightning Dreamer, The Surrender Tree, or Hurricane Dancers had been available to me then, I may have made it past E in my quest to read all those biographies. In telling the story of Tula, Engle’s book opens up a number of relevant topics for classroom discussion. As Tula becomes increasingly aware of the disparities in society, she begins to both ponder and write about things such as slavery, interracial marriage, and women’s rights. Tula grapples with these moral and ethical dilemmas in a language that invites students to question and struggle with her. She provides a way to teach our younger students about times when equal rights for people of color and women were explicitly denied. While it’s important to continue to discuss the ways in which equality is still not a reality for all people today, it’s just as important to discuss the historical contexts that our contemporary struggles for equality come from. Engle gives us a strong female protagonist who fights to remain authentic to the things she believes in, but in doing this, Engle also shows how hard it is to be that kind of person. It’s never easy to go against main stream society or to be the outcast among one’s friends or family. Through Tula, Engle gives voice to what it feels like to be alienated or exiled for one’s beliefs. These are powerful ideas for our students to think about—both those who can identify with Tula’s loneliness and those who realize they may be like the people who mocked Tula for being different. Tula is a powerful character, not just because of what she believed, but because of how she chose to stand up for those beliefs. She fought for equality and human rights through her stories and her poetry. She used the power of words as a means to change the minds of those around her. How valuable a lesson for the students in our classrooms—that our words are one of the most powerful tools we have for fighting against the things that try to hold us back. I’ll leave you with the words from Gertrudis Gómez de Avellanda that inspired the title of the book— “The slave let his mind fly free, and his thoughts soared higher than the clouds where lightning forms.” The Lightning Dreamer: Cuba's Greatest Abolitionist has received a number of awards: 2014 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults, School Library Journal's Top Ten Latino-themed Books for 2013, Teaching for Change 2013 Favorite, Center for the Study of Multicultural Children's Literature selection as a Best Multicultural Book of 2013, 2014 Pura Belpré Honor Book, and International Reading Association Top Chapter Book for 2013. Our free educator’s guide is available on our wordpress blog Vamos a Leer.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Beautiful literature
*by A***A on March 16, 2023*

Overall, this book is beautiful in the way the author portrays the feelings and thoughts of a young, Cuban girl who is prohibited from being able to free her mind on paper and in person. The story focuses on a Cuban girl who is fascinated with reading and writing stories of her own but unfortunately, due to the norms of her society in Cuba, she is restricted from freeing her thoughts and imagination on paper and books. If that isn’t bad enough, she still must await the day that her parents find her a rich man to marry in order for the family to inherit great wealth. But to Tula, there is nothing more valuable than a blank piece of paper and an imagination that is set to roam free. One day, Tula discovers the banned books of a rebel poet that speak to the deepest part of her soul and gives her the voice she never had. A voice that could speak for those who could not. A voice that could talk about the injustices of her daily lives around her. With these poems and stories, Tula is free to let her imagination and thoughts run free. But Tula sooner or later begins to realize, freedom is not really free. She eventually finds a way to use poetry as a way to rebel against her forced marriage, fight for freedom, and libertae the foundations of slavery. The way the whole story is told is beautiful. Words and poems flow just like the smooth water in a river; smooth enough to soothe one’s thirst, but if left in long enough, can cut through rock as well. This book is truly a prime example of fine poetry. The use of metaphors and fine literature intrigues the reader and truly changes the perspective of one. Tula is a prime example of a strong, independent, intelligent woman who was brave and courageous enough to stand up and speak for those who could not. One word at a time, one sentence at a time, one stanza at a time, Tula finds a way to enter our hearts and sympathize with her through the struggles of her everyday life, trapped into a society where women are not allowed an education; where no one understands her. Tula is just one of the many women who underwent these struggles. Reading and experiencing the life of Tula through her perspective helps one to realize and empathize not only with the protagonist, but also with the other women of Cuba as we soon learn to realize that Tula is not the only woman to experience this. “The Lightning Dreamer” is truly a beautiful book that is more than worth reading. It is a book that delivers a message that will stay with you forever.

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*Product available on Desertcart Greece*
*Store origin: GR*
*Last updated: 2026-05-31*