Lucky Broken Girl

An unforgettable coming-of-age novel following a young Cuban-Jewish immigrant girl in 1960s New York City who must overcome the sudden derailment of her American Dream.

WINNER OF THE PURA BELPRE AWARD • A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST MIDDLE GRADE BOOK OF THE CENTURY

“A book for anyone mending from childhood wounds.”—Sandra Cisneros, author of The House on Mango Street

Based on acclaimed author Ruth Behar’s childhood, Lucky Broken Girl follows Ruthie Mizrahi, a young Cuban-Jewish immigrant who recently emigrated from Castro’s Cuba to New York City with her family. Just when she’s finally beginning to gain confidence in her mastery of English—and enjoying her reign as her neighborhood’s hopscotch queen—a horrific car accident leaves her in a body cast and confined to her bed for a long recovery. As Ruthie’s world shrinks, her powers of observation and her heart grow larger as she comes to understand how fragile life is, how vulnerable we all are as human beings, and how friends, neighbors, and the power of the arts can sweeten even the worst of times.

A remarkable story of resilience, poignancy, and hope for a better life, Ruthie’s plight will intrigue readers, and her strength will stay with them for years to come.

Ruth Behar (www.ruthbehar.com), an acclaimed author of fiction and nonfiction, received the 2018 Pura Belpré Author Award for Lucky Broken Girl, her first book for young readers. She was born in Havana, Cuba, grew up in New York City, and has also lived in Spain and Mexico. An anthropology professor at the University of Michigan, she is the author of The Vulnerable Observer: Anthropology That Breaks Your Heart, An Island Called Home: Returning to Jewish Cuba, and Traveling Heavy: A Memoir in between Journeys, and other books about her travels, as well as a bilingual book of poetry, Everything I Kept/Todo lo que guardé. Her honors include a MacArthur Fellows “Genius” Award, a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, and a Distinguished Alumna Award from Wesleyan University. She lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and travels frequently to Miami and Havana.