Next Year in Havana, Chanel Cleeton

Oh, how I loved this book. Ms. Cleeton brought Havana into light in such an intriguing way; I wanted to go there after I read the book.

Written in dual timeframes of the 1950’s Cuba and present-day in the United States, the novel tracks a woman in Cuba in love with someone she can’t be, and her granddaughter, going back to Cuba to spread her grandmother’s ashes.

In the 1950’s storyline, Fidel Castro is powerful and big changes are coming which impact the protagonist and her family forever. The present-day storyline is fraught with revealing the truth of her family while learning why her heritage is so rich, so fragile, and so powerful.

An incredibly good book that will open the reader’s eyes to Cuba’s past.