Starred Review ALA Booklist (Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 CST 2020)

Starred Review Engle's novel in verse tells the life story of Rubén Darío, the famed Niño Poeta (Boy Poet) of Nicaragua. Beginning with his sad and lonely childhood, Engle tells of Darío's status as an orphan andoned by his mother, with no father to speak of. Motivated by anger and emptiness, he poured himself into writing, and the book tells his intriguing rags-to-riches story, written from a believable child perspective. Engle explores Darío's relationship with words and the effects of abandonment, trauma, grief, and loss on his work. The cyclical nature of events described, as well as the seasons' change and the rollercoaster of emotions l based firmly in research flect how the poet's past affected his identity and career. Engle also pays close attention to Darío's mestizo identity and the importance of utilizing Spanish language, and there is a wonderful section on linework and rhyming patterns and structures, an educational element for young poets trying their hands at redondillas, octavillas, espinelas, and seguidillas. Along his life's journey, Darío encountered violence, alcoholism, terrible family secrets, devastating natural disasters, and racism t, as Engle writes, he was a "hunter of daydreams," only content to share his explosive "verse hurricanes." Darío would go on to found the movement of Modernismo, and Engle details more historical information in the back matter. Exceptional.

Horn Book

Written in first person, this heartfelt verse novel tells the fictionalized story of Ruben Dario (based on his autobiography), who was born in 1867 in Nicaragua and initiated the modernismo literary movement (a blend, as Engle writes in her appended author's note, of "poetry and prose, complex rhymes, assonance...and free verse, as well as classical European and indigenous Native American images"). Abandoned by his mother in the jungle as a baby, Dario is eventually taken in by a great-aunt and -uncle whose stories told aloud become the basis for his poetry. Dario becomes known as the "Poet Boy of Central America" and uses that fame to leave Nicaragua for El Salvador and Chile, where he seeks further literary commissions but experiences racism due to his dark skin and indio heritage. Dario's childhood abandonment haunts him, making him feel unwanted, always in exile; these feelings eventually motivate him to work for social equality and develop new, experimental literary forms. Although it's often difficult to place the larger narrative in historical context and track its subject through time, the brevity of the poems allows readers to make rapid progress through the novel, and the placement of line breaks is thoughtful and effective: "With paper as my sky, words / are the wind that should help my mind fly." An author's note and a list of references complete the book.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

The latest biography in verse from Newbery Honoree Engle (Dreams from Many Rivers) adapts the life of beloved Nicaraguan poet Rubén Darío (1867-1916). First-person poems describe childhood abandonment by his mother, his years as a child-prodigy poet, and his adulthood as a hard-drinking globetrotter. Engle documents Darío-s shift from traditional rhymed forms to -just letting verses flow, finding their way/ into musical rhythms that dance on natural air,- at times imitating these structures. In her own free verse, Engle distills a fascinating life and creates a portrait of a country where poetry, valued by many, could be a young person-s ticket out of hardship. Darío navigates heartache and ponders national and ethnic identity, but Engle leaves out necessary context that would allow the subjects to come fully alive. Meaningful lines occasionally sing but sometimes feel repetitious. Nevertheless, in introducing readers to Darío, Engle creates a jumping-off point for poetic exploration. Ages 12-up. (Feb.)-

School Library Journal (Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 CST 2020)

Gr 7 Up-In the capable hands of Engle, this novel in verse about Rubén Darío is utterly moving. Born in the late 1860s, Darío created a literary movement known as Modernismo while rambunctiously coming of age. Engle shares a trove of discoveries about a boy from Nicaragua with a fractured family who became the celebrated "Poet Boy" traveling the world. He overcame hardship and pushed the boundaries of artistry, with his most renowned poem about a fairytale scribbled to a young fan. Engle's author's note suggests the majority of the book is biographically accurate based on Darío's own comprehensive writing. With a bombshell discovery about both of his parents, he turned to poetry as a mouthpiece for his frustration. Similarly, Darío's views on the world and political turmoil were funneled through his powerful writing. Engle takes this beauty and creates a captivating tribute in her own style, with emotional poem titles and a controlled unraveling of the details of a life lived to the limit. This type of storytelling celebrates the creative talent of Latinx people that has been hidden by history. Engle's form and research is something to be heralded, as is Darío's life and work. VERDICT A top purchase for public and school libraries alike; a stellar example of verse and historical fiction.Alicia Abdul, Albany High School, NY