When I Am Singing to You eBook Rebecca Burke
Download As PDF : When I Am Singing to You eBook Rebecca Burke 
With her family, fourteen-year-old Carmen Delgada puts in long days in the Iowa farm fields. To survive, the Delgadas live off and on in an old school bus, avoid doctors, and use the local food bank.
After a terrible misunderstanding, her mother Zoila kicks her out.
Carmen ends up living at a YWCA that shelters homeless women and girls. When she discovers her new friend Hazel is pregnant, she vows to help her--a decision that results in tragedy and a scandal for the Y.
When I Am Singing to You is a coming of age story that is also about a daughter's fierce determination to return home.
When I Am Singing to You eBook Rebecca Burke
There are very few novels I can think of whose main character stayed in my thoughts for weeks after finishing the story. This novel was one of them."When I Am Singing to You" is a story set in the 1980's and told from the perspective of Carmen, a teenage Mexican migrant worker whose family works long hours in the Iowa fields for little (or sometimes no) pay. Not only does Carmen have to work alongside her mother, Zola, and Zola's common-law husband, she must also watch over her younger siblings.
Carmen feels a strong bond for, and is fiercely protective of, her family. After Zola accuses Carmen of having an inappropriate relationship with her common-law husband, an explosive argument takes place and Carmen is told to leave the house.
Devastated that she is being forced to leave her family, Carmen sets out on her own. Along the way she encounters dangerous people, but eventually makes her way to the Des Moines YWCA where she finds shelter, but also a new friend who is in dire need. All the while Carmen yearns to reconnect with her family and return to them.
This story gives a rich and vivid portrayal of the struggle of migrant workers and hardships (everything from racism to abuse) they face. Throughout the book you can feel the pressure this family is under as they are in desperate need of a stable life and medical attention. As the feeling of desperation weighs heavily, you just can't help but want the best for Carmen hope things get better for her.
Considering her resources are limited, Carmen is an intelligent, well-read girl who is strong physically (from working in the fields) and has built up an emotional strength to compensate for her mother's growing depression. Throughout the story she is often in survival mode, but yet is always thinking about how things could be better for her and her family in the future.
With the turn of every page, I wanted extraordinary things to happen for Carmen--someone enters her life to save the day, she meets a boy, she's given an opportunity to completely change her life and help her family...anything that would help this young girl transcend her hardships. Instead, Carmen's victories were bittersweet. Truth be told, the direction her life went in by story's end left me a bit sad, but I was also left appreciating the reality of the story and the opportunity to become more aware of the plight of migrant families.
To say a character touched your heart is a testament to how well the book was written. There was beauty found in such an emotionally raw story. This also speaks volumes of the high quality storytelling found in this book.
Finally, I have to admit, I was skeptical of reading self-published indie authors because, admittedly, my first inclination was to assume the writing would be awful. This author has changed my mind. I read this book in a day and a half and was so glad I took a chance on it.
I'm eager to find hidden gems like this one from other authors as well as read more from Rebecca Burke.
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When I Am Singing to You eBook Rebecca Burke Reviews
This book is well-written, heart-warming and quick to engage the Adult reader. It's a coming of age story about a poor Latina heroine. It is a book about mothers and daughters. Read my full review at www dot latinabookclub dot com.
When I was reading Rebecca Burke's book, I was caught up in the story of Carmen, a young girl yearning for home and love, but not at the expense of her self. "When I am Singing to You" is written for an older teen audience, and as a mom, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it. The journey that Carmen, the main character, takes has its unique twists and turns, but as a journey to adulthood it is in many ways universal.
Carmen is the oldest daughter in a family of migrant workers following the harvest. Ms. Burke evokes the gritty reality of the hard work, the miserable and dangerous conditions, and the psychological desolation of their lives. Most U.S. teenagers wouldn't have a clue that people in our own country have to live that way, but reading this book would give them a picture of the people who pick the fruit and vegetables we eat.
When a family crisis leads to Carmen being kicked out, she finds her way to a transitional living center at the YWCA in Des Moines, Iowa. Meeting everyone from earnest fundamentalist evangelists, to a slumming suburban yuppie, to a pregnant Native American teenager, Carmen has to learn who she can trust and who she can't. Like all teens, she has to develop confidence in her own values, her own strengths, her own goals.
I hope Ms. Burke continues to write books for teens that incorporate social issues with coming of age stories.
Rebecca Burke needs to write more books! She drew me in from the very first page and I most certainly did not want to let go on the last. Her characterization of Carmen was so wonderful that I felt like I, too, was experiencing some of the pain and injustices that were done to her. I have not been this emotionally connected to the main character for a long time! Rebecca’s style is a “breath of fresh air” that I have been longing for as often times other authors sickeningly attempt to sound real, but have the absolute opposite effect. I honestly felt as if she were talking right to me with her natural and very entertaining style of writing. Not to mention, she did an outstanding job of bringing to light the not so pleasant realities that many of our beloved migrant families have endured for years. I loved everything about this book and most definitely will seek out other books written by the very talented Rebecca Burke. I hope another one is in the works!
Kathy Johnson
There are very few novels I can think of whose main character stayed in my thoughts for weeks after finishing the story. This novel was one of them.
"When I Am Singing to You" is a story set in the 1980's and told from the perspective of Carmen, a teenage Mexican migrant worker whose family works long hours in the Iowa fields for little (or sometimes no) pay. Not only does Carmen have to work alongside her mother, Zola, and Zola's common-law husband, she must also watch over her younger siblings.
Carmen feels a strong bond for, and is fiercely protective of, her family. After Zola accuses Carmen of having an inappropriate relationship with her common-law husband, an explosive argument takes place and Carmen is told to leave the house.
Devastated that she is being forced to leave her family, Carmen sets out on her own. Along the way she encounters dangerous people, but eventually makes her way to the Des Moines YWCA where she finds shelter, but also a new friend who is in dire need. All the while Carmen yearns to reconnect with her family and return to them.
This story gives a rich and vivid portrayal of the struggle of migrant workers and hardships (everything from racism to abuse) they face. Throughout the book you can feel the pressure this family is under as they are in desperate need of a stable life and medical attention. As the feeling of desperation weighs heavily, you just can't help but want the best for Carmen hope things get better for her.
Considering her resources are limited, Carmen is an intelligent, well-read girl who is strong physically (from working in the fields) and has built up an emotional strength to compensate for her mother's growing depression. Throughout the story she is often in survival mode, but yet is always thinking about how things could be better for her and her family in the future.
With the turn of every page, I wanted extraordinary things to happen for Carmen--someone enters her life to save the day, she meets a boy, she's given an opportunity to completely change her life and help her family...anything that would help this young girl transcend her hardships. Instead, Carmen's victories were bittersweet. Truth be told, the direction her life went in by story's end left me a bit sad, but I was also left appreciating the reality of the story and the opportunity to become more aware of the plight of migrant families.
To say a character touched your heart is a testament to how well the book was written. There was beauty found in such an emotionally raw story. This also speaks volumes of the high quality storytelling found in this book.
Finally, I have to admit, I was skeptical of reading self-published indie authors because, admittedly, my first inclination was to assume the writing would be awful. This author has changed my mind. I read this book in a day and a half and was so glad I took a chance on it.
I'm eager to find hidden gems like this one from other authors as well as read more from Rebecca Burke.
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