When thirteen-year-old Lora tells her parents that she wants to join Premier Castro s army of young literacy teachers, her mother screeches to high heaven, and her father roars like a lion. But didn t her parents teach her to share what she has with someone in need? Shining light on a little-known moment in history, Katherine Paterson traces a young teen s coming-of-age journey from a sheltered life to a singular mission: teaching fellow Cubans of all ages to read and write.