Told through diary entries during World War II, eleven-year-old Valentina helps her family navigate wartime changes and contributes to the war effort on the home front for a country she is not so sure accepts Mexican American families like her own.

Claudia Oviedo writes for children under various names. Reading about different mythologies is a favorite pastime with her kids. Honors include: 2009 Paterson Prize for Books for Young People, as well as the 2008 and 2015 Texas Institute of Letters Best Young Adult Book Award, and several starred reviews for her picture books.