The Boy Who Said No: An Escape to Freedom

Young Frank Mederos is not sure how to react when Cuba's dictator Batista is overthrown by Fidel Castro and his revolutionaries. In the years that follow, Frank is given unrequested, unwanted assignments by the Communist regime; Frank becomes increasingly disenchanted by the increasingly doctrinaire Cuban government intervening in nearly every aspect of Cuban life without regard for the desires or needs of individuals. When Frank's one true love Magda and her family flee Cuba for the safety, Frank resolves to follow them but escape from a regime determined to keep its people imprisoned will prove to be difficult and dangerous. Based on a real person, Mederos's actual story contains all the elements for a riveting tale of escape from an oppressive, regimented society, but Sheehy's execution never fully meets its potential. The story is flattened by an overly simple plot, leaving readers longing for the richness that evokes thrill. (June)