Next Year In Havana by Chanel Cleeton

What would happen if there was talk of a revolution?  What would you do?  Would you continue to support the current government, or would you watch, wait, and bide your time?  What would happen to you?  To your family?  To your friends?  Could you walk away from the country and never know when you might return? If ever?

Marisol is traveling to Cuba to write a travel article about its beaches, restaurants, and the beauty of the island.  She is also surreptitiously carrying her grandmother's ashes because being buried in Cuba was her grandmother's final wish.  The travel article is supposedly the main reason she is in the country, but really, the main reason is to scatter her grandmother's ashes somewhere on the island.  Her grandmother never gave Marisol any indication where she wanted her ashes scattered, so it is up to Marisol to decide the most fitting place.

Marisol received many warnings from her great aunts to be vigilant while on the island, but with the death of Fidel Castro, she feels that she will be safe. The Perez family fled the island shortly after Fidel Castro became the dictator of the island and began executing anyone who had ties to the former president, Batista.  Marisol doesn't realize that anyone with the Perez name will be on the radar of Cuban officials. 

Marisol's journey to learning her grandmother's story, and the stories of those of her aunts and uncle leads to even more questions, fear for those she has come to love, and a romance.  The sights and smells of Cuba make it a tantalizing place to visit, but the people of Cuba are still victims of an authoritarian society, so life is still very difficult for most residents of the country. This book is a wonderful read, and just getting to know the island and its proud people makes the story. 

The people of Cuba are survivors.  They will continue to fight for their cause and their rights.