Isabel’s grandmother. (“Lita” is short for abuelita, meaning “grandmother.”) Lita dies two years prior to the beginning of Isabel’s story. Isabel had been staying with her and Lito when an enormous cyclone hit, and their shack was swept out to sea. Lita slipped beneath the waves and drowned in the water.
How did Isabel’s grandma die?
During a storm when Isabel was staying with her grandma & grandpa a huge wave swept grandma into the sea, She drowned.
What happened to Isabel’s grandfather?
What happened to Isabel’s grandfather? He made it to Miami with the rest of the family. He stayed behind in Cuba from the beginning. He distracted the Coast Guard by jumping into the water and then got sent back to Cuba.
Who is Isabel’s grandfather in Refugee?
Among the people who join Isabel on the journey is her grandfather Lito, who is eventually revealed to be Mariano Padron, the Cuban officer who, decades ago, prevented Josef from entering Havana.
What happened to Isabel in Refugee?
Despite her grief, Isabel is able to persevere and guide her family to reach the shores of Miami. At the end of the book, Isabel is able to reconnect with her heritage when her uncle Guillermo gives her a new trumpet, and Isabel is finally able to count clave.
Who is Isabel’s mom in refugee?
Isabel / Just Outside Havana, Cuba-1994
Lito points out that Isabel’s mother, Teresa, is very pregnant.
Why did Josef slap his father?
A group of Hitler Youth attack Josef after school. The group “fell on him, hitting and kicking him for being a Jew, and calling him all kinds of names.” During a medical check, Josef’s father becomes agitated and starts mumbling. Josef “slapped his father across the face.
Why didnt Isabel’s grandfather leave Cuba?
Isabel’s father and grandfather yelled at each other about dictators and freedom and families and responsibility. Why did Lito say that Isabel’s family could not go to Cuba? Because Isabel smother was pregnant. … Ivan, and his father Rudi.
Why does Mahmoud like to be invisible?
Mahmoud describes how invisibility, for him, is a form of protection—as he puts it, being invisible is “how he survives.” Mahmoud describes how “getting noticed by the Syrian army or the rebels fighting them [is] just inviting trouble.” He understands that just to be noticed represents an invitation of danger, and so …
Why does Isabel sell her trumpet?
A talented musician with a deep love for the rhythms of her homeland, Isabel sells her beloved trumpet to purchase gasoline for the raft. Mahmoud finds the courage to shed the “invisibility” he has cultivated and lead his family to a better future.
Does Ivan die in refugee?
Ivan is attacked by a shark and dies. Mahmoud and his mother struggle to survive in the Mediterranean but eventually the family is rescued by the Greek Coast Guard.
What does Isabel Fernandez look like?
Isabel Fernandez is eleven-years-old, and she is described as “all lanky arms and legs. Her brown face was splotchy with freckles, and her thick black hair was cut short for the summer and pulled back behind her ears”.
Who is Josef in refugee?
Josef Landau is one of the three main protagonists in the novel, and the novel begins with his perspective in Berlin, 1938. Josef is a 12-year-old Jewish boy on the cusp of his bar mitzvah. He is the older brother of Ruthie, and the son of Aaron and Rachel Landau.
Why did Mahmoud leave his home in refugee?
Mahmoud Bishara is a 12-year-old boy from Aleppo, Syria who lives in 2015 in the book Refugee. … Mahmoud’s family made the decision to leave Syria after their building gets bombed, and because of the long-term dangerous and violent conditions in Syria.
Why did Josef leave Germany?
In Josef’s country of origin, Germany, he is being discriminated against and being beaten for being Jewish. Life is so awful for Jews in Nazi Germany, so his family decides they need to leave.