Leonardo was a Venezuelan engineer who lived and worked for a U.S. petroleum company in Florida. He was used to solving problems in his work life. In fact, he was really good at it. He was so good that the company was going to honor him at a special event. But Leonardo’s problem-solving skills were put to the test when he was forced to deal with family issues, both with his son in Florida, and back home in Venezuela where his daughter still lived with her family.

In Venezuela, Gustavo was a doctor and a prominent member of the community. He and his wife were living a good life with their two boys ー at least until the accident. Unable to deal with the loss of his wife and younger son, Gustavo was forced to leave Venezuela behind and start anew with his older son at his parents’ home in Florida. Sad and angry with his new reality in the United States he tried to numb his pain and in doing so, alienated his parents and his son, Samuel.  

Samuel had just started high school a couple of years earlier when his mom and brother died in an accident in Venezuela. Like his father, he was still sad and angry, but Samuel always had his music. Rock music. He loved his guitar and how playing it made him feel: free.  As if losing half of his family wasn’t enough of a burden, Samuel also had to contend with the typical teen issues ー especially when it came to relationships. And these relationships, while accepted by both of his grandparents, were the cause of some huge problems between Samuel and his father.

Specifications

• 77 pages of text
• 280 unique and 118 cognates
• total word count: 6365
• written in present tense
• written in 1st person singular
• the story is told alternately from the perspectives of the three main characters
• setting: New York and Venezuela

Information for teachers

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