Cuban-American author and retired social worker Rosa M. Fernández opens her world here. Explore her debut novel of a young girl, Dulcita, who finds a hidden diary in Havana and fights for a new life. Read readers’ reviews, chapter snapshots, Rosa’s articles on heritage, and her journey from social work to storytelling.
Rosa M. Fernández is a Cuban-American writer whose stories come from the heart. Born in Santa Clara, she came to the U.S. at age five, carrying Cuba in her bones. After decades as a social worker, she turned to fiction to give voice to young heroes like Dulcita. When she isn’t writing, Rosa enjoys reading, traveling, and sharing life with her partner and four pets in Florida. Get to know her here—and then dive into Dulcita La Balserita, where courage and hope light every page. Her words feel like a hand holding yours.
Branded a ‘traitor’ at school, Dulcita faces isolation. Her grandfather grows distant.
Havana, 1993. Soldiers patrol crumbling streets. Hunger whispers in empty kitchens. Then, 12-year-old Dulcita finds a hidden diary—and a girl’s 30-year-old cry for freedom. Now she must outsmart secret police with a stray dog named Negrito, decode the diary’s dangerous truth, and help her family build a forbidden raft. But the sea holds sharks and storms… and freedom is 90 miles away. How far would you go for hope? Rosa M. Fernández’s debut drops you into Cuba’s beating heart, where courage is the only currency that matters.
Read this with my 10-year-old granddaughter. We hugged when Negrito survived the storm. Now she asks about my childhood in Cuba. Magic in pages.
HistoryTeacher
My daughter and I read this together. We talked about Cuba, bravery, and why some stories feel like secrets. She now carries her journal everywhere. Thank you, Rosa.
Dad of 12yo
Fernández makes Havana come alive... the sticky heat, the falling buildings, the fear humming under every conversation. Dulcita’s bond with her grandfather wrecked me. It has been two days since i finished the book and I am still not over it.
Bookstagrammer
My son finished it at 2am, then woke me to talk about freedom. Rosa makes hard history feel alive. Parents—read this WITH your kids.
Behind every powerful story is an author with a vision. Rosa M. Fernández, the Cuban-American writer of Dulcita La Balserita, brings her personal history, cultural pride, and passion for storytelling…
Educators know the power of books to shape young minds, and Rosa M. Fernández’s debut novel, Dulcita La Balserita, deserves a spot in every school library. This middle-grade historical fiction…
Stories have always been bridges between generations, and Dulcita La Balserita by Rosa M. Fernández is a shining example of this truth. This moving middle-grade novel invites readers into the…
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María R
Miami Grandma