Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“A book to be read and remembered: a tribute to children whose lives were lost to forces not of their own creation.”

Publishers Weekly
“Dedicated to ‘the memory that helps us defeat monsters,’ the childhoods that Ferrada imagines for these young victims of violence—childhoods in which nothing bad happens, and there’s enough time for each to do whatever they like—feel both poignant and haunting.”

Booklist
“In this beautiful, haunting poetry collection—dedicated to the child victims of Pinochet’s Chilean regime, established in 1973—each of 33 poems focuses on one of the children: Alicia, who never celebrated another birthday but who could have loved balloons; Francisco, who loved to read; Jessica, Marcela, and Orlando, who enjoyed animals and insects. The short, heartbreaking poems bring to the surface the simple joys of life that these kids experienced for too brief a time, reflecting not only the many possibilities they were robbed of but also the acute way children have of noticing everything—the changes in a tree, the brightness of the sun, the different sounds raindrops make. At the end, the names and ages of all 33 children are listed, along with a poem dedicated to one child found alive. The soft, muted illustrations show the beauty of the world as seen through their eyes, tinged with the sadness of something lost, imploring readers never to allow children to go through this experience again.”

School Library Journal (starred review)
“A heartfelt volume emphasizing innocence in the face of continuing political violence, this #OwnVoices work is a must-purchase for poetry collections serving young patrons.”