Matilda's dream

In this delightful and moving novel, set in the 1960s, Livia Garcia-Roza brings together diverse voices to paint a portrait of a family. The father's vernacular, which blends instruction with intuition in a singular language. The mother's superstition, who talks to herself and prays for her godmother to drive the Devil out of the house. Cristina's perfection even at bedtime, an example to be followed by the younger ones. The chatter of Matilde, a devoted sister. The jokes of Mateus, the early bird. The country accent that doesn't disguise their origins. But this isn't just any family, but a special one: the Moreiras. After all, her father taught her from an early age that everyone should honor their lineage, "we had to be a family of rights, walk with our heads held high, our foreheads high, and our minds clear." As a typical sister who sees her older sister as a role model, Cristina's dream becomes Matilde's too: to visit Rio de Janeiro. Raised in a small town with no prospects, the two share a shared desire to attend university in the marvelous city after passing the entrance exam. However, fate will be treacherous. They will have the opportunity to travel and see the Copacabana of their dreams, but the experience may not turn out exactly as planned, and the reasons prove more cruel and painful than they dreamed.