Red Midnight

infobox Book |
name = Red Midnight
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption =
author = Ben Mikaelsen
illustrator =
cover_artist = Cliff Nielsen
country = United States
language = English
series =
genre = Historical novel
publisher = HarperCollins
release_date = 2002
english_release_date =
media_type = Print Paperback)
pages = 212 pp (paperback)
isbn = ISBN 0380805618
preceded_by =
followed_by =
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"Red Midnight" is a novel written by Ben Mikaelsen. It is set in Guatemala in spring of 1981.

Plot summary

12-year-old Santiago Cruz, a Kekchi "campesinos indigenos", escapes from his destroyed village, Dos Vías, Guatemala, on May 18, 1981 with his four-year-old sister, Angelina, at midnight, after his mother pushes her into his arms and wakes him up. His entire family has been killed by soldiers, and he runs as far away as he can. His Uncle Ramos gives him a map and compass and instructs him to sail away in his cayuco to the United States of America. The boy and his sister find a horse, and ride it into Los Santos, where everyone is dead. They continue into a city and sneak a ride in a maíz truck. They then sneak a ride on the back of a truck that a drunk soldier is driving. They walk down to Lake Izabal and sleep on the ground at their Uncle Ramos's house. In the morning, Enrique, a friend of Ramos, finds the children. They tell him what has happened, and Enrique and his wife, Silvia, give them food for the journey. Enrique tells them everything he knows about the dangerous journey, and ride in the cayuco with them until they reach the opening to the sea. At the entrance to El Golfete, they sneak beside the sore past a military boat. Enrique leaves and Santiago and his sister sails into the ocean. They have little food, and soon go hungry and thirsty, with itches and sores all over their bodies. They encounter tourists, pirates, many storms, and a shark. They encounter a river of garbage, which Santiago uses to fix his cayuco, and finds Angelina a broken plastic doll. They once nearly sailed into an inland bay on the border of Belize and Mexico, and then sailed into the open Gulf. Santiago makes notches in his cayuco every dawn with his machete. They attempt to catch fish, but often fail or have to steal fish from fishing nets from a ship. They encounter a large storm, which causes the mast to fall directly on Santiago's head, and makes them lose the water pail. They experience diahrrea and blisters, and almost lose hope of making the journey. They had expected to arrive in twenty days, but several more pass with no land in sight. One day, a tropical storm's eye passes over them, and they lose everything except the cayuco. As the storm passes, they land in a large city in Florida, and are taken to a hospital. They tell a nurse who can speak Spanish about their journey. They are bandaged, Angelina's doll is fixed, and they are shown on television and are fed food. They are told they will not be deported because they have lost everything.

References and further reading

*Red Midnight, Ben Mikaelsen, ISBN 0-380-80561-8