A vivid, unforgettable journey through a time and a world that is closer than we realize, from a writer who “brings a fresh voice to Latin American literature” (New York Times).

Magda’s childhood in 1960s Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, is one of small pleasures: sitting beneath the poinsettia tree in her yard, meeting her friends by the banks of the Río de la Plata, and learning the rules that her culture ordains for young women of privilege. But as Magda grows up, her comfortable world becomes frightening. Her government increasingly turns on its own people in both subtle and overt acts of terror, and soon Magda’s family and friends come under threat.

Sent to the United States for a year of school, Magda realizes how her own passivity has contributed to the fear that now grips her country. The events she experiences after her return to Montevideo give her the courage to join the underground struggle against the government—a fateful decision that draws not only her, but all those around her, into unexpected danger.

Full of rich detail, moving characterizations, and political intrigue, The Tree of Red Stars is both a tender story of love and friendship and a terrifying, personal look at a country—and a way of life—under siege.