Growing up is hard as it is, but Julian does so in a tumultuous environment racked with political strife, loss of family, and being far from home. The novel takes the typical coming-of-age themes and places them in a Cuban, Cold War historical context. During a Cuban revolution as Fulgencio Batista leaves and Fidel Castro comes to power in 1959, the country is in turmoil, and many families have to leave their homes or send their children away via Operation Pedro Pan. This sacrifice is confusing to young Julian, who cannot understand why his family cannot be together, or why he must leave alone and in secret. Circumstances force him to grow up quickly and become independent in America. He learns not only how to survive without his brothers or parents, but he comes to see life without them as more fulfilling at times.

He leaves Cuba as a young boy who is teased and babied by his brothers and wishes to be treated like an adult. He wants to be the hero for the sake of praise. Later, in America, he finds that being treated like an adult is dangerous. It requires making difficult decisions, making sacrifices, and learning to do the right thing.