A 10-year-old Afro-Cuban girl now lives with her Tia Catalina after her mother dies. The girl writes brief letters to her mother describing the rejection she feels at the hands of her aunt, cousins and grandmother. A neighbor, classmate, and teacher provide the few rays of hope in her life. At book's end she is 15 years old, more mature and forgiving of her family, having seen that they too have their troubles.

Letters to My Mother is about a young girl that writes letters to her mother that is in heaven. The girl lives in Cuba with her aunt, cousins and her grandmother. All of them don't like the girl, because she is always getting in trouble. In the letters, she writes about her new school, there is this white boy named Roberto and a mean girl named Baby. The kids at school make fun of her because she is black except for Roberto. Roberto always goes to the girl's house because he doesn't have a dad and his mother is always leaving the house. The girl also becomes friends with an old lady who is also a gardener. In her garden, there are beautiful plants and a tree that keeps growing fruit all year long. At the end of the book everyone starts to get along with the young girl. The girl starts to like living in Cuba, and she also wants to find her father.

I really enjoyed reading this book. The girl keeps sending letters to her dead mother, so she can have someone to talk to. The letters show that she loved her mother very much. The relatives that she is living with start to realize that she is a very nice and sweet girl. This book teaches people to be strong. If you've been punished, then you can write about it so it can make you feel better. I would recommend this book to a person who needs a book about love and caring for one another. Just like the characters in this story.

Between the ages of ten to fifteen, a girl writes letters to her dead mother in order to keep her memory alive. Living with her aunt and cousins, she eventually makes friends with a light-skinned boy and an old woman and discovers some family secrets.