Book

Mi planta de Naranja Lima (“My sweet orange tree” in English) is a moving story about a
Brazilian five years old child whom the life
teaches him that sometimes one has to mature early to get
over the difficult situations in order to get by.

Written in first person, this book shows us the condition of

the poorest society of Brazil in the 70’s throughout the
perspective of Zezé, the main character of this story, a
naughty but adorable child who tends to get into troubles
and to be punished due to them.

Living with an unemployed father, a mother who has to

work in a factory during the night to earn a misery, and
numerous siblings, they are forced to move to a precarious
house where he will meet his new best friend, an orange
tree which will come alive in his imagination and will be
witness of his thoughts, dreams and fantasies.

In his innocence, Zezé is mistreated by his family, specially by his father and older sister whom
he feels hatred feelings for. Believing himself useless and a bad person, he wanders the streets
trying to earn a few coins, but what he does not know is that he has a heart of gold and is
always looking after others; besides he is a brilliant student too.

Not until does he meet the right person who comes into his life to change his world does he
feel really happy and important; and since that moment the story has an unexpected plot twist
that makes the reader feel an accumulation of emotions that will last until the dramatic end
which we won’t be able to imagine by the way.

Even though this book is short (just 200 pages), it is written in a beautiful and sensitive
language that captures the reader’s heart and provokes a flurry of feelings. A fast moving but
entertaining book with a haunting character that will touch your emotions and make you
remember him and this story forever.

I recommend this captivating book to everyone who wants to read a story written with the
soul.