Read the excerpts from The Red Umbrella by Christina Diaz Gonzalez. Excerpt 1 – from lesson"Chica, you look gorgeous!” Ivette gave me a quick hug."You too,” I said."Oh, this old thing?” Ivette gave me a wink and spun around in her new dress. If anyone else had worn it, they might’ve looked like one big domino, but Ivette made it work. She was a fashion queen.I scanned the dance floor. There, under a canopy of white crepe-paper ribbons, ten couples danced as the band played a quick merengue. Next to them, along the back wall, sat the chaperones . . . all keeping a watchful eye on the dancing. I felt like Cinderella at the ball.Excerpt 2 – Chapter 15 After we got our bags, George made a quick call on a nearby pay phone, and then took us outside to his light green station wagon. It was a sunny day in Miami, exactly the same as in Cuba, but there was a difference. In Cuba, the air seemed to taste sweeter, as if there were mangoes growing nearby or your mother had just cooked your favorite dish. Here, although I was only a couple hundred miles away, everything felt more sterile, like I’d just walked into an office building. The rhythm of life was different, too. The pulsing sound of people speaking Spanish around me, or the music that would surprise your ears as you passed by an open window, was missing. In Miami, the sounds of cars filled the air, but I couldn’t get the pulse of the city. I was sure it was there, so maybe I wasn’t listening close enough. Maybe I just didn’t want to hear.