The young girl wanted to disappear when the nun asked her to stand in front of her new American classmates to introduce herself. It was Anilú Bernardo's first day of school in Flushing, New York. Having recently arrived with her family to this country, Bernardo spoke little English and her classmates spoke no Spanish.

But, the experience has served her well. The native of Cuba, who fled the island with her family after Castro's takeover, is determined to use her bicultural perspective to lend a compelling voice to the Cuban exile community. Bernardo uses her background to texturize her writing - a craft she has been honing from an early age. While her first attempts were poems in Spanish, she has since transferred her talents to fiction for young adults.

Her first novel, Jumping Off to Freedom, which chronicles a young Cuban boy's heroic attempt to reach the United States and hopes for the American Dream in a homemade raft, was nominated to the American Library Association’s annual list of Recommended Reading for Reluctant Young Readers, Quick Picks 1997. Jumping Off to Freedom has also been named to the Houston Area Independent Schools Library Network (HAISLN) Recommended Reading List for Grades 7 and 8 two years running (1999 and 2000).

Her second work, Fitting In, is a collection of short stories about Cuban American teenagers straddling two cultures in South Florida. It received a Skipping Stones Award and The Paterson Prize for Young Adult Literature. Fitting In found a place on HAISLN's 1999 Recommended Reading List for Grades 7 and 8.

Her next novel, Loves Me, Loves Me Not (1998), which explores the ins and outs of the young adult dating game, was included in The New York Public Library's annual list of recommended reading for young adults, 2000 Book for the Teen Age. Loves Me, Loves Me Not was also named to the American Library Association's 2000 YALSA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults and the Tayshas High School Reading List.

Bernardo spent her adolescent years in Miami and attended Florida State University where she earned a B.A. in Spanish and a Master’s degree in Communications. As the Director of Public Information for a large organization, she honed her skills writing media releases and internal communications. She turned to writing books in 1995. The author currently lives in Plantation, Florida with her husband and two daughters.

Biography provided by Arte Público Press.