Helpful Score: 5
This book is about the authors chaotic childhood in Puerto Rico and then her move to Brooklyn, New York. She writes about her journey through the public school system, the prestigious High School of Performing Arts and attending Harvard University on a scholarship. I felt drawn into her story as she wrote about being caught in the agonizing web of dual identities, an experience many immigrants to America face. This excellent coming of age autobiography is written by a producer of documentary and education films. Esmeralda Santiago has also written for the New York Times, the Boston Globe and many mass market magazines like Good Housekeeping and Home and Gardens. I found her writing to be very engaging. This book is highly recommended for the readers interested in the immigrant experince and for the educators. There is an excellent movie verson of the sequal to WHEN I WAS PUERTO RICAN called ALMOST A WOMAN.
Helpful Score: 4
I read this a long while back, but I still remember my over all impresion of the book as being a wonderfully enlightening read. The author has a very readable style and you really " go with her" in her rememberances of a childhood in P.R. Very warm, very honest writing.
Helpful Score: 1
I recently visited Puerto Rico so really enjoyed this book. Lots of insight into her life and changes when moving from country to city and then to another country.
A story about a girl of who was brought up in rural Puerto Rico and later taken to New York City where she is bewildered by the changes she must face.
Interesting coming of age story of a young girl whose parents' disfunctional marriage resulted in her being uprooted from her familiar Puerto Rico to an unfamiliar New York City.
This book was a great read, A story about the authors childhood growin up in Puerto Rico then moving to NY. Being from Puerto Rico myself I found it so easy to relate to some things and it brought back many memories.
Great book! This author is fabulous in her description of life as a child in Puerto Rico.
Beautiful book! Well written! ( My family is from Puerto Rico and reading this book took me back to my childhood living in P.R. because at 19 years old I came back to my birth place,which is the New York. Many years since that happened, and I missed the island so much.) You don't have to be puertorican to enjoy this book. Believe me you will read so fast and you will enjoy it! Esmeralda is the best!
A touching story of this Harvard graduate's childhood in Puerto Rico.
YA-Esmerelda and her seven siblings live in a corrugated metal shack in Puerto Rico. She is uprooted as a result of poverty and her parents' quarreling and suffers blows to her ego from their expectations of her. The girl goes to New York, where her grandmother lives, and must rely on her intelligence and talents to help her survive in an alien world in which being Puerto Rican is not advantageous. Her story rings true and will be an inspiration to YAs forced to make their own way in a sometimes hostile environment
Interesting story of girl who came from Puerto Rico to NY.
Wonderfully written bio of author as a young girl.
Touching and revealing... takes its unique place in contemporary Latino storytelling.
A story about a young girl who came through amazing hardships to develop the life she has today--just a great book
Born in 1952 in Pennsylvania of Puerto Rican parents, I could relate to the author's story in reverse. It wasn't until I visited Puerto Rico in mid70s and saw and felt its beauty and culture thru my mind, body and soul that I can appreciate this wonderful book. I too spent time in NYC with relatives when my mother had to return for family emergencies/deaths.
's. Santiago writes so vividly that I felt like a fly on the walls of the varies places she transported me to, I could taste all the foods & desserts, I could smell all the scents of the native bushes, flowers, fruits & vegetables as well as El Mangle.
In the 60s it was so true being of mixed cultures.....
You never fit in either one! And being the eldest, you were EXPECTED to set the example for the rest of your siblings. Education was the way up and out. Esmeralda also hits it on the head when she says we were the family/neighborhood interpreters.
I recommend this book to all generational families as well as required reading for Diversity Classes. THEN maybe people will learn that we ALL go thru the same things NO MATTER what country, religion, money we come from ---- WE ARE ALL THE SAME!!!
's. Santiago writes so vividly that I felt like a fly on the walls of the varies places she transported me to, I could taste all the foods & desserts, I could smell all the scents of the native bushes, flowers, fruits & vegetables as well as El Mangle.
In the 60s it was so true being of mixed cultures.....
You never fit in either one! And being the eldest, you were EXPECTED to set the example for the rest of your siblings. Education was the way up and out. Esmeralda also hits it on the head when she says we were the family/neighborhood interpreters.
I recommend this book to all generational families as well as required reading for Diversity Classes. THEN maybe people will learn that we ALL go thru the same things NO MATTER what country, religion, money we come from ---- WE ARE ALL THE SAME!!!
great read!
Ms. Santiago tells us the compelling story of her life as a young girl in Puerto Rico. Her mother struggles to raise an ever-growing family with occasional help from the father. Moving from place to place, Ms. Santiago's life seems to bounce from highs to lows and her relationship with "Mami," protective (at times overly so) but also abusive, is fascinating if at times frightening. Fortunately it all comes to a happy ending as her intelligence, talent, and perseverance bring her to success in spite of all her struggles.
