When I was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago
Publisher: Vintage
Genre: Memoir
Where I got it: It was a recommendation from Mrs. Meadows --my english teacher.
One sentence summary: Coming of age story going through Negi's (Esmeralda's) life that started in the rural parts of Macun, Puerto Rico, and as she grows up progressing to a graduation in New York City Highschool of Performing Arts, with a lot of lesson learned in the progress and a whole life in front of her.
First sentence: We came to Macun when I was four, to a rectangle of rippled metal sheets on stilts hovering in the middle of a circle of red dirt.
First chapter review: This first chapter basically gives a background of how her life is, this takes place in a rural side. We see that is evident that she is a little kid because of the way she has innocent views toward the world. We are introduced to her family members, and with their interaction we can conclude that they are not the kind of family with a lot of money, but the find the way through struggles sticking always with their traditional ways that go with their culture, and that definitely is a big part of them because it defines who they truly are, always portraying all of this to the kids.
Verdict: I definitely liked this book, I felt that it was truthful and descriptive enough to love it. Esmeralda Santiago portrayed and explained this memoir so delicately and efficiently that every reader, as different as they could be, would understand perfectly how her culture, her relationship, and surroundings had the power to affect her and change her in all the different ways.
Cover comments: There is a face of a teenage girl that is obviously latin because of her traits of dark hair and thick eye brows, and if you look at the details behind you can see the hay roof of a small rural house. I think that is really significative of the novel because I think that the background represents her roots, or where she started, and the picture of this girl represents her coming of age.
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