book data
50 ratings, 3.46 average rating, 9 reviews
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published
December 1st 1996
by Puffin
binding
Paperback, 176 pages
isbn
014038068X
(isbn13: 9780140380682)
description
A collection of stories captures the lives of different teenagers growing up in the barrio, including Rita, who goes to live with her grandparents...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 68)
Read in December, 2007
Judith Ortiz Cofer's book is a compilation of stories told from the perspective of Puerto Rican-American teenagers living in a Barrio in Paterson, New Jersey. There's Yolanda, loathing her mother's new boyfriend, and Rita, forced to spend a summer in Puerto Rico that she thinks will be the worst she's ever had. Then there's Rick, who is rejected by the neighborhood after coming out, and Kenny's REALLY bad drug experience. The interconnected characters share similarities in background, but couldn...more
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This was a really fun book to read. It's basically a bunch of short stories about a bunch of kids from the barrio and they're all pulled together in the last short story. My favorite think about the style was the author never finished a short story. She took it to its climax but there was no resolution. You had to puzzle out what happened by yourself. It was rather refreshing in a way. I have never read a book like that. The last short story though really irked me. I liked the balloon part but t...more
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Read in September, 2007
Twelve stories, loosely intertwined, examine the lives of teenagers who live in a New Jersey Puerto Rican barrio.
All twelve stories deal with different facts of life, told from the perspective of teenagers struggling to create a cultural identity for themselves. There are stories of loss, relationships, drugs, familial issues, and sexuality. The stories were told in the first and third person, but it was very difficult to discern who was speaking. Sometimes you never know the name of the nar...more
All twelve stories deal with different facts of life, told from the perspective of teenagers struggling to create a cultural identity for themselves. There are stories of loss, relationships, drugs, familial issues, and sexuality. The stories were told in the first and third person, but it was very difficult to discern who was speaking. Sometimes you never know the name of the nar...more
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Read in September, 2007
So think of this as "The Women of Brewster Place" with Latino teenagers. This time, the setting is "El Building." I don't mean to discount the book. The stories are rich and insightful, and the characters have voice. The author does a great job of capturing the chasm between parents and children from the younger point of view, and she gives due credit to young adults for being the astute observers of adults that they are.
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Read in September, 2007
The stories are rich and insightful, the characters have voice, and there is a strong sense of place. The author does a great job of capturing the chasm between parents and children from the teen point of view, and she gives due credit to young adults for being the astute observers of adults that they are.
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Read in February, 2008
I liked these stories, but I did find it difficult to keep straight how each of the characters were woven together. This might be better on a second read or if the reader knows to expect that he/she should pay attention to the relationships going in.
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Read in January, 2005
Loosely connected short stories about teens set in in the Puerto Rican barrio of Paterson, NJ. Themes: bi-cultural self discovery struggles
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