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Una isla como tú, historias del barrio : para mi familia aquí y en la isla
Escalas los siete pisos hasta el oasis de la azotea, donde puedes pensar al ritmo de tu propia banda. Notas discordantes suben con el tráfico de las cinco, se suavizan con un bolero al ocaso. En compañía de las palomas observas a la gente allá abajo, que fluye, en corriente, cada uno está solo en medio de la multitud, cada uno es una isla como tú.
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First published March 1, 1995
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March 7, 2017
Judith Ortiz Cofer is probably the best-known Puerto Rican author of young adult literature, and the stories in An Island Like You frequently appear in high school readers although the book itself is no longer in print. Upon seeing the title, you might think you were holding in your hands a book set entirely in the Caribbean. But you would be mistaken, for most of the stories collected here take place in Paterson, New Jersey, a place the author depicts as a kind of urban island -- a "barrio" separated from mainstream US culture by custom, poverty, and prejudice.
My favorite story and the one I would argue is most likely to withstand the long test of time is the first one, “Bad Influence.” But for the sake of readers who are looking for something particular in these stories I will offer quick summaries of them all:
1. “Bad Influence”: Rita’s parents catch her sneaking out at night and banish her to Puerto Rico for the summer. Hilarity and personal transformation ensue as the city girl adjusts to living with her odd, spiritualist grandparents and turns her attention from chasing boys to helping a local girl escape her mother’s abusive boyfriend. Like I said, this is a best story in the book, and more than any other it features Ortiz Cofer’s talent for developing fast-talking, strong-headed heroines.
2. “Arturo’s Flight”: A “sensitive” (read: queer) boy who is bullied at school roams the streets, angry and confused. He spends the night in the church, where a priest offers him acceptance and silent companionship.
3. “Beauty Lessons”: Sandra avoids the boy she likes because she thinks her chest is too flat to interest him. But when she watches her aunt paint her face and squeeze into tight clothes, she decides to appreciate her natural appearance, with or without the approval of whistling men.
4. “Catch the Moon”: Luis thinks it is such a drag to have to spend the summer sorting hubcaps at his father’s junkyard. Then, one day, a captivating young woman walks in, looking for a specific hubcap that only Luis has the ability to find…
5. “An Hour with Abuelo”: The same Arturo who appeared in #2 visits the nursing home where his ailing grandfather is spending his last days. Expecting to find a frail, immobile old man, Arturo is surprised to see his grandfather as full of life as he ever was.
6. “The One Who Watches”: Doris, a girl with a knack for disappearing into the corners of rooms, is entranced by her friend Yolanda, who is brave and brings excitement into both of their lives. But what will she do when she learns that her friend is also a shoplifter?
7. “Matoa’s Mirror”: Kenny Matoa, a member of the Tiburones gang and the bad guy in #2 gets his comeuppance after a bad LSD trip. The most heavy-handed story in the collection and my personal least favorite.
8. “Don José of La Mancha”: Why did Yolanda steal that purse that got her and Doris in such trouble back in #6? The author doesn’t answer this question, exactly, but she does give us a peek into Yolanda’s home, which just hasn’t felt the same since her father died. Now that her mother is seeing another man, how will her dad’s memory survive?
9. “Abuela Invents the Zero”: Constancia is mortified by her grandmother, who dresses terribly, speaks no English, and can hardly see. She tolerates sharing the apartment with her until the Sunday she has to escort her to church and back, all on her own…
10. “A Job for Valentín”: Teresa can’t swim but takes a job serving drinks at the swimming pool anyway. What had promised to be an easy summer watching an attractive upperclassman flex his Speedo takes a turn for the weird when she is charged with training a disabled man with a talent for sculpting animal figurines out of rubber band balls. Like #1, this is a story about a sharp-tongued girl who learns to embrace a change that seems thrust upon her as a kind of punishment.
11. “Home to El Building”: Tired of her parents’ endless bickering, Anita packs a bag with the idea of moving in with the older, Italian man who kisses her at the deli where they both work. As she walks away from the apartment for the last time, she runs into friends and acquaintances who make her wonder if she has made the right choice to leave them all behind for a man she hardly knows…
12. “White Balloons”: Doris, the quiet girl from #6, steps out of the shadows to help a dying gay man find the acceptance the barrio denied him when he was a child. The story paints a dated portrait of the nelly, persecuted AIDS victim, but it also offers a wallop of an emotional punch, with the final scene bringing the story, and the whole collection, to a tear-jerking, community-affirming end.
You don't care, but I would rank the stories as follows:
1. "Bad Influence"
2. "Beauty Lessons"
3. "A Job for Valentín"
4. "White Balloons"
5. "Arturo's Flight"
6. "Abuela Invents the Zero"
7. "An Hour with Abuelo"
8. "The One Who Watches"
9. "Catch the Moon"
10. "Don José of La Mancha"
11. "Home to El Building"
12. "Matoa's Mirror"
My favorite story and the one I would argue is most likely to withstand the long test of time is the first one, “Bad Influence.” But for the sake of readers who are looking for something particular in these stories I will offer quick summaries of them all:
1. “Bad Influence”: Rita’s parents catch her sneaking out at night and banish her to Puerto Rico for the summer. Hilarity and personal transformation ensue as the city girl adjusts to living with her odd, spiritualist grandparents and turns her attention from chasing boys to helping a local girl escape her mother’s abusive boyfriend. Like I said, this is a best story in the book, and more than any other it features Ortiz Cofer’s talent for developing fast-talking, strong-headed heroines.
2. “Arturo’s Flight”: A “sensitive” (read: queer) boy who is bullied at school roams the streets, angry and confused. He spends the night in the church, where a priest offers him acceptance and silent companionship.
3. “Beauty Lessons”: Sandra avoids the boy she likes because she thinks her chest is too flat to interest him. But when she watches her aunt paint her face and squeeze into tight clothes, she decides to appreciate her natural appearance, with or without the approval of whistling men.
4. “Catch the Moon”: Luis thinks it is such a drag to have to spend the summer sorting hubcaps at his father’s junkyard. Then, one day, a captivating young woman walks in, looking for a specific hubcap that only Luis has the ability to find…
5. “An Hour with Abuelo”: The same Arturo who appeared in #2 visits the nursing home where his ailing grandfather is spending his last days. Expecting to find a frail, immobile old man, Arturo is surprised to see his grandfather as full of life as he ever was.
6. “The One Who Watches”: Doris, a girl with a knack for disappearing into the corners of rooms, is entranced by her friend Yolanda, who is brave and brings excitement into both of their lives. But what will she do when she learns that her friend is also a shoplifter?
7. “Matoa’s Mirror”: Kenny Matoa, a member of the Tiburones gang and the bad guy in #2 gets his comeuppance after a bad LSD trip. The most heavy-handed story in the collection and my personal least favorite.
8. “Don José of La Mancha”: Why did Yolanda steal that purse that got her and Doris in such trouble back in #6? The author doesn’t answer this question, exactly, but she does give us a peek into Yolanda’s home, which just hasn’t felt the same since her father died. Now that her mother is seeing another man, how will her dad’s memory survive?
9. “Abuela Invents the Zero”: Constancia is mortified by her grandmother, who dresses terribly, speaks no English, and can hardly see. She tolerates sharing the apartment with her until the Sunday she has to escort her to church and back, all on her own…
10. “A Job for Valentín”: Teresa can’t swim but takes a job serving drinks at the swimming pool anyway. What had promised to be an easy summer watching an attractive upperclassman flex his Speedo takes a turn for the weird when she is charged with training a disabled man with a talent for sculpting animal figurines out of rubber band balls. Like #1, this is a story about a sharp-tongued girl who learns to embrace a change that seems thrust upon her as a kind of punishment.
11. “Home to El Building”: Tired of her parents’ endless bickering, Anita packs a bag with the idea of moving in with the older, Italian man who kisses her at the deli where they both work. As she walks away from the apartment for the last time, she runs into friends and acquaintances who make her wonder if she has made the right choice to leave them all behind for a man she hardly knows…
12. “White Balloons”: Doris, the quiet girl from #6, steps out of the shadows to help a dying gay man find the acceptance the barrio denied him when he was a child. The story paints a dated portrait of the nelly, persecuted AIDS victim, but it also offers a wallop of an emotional punch, with the final scene bringing the story, and the whole collection, to a tear-jerking, community-affirming end.
You don't care, but I would rank the stories as follows:
1. "Bad Influence"
2. "Beauty Lessons"
3. "A Job for Valentín"
4. "White Balloons"
5. "Arturo's Flight"
6. "Abuela Invents the Zero"
7. "An Hour with Abuelo"
8. "The One Who Watches"
9. "Catch the Moon"
10. "Don José of La Mancha"
11. "Home to El Building"
12. "Matoa's Mirror"
May 11, 2015
An Island Like You was a collection of short stories all with different plots. I found all of the stories to be very realistic and some of them very interesting and entertaining. All of the stories took place in either New Jersey or Puerto Rico which was very fitting to the plot because most of the stories dealt with Puerto Rican community's dealing with problems and learning valuable lessons during the stories. The setting really helped the events of the book because of this. The characters were very believable and I think most teenagers could relate to what was going on in most of the stories. For example there were problems of bullying, death, and making good choices in the stories that many teens could relate to. The author, Judith Ortiz Cofer had mostly a positive tone throughout all of the stories. The characters had problems or struggles that they overcame and it made for some good lessons for each story. This book would be suited for those who are interested in learning about the Puerto Rican culture as well as any teenager because they could relate most to many of the stories. I thought this book was a good read and would recommend it because there were many lessons to be learned and the plot and characters were relatable and interesting.
October 7, 2011
I thought that the short story "Catch The Moon" was awful. It did not have a very good ending. If a story has a terrible, then it pretty much is a terrible story overall because the ending is what is supposed to end the story, it reflects on the whole story. All that the ending was, was just Luis giving Naomi a hubcap. The story has no morals, no theme, no nothing. The only slight trace of a literary element this story has is symbolism (the hubcap), but what the hubcap symbolizes is very unclear. Is it the start of a good friendship? or is it simply just a gesture of a good deed?
October 28, 2017
Judith Ortiz Cofer's characters won me over. I enjoyed hearing their expertly presented points of view. Cofer is particularly adept at capturing the obviously flawed but passionate opinions of teenagers, and their impulsive decision-making.
The structure of her short stories sometimes felt underdeveloped- as if she forgot to include a new idea partway through. There were several times, the most obvious being "Abuelita Invents the Zero," in which the first paragraph telegraphs the end of the story, and then the body of the story is a straight line to that conclusion.
It seems the most frequently anthologized story from this collection is, "Catch the Moon." I like that one okay. It has a positive message. I preferred the character work in "Bad Influence," "The One Who Watches," "Back to El Building," and "A Job For Valentin."
The structure of her short stories sometimes felt underdeveloped- as if she forgot to include a new idea partway through. There were several times, the most obvious being "Abuelita Invents the Zero," in which the first paragraph telegraphs the end of the story, and then the body of the story is a straight line to that conclusion.
It seems the most frequently anthologized story from this collection is, "Catch the Moon." I like that one okay. It has a positive message. I preferred the character work in "Bad Influence," "The One Who Watches," "Back to El Building," and "A Job For Valentin."
June 13, 2025
i’m so proud of myself!!! for really following through with my first book in spanish.
it was a lot of effort at times since i always had to have a pen on me in case i came across a word i didn’t know (which happened a lot ofc) so it took me so long to actually finish it meaningfully.
in the end i feel very rewarded and accomplished. i very much enjoyed each and every neighborhood story. i took so much from the stories, laughed some cried some felt shock and empathy… onto the next!!!
it was a lot of effort at times since i always had to have a pen on me in case i came across a word i didn’t know (which happened a lot ofc) so it took me so long to actually finish it meaningfully.
in the end i feel very rewarded and accomplished. i very much enjoyed each and every neighborhood story. i took so much from the stories, laughed some cried some felt shock and empathy… onto the next!!!
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December 12, 2014An island like you is 12 short stories that all have different plots. All of the plots were
pretty realistic and could be relatable for so many people. All of them, for the most part, had a common theme. The common theme was to be true to who you are and fight for what you believe, even if you are alone. The setting of the stories were in New Jersey and Puerto Rico. The setting fit well with the plot because it was Puerto Rican teenagers living their lives in America and learning valuable lessons along the way. Many people, especially teenagers today, can relate to the characters in the stories. For example, in Arturo's Flight, he is bullied by his classmates for being different than them. So many kids today are bullied and can relate to Arturo. Judith Ortiz Cofer's tone was mostly positive. She talks about the the struggles of teenagers, but has a good moral to every story. This book could be suited for anyone that needs a little extra help with the struggles in their life. I would recommend the book because it is very relatable for many people. It kind of gives you a different perspective on things. It shows you that everyone struggles with something, but it also shows that there are ways to fix those struggles. Overall it was a good read.
pretty realistic and could be relatable for so many people. All of them, for the most part, had a common theme. The common theme was to be true to who you are and fight for what you believe, even if you are alone. The setting of the stories were in New Jersey and Puerto Rico. The setting fit well with the plot because it was Puerto Rican teenagers living their lives in America and learning valuable lessons along the way. Many people, especially teenagers today, can relate to the characters in the stories. For example, in Arturo's Flight, he is bullied by his classmates for being different than them. So many kids today are bullied and can relate to Arturo. Judith Ortiz Cofer's tone was mostly positive. She talks about the the struggles of teenagers, but has a good moral to every story. This book could be suited for anyone that needs a little extra help with the struggles in their life. I would recommend the book because it is very relatable for many people. It kind of gives you a different perspective on things. It shows you that everyone struggles with something, but it also shows that there are ways to fix those struggles. Overall it was a good read.
June 23, 2009
This is a collection of short stories about various Puerto Rican-American teenagers who live in the same tenement building in New Jersey. Their stories converge and diverge throughout the book, but each story stands alone. It is not necessary to read them all together. They're an easy read, and I would recommend them for use with reluctant freshmen readers, junior high, and maybe ESL 3. A lot of the stories are actually quite short and focus on a short period of time or just one event in the life of a character. What I really liked about the stories, though, is that each story shows its main character growing on a deeper, characterological level in some way. Most of the stories have to do with navigating difficult family relationships and finding a sense of home in yourself. I think that any young adolescent (and 28 going on 29 year old adult) would benefit from reading these stories, and they lend themselves very well to classroom study.
Want to read
October 5, 2011I really enjoyed the short story "Catch the Moon" I thought it was a good story because the author had really good descriptions of the character. The author included diologue that was good and some parts was in another language to show what was the character. I also enjoy it because of the different point of view of the character, from Luis thinking about Naomi when he first saw her to Luis father point of view and how he felt. The conflict was well described and i like how the character in the beginning of the story was hard headed and a trouble making and through out the story he started to change slowly after meeting a young girl. In the end Luis finally became himself again and not suffer after his mother's death. He finally got over his mom's death and came back and tried to to fix the rocky relationship that he had with his dad. I felt that this story was really cute about a boy who changed and meet a girl that changed his life and he didn't suffer anymore. I recommend this :D
June 29, 2014
Reading this book made me feel so good! It is a collection of short stories narrated by different characters in the barrio of Paterson, New Jersey. Each character is quite different, and the voices are very authentic. As a teacher, I would definitely recommend this book to my middle school students or even select it as a class novel in the future because there is a character for everyone inside the pages of this short collection. There is a girl who has to live with her grandparents, a boy who loves poetry, a girl dating an older man, a boy who just got out of juvenile detention...an entire cast of three-dimensional characters.
April 16, 2009
Cofer's related short stories of life in a Puerto Rican neighborhood in New Jersey are individually stellar. Each one is practically perfect. I enjoyed seeing characters recur through each other's eyes. Some are in first, some close third. There are many characters, however, and not one single thread that keeps a reader turning pages between stories. The final story would be cheesy in anyone else's hand, but in Cofer's, it worked. Themes: immigration, generations, sexuality, gender, violence, art, beauty, change, education, class, race.
September 27, 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.
September 27, 2016
Great stories in this book that I am currently teaching to my 8th grade class (we're learning about conflict and adversity). I recommend reading the story "An Hour with Abuelo" - it highlights a great rift between the split-heritage of being a modern American teen and also Puerto Rican , while simultaneously discussing how the youth treat the elderly.
August 31, 2019
"An Island Like You" by Judith Ortiz Cofer was a book with cultural stories that takes place in Puerto Rico. The characters have different experiences in their relationships with their family, therefore it gives a message in how to appreciate them. The story I liked the most was the chapter "Bad Influence" the first story of the book, and the longest. It's my favorite chapter because "Rica" the main character of the story was sent to her grandparents house for summer, because she wouldn't obey her parents. When she was sent there, she started learning more about the culture she didn't explored; not like her parents did. This chapter caught my attention because the grandad was a medium, therefore he help other people with bad influences that are hunting them. I liked it because I know someone that is a medium but didn't realize what their abilities are.
July 12, 2020
A series of short stories following different kids in El Barrio, Judith Ortiz Cofer gives glimpses into the lives of these kids while telling stories that everyone can relate to. Each short story follows a different theme and coming of age story, but many could teach adults something too. Although short, these stories engage the reader and make you care about each person very quickly. Similar to "There, There", the stories overlap and connect, and the very end will make you cry. The general theme is acceptance, but theres something for everyone in these pages. Judith Ortiz Cofer managed to write uniquely human experiences in just 165 pages.
November 7, 2019
I liked these short stories, all set in the same neighborhood (barrio) in NJ. Gives you a feel for some struggles Puerto Rican immigrants, families, and children might go through, and the type of interconnectedness a neighborhood like that would have. (I also loved that the young adults called NYC just “the city”, because that’s what we called it growing up as well. 😂 For some reason that doesn’t make sense to west coasters..?? There was only ONE city, and if my friends and I were talking about it or planning a trip to it, it was “the city”, and the only one that mattered. Ha!)
July 26, 2021
As I enjoy young adult novels and reading about other cultures - experiences from authors of that culture - I really enjoyed this set of vignettes different stories each chapter but all interconnect in some way. I didn't expect it to be taking place in the US not in Puerto Rico, but the cultural significance and the stories really brought it to life. I enjoyed most of them especially the one called bad influence.
I would give some of them a four or five and some of them are two or three so settled on a three rating.
I would give some of them a four or five and some of them are two or three so settled on a three rating.
March 26, 2023
Short stories based on barrio life. This is a quick read, and my feeling is that it is full of stereotypes. I'm not saying it's wrong, in fact I wouldn't be surprised if this had turned out to be nonfiction. I felt sad, however, as again the people in these stories seemed to have no hope of escaping the barrio, or of improving their situation. Well written, with dialogue that is peppered with Spanish, as you would expect second generation kids to mostly speak English, and they do. YA, but a worthy read for anyone who wants to see into the world of the barrio.
February 19, 2019
Overall the story was rather interesting. The book did a very good job at representing how the characters felt and at explaining how everyone has problems, even if they are big or small ones. Throughout the story though, you may get the sense to want to facepalm occasionally, but apart from that the some of the short stories are rather good.
August 28, 2021
An Island Like You is a collection of related short stories about teenagers of Puerto Rican descent in a New Jersey city neighborhood (barrio). The are wonderfully told stories about being a teenager who exists in two cultures at once and also about just being a teenager. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
October 5, 2022
This is more like a 3 1/2 stars for me but I did enjoy reading the short stories of the teens from the barrio. It is a you g adult book and meant for a younger audience so I can understand where the stories may not have had better plot.
But I did read it in one day and I enjoyed the cast of characters.
But I did read it in one day and I enjoyed the cast of characters.
May 1, 2022
I read this book in class and it gives many valuable lessons through heartfelt stories of teenagers who learn from there mistakes.
March 24, 2017
"American History" is one of my favorite short stories, so I had high hopes for this collection. I enjoyed Cofer's writing, but the short stories in this collection were hit or miss for me.
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February 17, 202312 Copies
July 19, 2016
Lit Log for An Island Like You: Stories of the Barrio
By Judith Ortiz Cofer
It was a relief, a nice change, to read a book of short stories after reading novels. I liked how the stories stood by themselves, yet all intertwined and progressed through time. This leant a sense of continuity to the book. There also seemed to be a common thread running through all the characters. They all seemed to be wondering how they fit into the scheme of things and how to reconcile themselves with conflicting cultures – the culture of the Island, of the barrio, of their family, of their friends, of their school and of themselves. It seemed each culture was pulling each character in several different directions at once. This reminded me of another book of short stories I read a few years ago, Seventeen Syllables. (I can’t remember the author.) That book had many similar themes running through it and was also told by teenagers from the second generation in America, except that the culture was Japanese rather than Puerto Rican or Hispanic.
I think my favorite story in this book was “Arturo’s Flight.” I remember thinking like Arturo when I started high school. I stopped going to church with my parents and “was having doubts of all kinds by then, not just about religion, but about everything. Including myself”(Cofer, p. 34). I love that Arturo finds something to hold on to through literature, through Shakespeare of all writers. I would love to have a student in my class who thinks, and feels and gets things like Arturo seems to by the end - a student who takes words and writing and uses them for him or herself.
Towards the end of the story when Arturo was thinking about Kenny reciting the sonnet in class and said, “I knew what the message was for me… And I’d get to hear Kenny recite the poem for me,” (Cofer, p. 39) I remembered something Maya Angelou said when I heard her speak about two years ago. I don’t remember her exact words, but she said that at one point she had a realization that everything written was written for her and that was the way EVERYONE should look at literature. Everything written was written for you, for you to read, to take what you wanted from it.
Arturo also reminded me a bit of Holden from Catcher in the Rye. (Boy, am I glad I read that book! I’m seeing it all over.) The story of Arturo’s visit with his grandfather was what triggered the connection. I loved the way Arturo’s grandfather talked about words; “I loved words from the beginning of my life… With my heart and soul I knew that I wanted to be around books all of my life” (Cofer, p. 69).
I liked “Beauty Lessons,” too. To me it was a list of all the things kids think about besides school. My students are going to be just like that. Who has time or energy to worry about school when all this other stuff is going on? A classroom is not an isolated entity. Walking through a classroom door does not cleanse a student of all the outside stuff. They carry all that with them – worries, fears, culture, hunger, frustration, and hopefully a little desire to learn something.
By Judith Ortiz Cofer
It was a relief, a nice change, to read a book of short stories after reading novels. I liked how the stories stood by themselves, yet all intertwined and progressed through time. This leant a sense of continuity to the book. There also seemed to be a common thread running through all the characters. They all seemed to be wondering how they fit into the scheme of things and how to reconcile themselves with conflicting cultures – the culture of the Island, of the barrio, of their family, of their friends, of their school and of themselves. It seemed each culture was pulling each character in several different directions at once. This reminded me of another book of short stories I read a few years ago, Seventeen Syllables. (I can’t remember the author.) That book had many similar themes running through it and was also told by teenagers from the second generation in America, except that the culture was Japanese rather than Puerto Rican or Hispanic.
I think my favorite story in this book was “Arturo’s Flight.” I remember thinking like Arturo when I started high school. I stopped going to church with my parents and “was having doubts of all kinds by then, not just about religion, but about everything. Including myself”(Cofer, p. 34). I love that Arturo finds something to hold on to through literature, through Shakespeare of all writers. I would love to have a student in my class who thinks, and feels and gets things like Arturo seems to by the end - a student who takes words and writing and uses them for him or herself.
Towards the end of the story when Arturo was thinking about Kenny reciting the sonnet in class and said, “I knew what the message was for me… And I’d get to hear Kenny recite the poem for me,” (Cofer, p. 39) I remembered something Maya Angelou said when I heard her speak about two years ago. I don’t remember her exact words, but she said that at one point she had a realization that everything written was written for her and that was the way EVERYONE should look at literature. Everything written was written for you, for you to read, to take what you wanted from it.
Arturo also reminded me a bit of Holden from Catcher in the Rye. (Boy, am I glad I read that book! I’m seeing it all over.) The story of Arturo’s visit with his grandfather was what triggered the connection. I loved the way Arturo’s grandfather talked about words; “I loved words from the beginning of my life… With my heart and soul I knew that I wanted to be around books all of my life” (Cofer, p. 69).
I liked “Beauty Lessons,” too. To me it was a list of all the things kids think about besides school. My students are going to be just like that. Who has time or energy to worry about school when all this other stuff is going on? A classroom is not an isolated entity. Walking through a classroom door does not cleanse a student of all the outside stuff. They carry all that with them – worries, fears, culture, hunger, frustration, and hopefully a little desire to learn something.
February 15, 2010
Stories from various young adults of the Barrio as they struggle to discover themselves and their true identity. Rita ends up having the best summer ever with her grandparents in Puerto Rico. Auturo questions why he's so different. He's not fitting in, dyes his hair purple, loves literature (esp. Shakespeare), & finds his savior in Johann (St. Johann). Auturo doesn't understand his grandpa's hard life, "Nobody is going to stop me from doing what I want with my life (70)(Strength of new generation). Sandra is not pretty, a late bloomer. Mrs. L. tells her that flowers that bloom slowly last longer. Sandra finds her confidence enough to approach Paco. Luis started the Tiburones, but it was meeting Naomi that helped him to grow and understand his father and keeping busy to keep his mind busy. Doris is friend of Yolanda. Yolanda steals, she struggles to come to terms with father's death (shot as security guard) and accept her mother's new relationship with Don Jose. Kenny is tough, until the drug incident/beat up(?), but brought him down a couple levels. Connie feels guilt when she made her abuela feel "like a zero." Most YAs could relate to being embarrassed by a family member. Teresa gets a job by the pool and ends up learning a lot about life from Valentin, though he is mentally handicapped. Rick returns to the Barrio to start a theatre group before he dies, is not accepted there. Quote for thought from Don Quixote (his motto), "I know who I am, and who I may be if I choose." This is what discovery in adolescence is all about! In the end, Doris identifies with Rick as an outsider and thinks of him as a big brother. His death helps her to find her courage at the end, she is no longer invisible... Throws him the birthday party that he never got in life...
YA short stories. Very moralistic, there is an issue but they learn from it by the end of each story. It’s often a good idea to recommend short stories to reluctant readers (Petty Crimes by Gary Soto). Very appealing for YAs. Stresses morals, community, self.
YA short stories. Very moralistic, there is an issue but they learn from it by the end of each story. It’s often a good idea to recommend short stories to reluctant readers (Petty Crimes by Gary Soto). Very appealing for YAs. Stresses morals, community, self.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 12, 2012
An Island Like You is both culture-specific and relatable. Any teen can relate to feeling invisible, being bullied, losing a parent, having a lack of direction, and being “different.” However, what all the teens have in common is the fact that they are Puerto Rican and living in the same neighborhood, or as they called it, barrio.
Many of the teens are first generation American. Their parents were born in Puerto Rico and their grandparents may even still live there, like Rita’s. Rita and Doris didn’t get any leeway with their parents. Rita was sent away when she got caught at her boyfriend’s friend’s house and was sent away to Puerto Rico at a punishment. Doris was forbidden from contacting Rick Sanchez because he was a gay man with AIDS. These examples kind of coincide with girls being more protected, a value that’s rooted in misogyny. No one made a fuss when Luis took a drive with no real answer as to where he was going nor did we see Arturo get punished for being out in the middle of the night.
The characters speak both Spanish and English, which is not surprising since almost 50% of Puerto Ricans can speak both languages and do so in the home. Many of the characters proved to be proficient speaking some Spanish. The teens mostly spoke English though while the parents and grandparents spoke in Spanish. It reflects that the teens are more assimilated to American culture.
I noticed that it was outside forces that seemed to trigger the change in the teens. Johann and his grandfather for Arturo; Rick Sanchez for Doris; Naomi for Luis; and Rita’s grandparents. It would have been good to see them figure things out without a push.
Cofer grew up in Paterson. However, she was born in Puerto Rico and traveled back and forth between to the two. She obviously wrote from her own personal experiences.
Many of the teens are first generation American. Their parents were born in Puerto Rico and their grandparents may even still live there, like Rita’s. Rita and Doris didn’t get any leeway with their parents. Rita was sent away when she got caught at her boyfriend’s friend’s house and was sent away to Puerto Rico at a punishment. Doris was forbidden from contacting Rick Sanchez because he was a gay man with AIDS. These examples kind of coincide with girls being more protected, a value that’s rooted in misogyny. No one made a fuss when Luis took a drive with no real answer as to where he was going nor did we see Arturo get punished for being out in the middle of the night.
The characters speak both Spanish and English, which is not surprising since almost 50% of Puerto Ricans can speak both languages and do so in the home. Many of the characters proved to be proficient speaking some Spanish. The teens mostly spoke English though while the parents and grandparents spoke in Spanish. It reflects that the teens are more assimilated to American culture.
I noticed that it was outside forces that seemed to trigger the change in the teens. Johann and his grandfather for Arturo; Rick Sanchez for Doris; Naomi for Luis; and Rita’s grandparents. It would have been good to see them figure things out without a push.
Cofer grew up in Paterson. However, she was born in Puerto Rico and traveled back and forth between to the two. She obviously wrote from her own personal experiences.
October 24, 2011
The Book " Catching the moon" was a book that I thought was not completely good but a book that i enjoyed. The book starts off with a Young teenger who comes out of juvy early with a condition of doing community service in his father junk yard. The reason I liked the book was because the character Luis was portayed as a bad child, but before his mothers death he was shown as a kid that did not take his mother for granted. When his mother died he was unable to cope his feeling or express them in a possitive way. But the day came, when he was finally able to cry. The girl that he met in the junk yard was present when he manage to cry out for his mother. The girl named niomi did not laugh but drew a picture instead. This to the character Luis
In this book "Catching the moon"was a story show's how a the past can effect the future. The way that this book shows "cause and effect" is by telling a brief story about the main character in this story called, Luis and how his mother passed away when he was a a young age. It tells you about the day that he's mother passed away that he was there when his mother was about ready to die. Not only did it say about the mother's death but also how the mother loved her child Luis under any circumstances. The example that this short story showed was how when Luis was found in his room lying on his bed his mother would come in unannounced and say to him " im proud of you mijo" then Luis answered " why mama?" and her responce was " I'll always be pruod of you". This part not only showed how much the mother love her child Luis but on how the mother did not rebell against his mother like freaking out about his mother comming into his room unannounced.
In this book "Catching the moon"was a story show's how a the past can effect the future. The way that this book shows "cause and effect" is by telling a brief story about the main character in this story called, Luis and how his mother passed away when he was a a young age. It tells you about the day that he's mother passed away that he was there when his mother was about ready to die. Not only did it say about the mother's death but also how the mother loved her child Luis under any circumstances. The example that this short story showed was how when Luis was found in his room lying on his bed his mother would come in unannounced and say to him " im proud of you mijo" then Luis answered " why mama?" and her responce was " I'll always be pruod of you". This part not only showed how much the mother love her child Luis but on how the mother did not rebell against his mother like freaking out about his mother comming into his room unannounced.
June 11, 2011
An Island Like You is a collection of short stories. Each story is centered around life in the Barrio. 12 individual stories, 12 scenarios, 12 voices but one central theme....life in the barrio. Bad Influence is told by Rita, who is sent to spend the summer with her Grandparents in Puerto Rico after she was xaught dating against her parent's wishes. Rita and her friend Meli told their parents that they wer spending the night at each ithers houses when in fact they wer spending the night with Joey. When Meli's mom got sick, someone called Rita's hiuse looking for Meli and thus their story was revealed. Because Meli was a 'bad influence' on Rita, Rita's mother sent her to Puerto Rico to her grandparents. There are some comical lines in the story usually Rita making fun of her grandparents.
Arturo's Flight is one day in the life of Arturo as he leaves home with the intention of running away and never coming back. The people he meets while on his way to Patterson, New Jersey give him a look at how life would be away from the barrio and at the end of the day he finds himself back at home.
All of the stories are interesting, funny and full of family interaction.
Arturo's Flight is one day in the life of Arturo as he leaves home with the intention of running away and never coming back. The people he meets while on his way to Patterson, New Jersey give him a look at how life would be away from the barrio and at the end of the day he finds himself back at home.
All of the stories are interesting, funny and full of family interaction.
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October 5, 2011I really liked the story "Catch The Moon" I thought that the story was really relatable to what many teenagers are going through. It shows how different people cope with sadness and a really common way to cope with sadness is to turn it into anger. Turning sadness into anger isnt a good way to cope because not only does it affect you but it affects the people abround you as well. I also liked how the brought Naomi into the story because it made luis realize that there are people that are going to be able to reflect the way his mom was with him and it gave him hope that things are going to get better and that he needs to find a new way of living his life and not be an angery mess. I also believe that people that are going through what Luis went through in this story people will learn that when you lose someone it okay to feel sad but theres a way to cope with sadness and how to not cope with sadness. When you choose to be anger it messes up your life and can get into serious trouble just like Luis did by going to Juvinille Hall. People will learn that theres is a light at the end of the tunnel you just need to look really hard for it
April 7, 2015
**1996 Pura Belpre Winner- Author**
So I am not going to lie, I came into this book with low expectations. After reading a very stereotypical illustrator winner for the Pura Belpre award, I was not expected much here. I have to eat my words. I really enjoyed this book of short stories. I felt that this book gave a twist that we as readers do not get to see very often. When each character has their own "story" and point of view. I recently read another book that took on this approach and I appreciate when an author does this. As a reader we are often left with questions about characters that are unsettling and leave us confused or even mad. This book of short stories gives almost every character a voice. I did enjoy the layout of this book, but for my own personal liking, the story line just was not for me. I was not able to really relate or connect with the characters, but that is just for my own personal reasons. With that, I can only give An Island Like You, four Spanish Stars out of five.
So I am not going to lie, I came into this book with low expectations. After reading a very stereotypical illustrator winner for the Pura Belpre award, I was not expected much here. I have to eat my words. I really enjoyed this book of short stories. I felt that this book gave a twist that we as readers do not get to see very often. When each character has their own "story" and point of view. I recently read another book that took on this approach and I appreciate when an author does this. As a reader we are often left with questions about characters that are unsettling and leave us confused or even mad. This book of short stories gives almost every character a voice. I did enjoy the layout of this book, but for my own personal liking, the story line just was not for me. I was not able to really relate or connect with the characters, but that is just for my own personal reasons. With that, I can only give An Island Like You, four Spanish Stars out of five.
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