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.

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.

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.

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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!

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.

great read!

A story about a young girl who came through amazing hardships to develop the life she has today--just a great book

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

A touching story of this Harvard graduate's childhood in Puerto Rico.

Touching and revealing... takes its unique place in contemporary Latino storytelling.

Interesting story of girl who came from Puerto Rico to NY.

Wonderfully written bio of author as a young girl.

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.

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