Twelve stories about young people caught between their Puerto Rican heritage and their American surroundings
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Judith Ortiz Cofer is an award-winning author known for her stories about coming-of-age experiences in the barrio and her writings about the cultural conflicts of immigrants. She is the author of many distinguished titles for young adults such as, CALL ME MARIA, THE MEANING OF CONSEULO, SILENT DANCING: A PARTIAL REMEMBERANCE OD A PUERTO RICAN CHILDHOOD, and THE LINE IN THE SUN. She lives in Georgia where she is the Regents’ and Franklin Professor of English and Creative Writing at the University of Georgia.
Gr. 7-12. "Dating is not a concept adults in our barrio really get." The contemporary teenage voices are candid, funny, weary, and irreverent in these stories about immigrant kids caught between their Puerto Rican families and the pull and push of the American dream. The young people hang out on the street in front of the tenement El Building in Paterson, New Jersey, where the radios are always turned full blast to the Spanish station and the thin walls can't hold the dramas of the real-life telenovelas. As in her autobiographical adult collection Silent Dancing (1990), Cofer depicts a diverse neighborhood that's warm, vital, and nurturing, and that can be hell if you don't fit in. Some of the best stories are about those who try to leave. Each piece stands alone with its own inner structure, but the stories also gain from each other, and characters reappear in major and minor roles. The teen narrators sometimes sound too articulate, their metaphors overexplained, but no neat resolutions are offered, and the metaphor can get it just right (the people next door "could be either fighting or dancing"). Between the generations, there is tenderness and anger, sometimes shame. In one story, a teenage girl despises the newcomer just arrived from the island, but to her widowed mother, the hick (jibaro) represents all she's homesick for. Raul Colon's glowing cover captures what's best about this collection: the sense of the individual in the pulsing, crowded street. Hazel Rochman
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
FREE
Within U.S.A.
Shipping:
US$ 4.00
Within U.S.A.
Seller: SecondSale, Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
Condition: Good. Item in good condition. Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc. Seller Inventory # 00071952180
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Book Deals, Tucson, AZ, U.S.A.
Condition: Fair. Acceptable/Fair condition. Book is worn, but the pages are complete, and the text is legible. Has wear to binding and pages, may be ex-library. 0.75. Seller Inventory # 353-0531068978-acp
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Books Unplugged, Amherst, NY, U.S.A.
Condition: Good. Buy with confidence! Book is in good condition with minor wear to the pages, binding, and minor marks within 0.75. Seller Inventory # bk0531068978xvz189zvxgdd
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: SecondSale, Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
Condition: Good. Item in very good condition! Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc. Seller Inventory # 00072701674
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Irish Booksellers, Portland, ME, U.S.A.
Condition: Good. SHIPS FROM USA. Used books have different signs of use and do not include supplemental materials such as CDs, Dvds, Access Codes, charts or any other extra material. All used books might have various degrees of writing, highliting and wear and tear and possibly be an ex-library with the usual stickers and stamps. Dust Jackets are not guaranteed and when still present, they will have various degrees of tear and damage. All images are Stock Photos, not of the actual item. book. Seller Inventory # 0531068978-R
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Ergodebooks, Houston, TX, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Good. First Edition. From BooklistGr. 7-12. "Dating is not a concept adults in our barrio really get." The contemporary teenage voices are candid, funny, weary, and irreverent in these stories about immigrant kids caught between their Puerto Rican families and the pull and push of the American dream. The young people hang out on the street in front of the tenement El Building in Paterson, New Jersey, where the radios are always turned full blast to the Spanish station and the thin walls can't hold the dramas of the real-life telenovelas. As in her autobiographical adult collection Silent Dancing (1990), Cofer depicts a diverse neighborhood that's warm, vital, and nurturing, and that can be hell if you don't fit in. Some of the best stories are about those who try to leave. Each piece stands alone with its own inner structure, but the stories also gain from each other, and characters reappear in major and minor roles. The teen narrators sometimes sound too articulate, their metaphors overexplained, but no neat resolutions are offered, and the metaphor can get it just right (the people next door "could be either fighting or dancing"). Between the generations, there is tenderness and anger, sometimes shame. In one story, a teenage girl despises the newcomer just arrived from the island, but to her widowed mother, the hick (jibaro) represents all she's homesick for. Raul Colon's glowing cover captures what's best about this collection: the sense of the individual in the pulsing, crowded street. Hazel RochmanProduct DescriptionTwelve stories about young people caught between their Puerto Rican heritage and their American surroundingsFrom Publishers WeeklyCofer's (Silent Dancing: A Partial Remembrance of a Puerto Rican Childhood) 12 consistently sparkling, sharp short stories pungently recreate the atmosphere of a Puerto Rican barrio in Paterson, N.J. A different teenager is the focus of each entry, but the characters and the settings throughout are linked, often to great effect. In the poignant "Don Jose of La Mancha," Yolanda observes both critically and sympathetically as her widowed mother gingerly approaches a new relationship-with a man Yolanda considers a clueless hick; the reader has previously met Yolanda in "The One Who Watches," in which Yolanda's friend Doris describes the fear and anger she experiences as Yolanda goes shoplifting. In the surreally horrifying "Matoa's Mirror," Kenny gets high on a mixture of drugs and then watches himself in a mirror, as if he's on TV, while he is getting beaten up outside his building. The overarching theme-the struggle to transcend one's roots but never succeeding (nor really wanting to)-is explored with enormous humanity and humor. This fine collection may draw special attention for its depictions of an ethnic group underserved by YA writers, but Cofer's strong writing warrants a close look no matter what the topic. Ages 12-up.Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. Seller Inventory # SONG0531068978
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Campbell Bookstore, Austin, TX, U.S.A.
Condition: very good. Seller Inventory # UsedCamp0531068978
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Books of the Smoky Mountains, Del Rio, TN, U.S.A.
Condition: very good. Gently used book with ongoing seller support until you're fully satisfied with your purchase. Seller Inventory # oldport0531068978
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: GoldBooks, Denver, CO, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: very good. Very Good Copy. Customer Service Guaranteed. Seller Inventory # think_very_0531068978
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: GoldenWavesOfBooks, Fayetteville, TX, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Fast Shipping and good customer service. Seller Inventory # Holz_New_0531068978
Quantity: 1 available