Emily is a Jewish girl from the suburbs of New York. Her mother has family in Puerto Rico, but Emily has never had contact with them—- ever. Then Emily’s grandmother dies and Emily is forced to go to the Caribbean for her funeral. Buttoned-up Emily wants nothing to do with her big, noisy Puerto Rican family, until a special person shows her that one dance can change the beat of your heart.
Emily Goldberg Learns to Salsa
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
Grade 7–10—After the death of the grandmother she has never met, Emily, a Jewish teen from a New York City suburb, spends a life-changing summer in Puerto Rico. Her mother left her homeland to attend college in New York and stayed on to earn a doctorate, marry, and, seemingly, never look back. Now, the girl must sacrifice a precollege road trip and final weeks with her boyfriend to stay in Puerto Rico while her grieving parent reconnects with her past. At first, relations are strained between Emily and her relatives; though polite and tactful, she's shy and sometimes mistaken for "stuck-up," particularly by her cousin Lucy, who treats her like a spoiled, privileged brat. As her mother comes to grips with her estranged sisters and her loss, Emily learns the truth about their severed ties as well as about life in the real Puerto Rico-not the one in "getaway brochures." When Lucy suspects that she is pregnant, only her New York family can help; old-fashioned attitudes and limited options for women are part of her decision to leave the island, just as her aunt did so many years before. Emily's honest, thoughtful narrative tells this engaging story of family and culture drawn from the author's own experience.—Barbara Auerbach, New York City Public Schools
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
When high-school senior Emily Goldberg leaves her New York suburban home to attend her grandmother's funeral in Puerto Rico, it's her first meeting with her mother's extended family. She has always wondered why Mom didn't return home after she left for college in New York, or even later, when she married her hippy Jewish boyfriend. Emily stays in Puerto Rico for the summer to help Mom reconnect with what she left behind, and discovers a new world. Her fast, funny, present-tense narrative is totally without affectation as she learns about food, music, museums, and the rain forest, gets close to a gorgeous guy, and tries to overcome the seething hostility of her cousin Lucy (who treats her as "a new strain of toenail fungus"). Without heavy messages, Ostow draws on her own half-Jewish, half-Puerto Rican roots to tell a moving story that has a solid plotline and plenty of family secrets--past and present--as it opens up issues of tradition, feminism, friendship, and loyalty. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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More About the Author
Micol Ostow is half Puerto Rican, half Jewish, half editor, half writer, half chocolate, half peanut butter. When she is under deadline, she is often half asleep. She believes that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts except in the case of Chubby Hubby ice cream. She lives in New York City, where she practices liberal consumption of coffee, cheese, and chocolate.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Early in my undergraduate career, I became fascinated by tales of immigrants' children caught between two worlds: modern America and the Puerto Rico or Mexico of their parents' and grandparents' dreams. I read several books on the topic, including Cool Salsa and An Island Like You. Also, I've taught dozens of Puerto Rican students, and I feel a great love for Puerto Rican culture, customs, and food despite the fact that I've never had the chance to visit. The icing on the pastel was the fact that it was a bargain book.
Emily is a regular Jewish teenager from the suburbs of New York. Her mother, a college professor, is originally from Puerto Rico, although she hasn't gone back in decades. Her father is a successful lawyer. Emily and her brother grew up in an affluent suburb, and the closest connection she has with her Puerto Rican family is through high school Spanish classes. That all changes when her Puerto Rican grandmother dies, and the whole Goldberg family flies down to Puerto Rico for the funeral. Emily feels totally out of place in this sea of unknown relatives; she can't speak Spanish, and has little in common with her cousins. As Emily says, "This is not the Puerto Rico of getaway brochures." She notices the crumbling blacktop, weeds, and run-down strip malls.
She's horrified when her in-control mother falls apart at being back in Puerto Rico, and at her father's request that she stay with her mom until she's ready to return to New York. Emily's a fish out of water; not only does she not speak Spanish, but all of her relatives are Catholic and expect her to attend church. Her two best friends are taking a cross-country road trip without her. And she meets a boy that she's attracted to even as her New York boyfriend Noah seems to be drifting away from her.
But every cloud has a silver lining, and Emily becomes more comfortable with her newfound family, more familiar with Spanish, and more at home with Puerto Rican culture and cuisine (kosher it is not!). What first seemed like a prison sentence blossoms into a newfound sense of responsibility and independence. The author, Nicol Ostow, is, like Emily, half Jewish / half Puerto Rican, making Emily's predicament utterly believeable. The sprinklings of Spanish throughout the book helped add to the authenticity. Emily Goldberg Learns to Salsa is a heartwarming read that teenage girls will identify with for its blend of high school melodrama, dating, and self-discovery.
Emily is a regular Jewish teenager from the suburbs of New York. Her mother, a college professor, is originally from Puerto Rico, although she hasn't gone back in decades. Her father is a successful lawyer. Emily and her brother grew up in an affluent suburb, and the closest connection she has with her Puerto Rican family is through high school Spanish classes. That all changes when her Puerto Rican grandmother dies, and the whole Goldberg family flies down to Puerto Rico for the funeral. Emily feels totally out of place in this sea of unknown relatives; she can't speak Spanish, and has little in common with her cousins. As Emily says, "This is not the Puerto Rico of getaway brochures." She notices the crumbling blacktop, weeds, and run-down strip malls.
She's horrified when her in-control mother falls apart at being back in Puerto Rico, and at her father's request that she stay with her mom until she's ready to return to New York. Emily's a fish out of water; not only does she not speak Spanish, but all of her relatives are Catholic and expect her to attend church. Her two best friends are taking a cross-country road trip without her. And she meets a boy that she's attracted to even as her New York boyfriend Noah seems to be drifting away from her.
But every cloud has a silver lining, and Emily becomes more comfortable with her newfound family, more familiar with Spanish, and more at home with Puerto Rican culture and cuisine (kosher it is not!). What first seemed like a prison sentence blossoms into a newfound sense of responsibility and independence. The author, Nicol Ostow, is, like Emily, half Jewish / half Puerto Rican, making Emily's predicament utterly believeable. The sprinklings of Spanish throughout the book helped add to the authenticity. Emily Goldberg Learns to Salsa is a heartwarming read that teenage girls will identify with for its blend of high school melodrama, dating, and self-discovery.
By LYN
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
.5 stars
I must admit that when I saw this title and read the blurb about a half Jewish half Puerto Rican girl, I was giddy with excitement. I wanted to LOVE this book. I was happy to find a book written from a background that is so close to mine. I was happy that this was YA contemporary, and not a political book. Because most Puerto Rican authors insist on writing about political stuff even in the YA genre. Unfortunately, my giddiness died as soon as I started to read. I was extremely disappointed when page after page, I found that Micol Ostow, the half Puerto Rican half Jewish writer of Emily Goldberg learns to salsa, had filled the book with hurtful stereotypes of life in the US territory of Puerto Rico.
It's never my intention to post bad reviews. Why? Because sometimes, I do think we tend to be meaner than we should be when we don't like a book.
So, you might ask, why am I posting this review about a book that I've been fighting with since I started reading it, when I know it's going to be a .5 star review? Well, because this book has touched a nerve. No, it's not touched a nerve. It's released a deep rooted patriotism that I only exhibit for the mainland most of the time, because of the way the book portrays the US territory of Puerto Rico.
From the moment that I met Emily, on the first page of the book, I had problems relating to her. I didn't think her voice was particularly teenager-like, and it irked me no end that the pages were sprinkled with hurtful stereotypes that are not even true.
FYI, Puerto Rico has road and street signs, there is a.c. almost everywhere, especially funeral homes, fast food places, private homes, etc, and movies start when they are meant to start. This idea that there is something as Puerto Rican time, which means that they don't keep to the schedule is erroneous, and deeply stereotypical. In Puerto Rico like in other countries, there are all kinds of people, punctual people and those who don't care for time. Movie theaters are not dirty, not more than here on the mainland. People don't drive like crazy, not any worse than here on the mainland. And even though I grew up in Bayamon, and they are called the cowboys, I've found people in Tampa who are even more "vaqueros" than those people in Bayamon when it comes to driving.
I find it incredible, that someone who is Half Puerto Rican has littered her book with punch lines and jokes that are driven mainly by the stereotypes surrounding the island. One thing that has been on my mind since this hate relationship with the book started is this: Had this book been written by a so called "white" person, would people have complained? Would people had called to boycott the author? I think the answer is yes, it's deeply troubling that no Puerto Ricans, half or full, have actually complained about how much stereotype is there in the book.
The characters
Emily Goldberg is a pill. Even when I should have been feeling sorry for her, I couldn't. Why? Because I doubt there could be anyone more stuck up than her, I don't even think that Blair Waldorf would have been this bad.
Lucy, Emily's cousin is nicer, even when she's being bitchy, and her plight renders her more interesting than Emily.
Most characters felt flat, and without any real depth, such is the case of Tia Rosa, who would have been a great character, if presented with a bit more depth. After all she's the exact opposite of Emily's mother and it would have presented us with a real confrontation between her upbringing and her Puerto Rican family.
The storyline
I still find it hard to believe that Emily's mother, Gloria, kept her Puerto Rican background to herself, never sharing anything about the island with her children. It's just impossible for me to believe that. Even though my children were not born in Puerto Rico, or the mainland, I've never stopped talking to them about the States. I've even mentioned my father's family with whom I have no real relationship.
I'm disappointed that the book didn't deal with Emily's Jewish background versus her Catholic family's one. I was looking forward to funny situations that could come up because of the difference in religious beliefs, not from a stereotypical point of view, but from a more human side.
The more Emily resisted, pouted and bitched in the book, the more I care less about her friends, her boyfriend and her relationships with the people around her. It made the antagonist, Lucy, be more likeable.
All in all, Emily embracing her Puerto Rican family and cultural background, came a little too late for my liking, which didn't help ingratiate the main character with me.
Other notes,
Another thing that irked me was that no one bothered to proof read or correct the grammar of the few Spanish sentences that are sprinkled around the book. I think that it shows a very lazy attitude towards a "foreign" language, which is central to the story, as she's surrounded by it.
I do hope Ms Ostow does a bit more research before writing another book set in Puerto Rico.
I must admit that when I saw this title and read the blurb about a half Jewish half Puerto Rican girl, I was giddy with excitement. I wanted to LOVE this book. I was happy to find a book written from a background that is so close to mine. I was happy that this was YA contemporary, and not a political book. Because most Puerto Rican authors insist on writing about political stuff even in the YA genre. Unfortunately, my giddiness died as soon as I started to read. I was extremely disappointed when page after page, I found that Micol Ostow, the half Puerto Rican half Jewish writer of Emily Goldberg learns to salsa, had filled the book with hurtful stereotypes of life in the US territory of Puerto Rico.
It's never my intention to post bad reviews. Why? Because sometimes, I do think we tend to be meaner than we should be when we don't like a book.
So, you might ask, why am I posting this review about a book that I've been fighting with since I started reading it, when I know it's going to be a .5 star review? Well, because this book has touched a nerve. No, it's not touched a nerve. It's released a deep rooted patriotism that I only exhibit for the mainland most of the time, because of the way the book portrays the US territory of Puerto Rico.
From the moment that I met Emily, on the first page of the book, I had problems relating to her. I didn't think her voice was particularly teenager-like, and it irked me no end that the pages were sprinkled with hurtful stereotypes that are not even true.
FYI, Puerto Rico has road and street signs, there is a.c. almost everywhere, especially funeral homes, fast food places, private homes, etc, and movies start when they are meant to start. This idea that there is something as Puerto Rican time, which means that they don't keep to the schedule is erroneous, and deeply stereotypical. In Puerto Rico like in other countries, there are all kinds of people, punctual people and those who don't care for time. Movie theaters are not dirty, not more than here on the mainland. People don't drive like crazy, not any worse than here on the mainland. And even though I grew up in Bayamon, and they are called the cowboys, I've found people in Tampa who are even more "vaqueros" than those people in Bayamon when it comes to driving.
I find it incredible, that someone who is Half Puerto Rican has littered her book with punch lines and jokes that are driven mainly by the stereotypes surrounding the island. One thing that has been on my mind since this hate relationship with the book started is this: Had this book been written by a so called "white" person, would people have complained? Would people had called to boycott the author? I think the answer is yes, it's deeply troubling that no Puerto Ricans, half or full, have actually complained about how much stereotype is there in the book.
The characters
Emily Goldberg is a pill. Even when I should have been feeling sorry for her, I couldn't. Why? Because I doubt there could be anyone more stuck up than her, I don't even think that Blair Waldorf would have been this bad.
Lucy, Emily's cousin is nicer, even when she's being bitchy, and her plight renders her more interesting than Emily.
Most characters felt flat, and without any real depth, such is the case of Tia Rosa, who would have been a great character, if presented with a bit more depth. After all she's the exact opposite of Emily's mother and it would have presented us with a real confrontation between her upbringing and her Puerto Rican family.
The storyline
I still find it hard to believe that Emily's mother, Gloria, kept her Puerto Rican background to herself, never sharing anything about the island with her children. It's just impossible for me to believe that. Even though my children were not born in Puerto Rico, or the mainland, I've never stopped talking to them about the States. I've even mentioned my father's family with whom I have no real relationship.
I'm disappointed that the book didn't deal with Emily's Jewish background versus her Catholic family's one. I was looking forward to funny situations that could come up because of the difference in religious beliefs, not from a stereotypical point of view, but from a more human side.
The more Emily resisted, pouted and bitched in the book, the more I care less about her friends, her boyfriend and her relationships with the people around her. It made the antagonist, Lucy, be more likeable.
All in all, Emily embracing her Puerto Rican family and cultural background, came a little too late for my liking, which didn't help ingratiate the main character with me.
Other notes,
Another thing that irked me was that no one bothered to proof read or correct the grammar of the few Spanish sentences that are sprinkled around the book. I think that it shows a very lazy attitude towards a "foreign" language, which is central to the story, as she's surrounded by it.
I do hope Ms Ostow does a bit more research before writing another book set in Puerto Rico.
Format:Hardcover
High school senior Emily Goldberg has a perfect summer planned, the highlight of which is a cross-country road trip with her two best friends before they head off to separate colleges. But her plans are drastically altered when her maternal grandmother dies suddenly and Emily's family must fly to Puerto Rico to attend the funeral. Emily experiences culture shock when she finds herself in a crowded Catholic church with hundreds of relatives she didn't even know she had, including a cousin her own age named Lucy. When Emily's mother decides to remain in Puerto Rico for the rest of the summer to cope with her grief, Emily can't refuse her father's request that she stay with her. Feeling like an outsider (and the Jew from New York whom cousin Lucy refers to as "the nuyorican,"), Emily intends to quietly suffer through two months in a world so different from her own. But when Emily's mother finally opens up about her long unspoken past, Emily begins to reach out to her new relatives, and discovers the importance of connecting to both sides of her heritage. Emily's voice is authentic and witty, and her thoughts and observations will ring true with teens. Spanish words and phrases pepper the dialogue throughout this engaging novel. Ages 12-16.
