An Island Like You [Mass Market Paperback]

Judith Ortiz Cofer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2009

Judith Ortiz Cofer's Pura Belpré award-winning collection of short stories about life in the barrio!

Rita is exiled to Puerto Rico for a summer with her grandparents after her parents catch her with a boy. Luis sits atop a six-foot mountain of hubcaps in his father's junkyard, working off a sentence for breaking and entering. Sandra tries to reconcile her looks to the conventional Latino notion of beauty. And Arturo, different from his macho classmates, fantasizes about escaping his community. They are the teenagers of the barrio -- and this is their world.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Judith Oritz Coffer a native of Puerto Rico, is the author of several books, including Call Me Maria. Among her many distinguished awards is a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. In 1984, she joined the faculty of the University of Georgia, where she is now a professor of English and Creative Writing.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Orchard Books (August 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0545131332
• ISBN-13: 978-0545131339
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #658,956 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Critically acclaimed and widely published poet, novelist, and essayist Judith Ortiz Cofer knows that "words have the power to transform you and give you the power to shape your life. The minute you open your mouth, you have introduced yourself." Writing extensively about the experience of being Puerto Rican and her identity as a woman and writer in the U.S., she is a lauded Regents and Franklin Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Georgia where she teaches literature and creative writing.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, June 2, 2010

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Island Like You (Mass Market Paperback)

Life in a Puerto Rican barrio has its ups and downs. The community is close-knit, but the money is scarce.

With bad influences in the forms of peers, pressure from boyfriends, and the loss of friends, things can get difficult. Each teen has their own way of dealing with things - and this is a book of their stories.

An eye-opening collection of short stories that doesn't put rose-colored glasses on the reality of at-risk teenagers. The stories are believable and touching, the teens in the book are easy to relate to, and the author does a great job of painting the small-town barrio.

Readers who like realistic fiction and books with stories told by teens will enjoy reading this book.

Reviewed by: Kira M