An Island Like You: Stories of the Barrio [Hardcover]

Judith Cofer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1995

Twelve stories about young people caught between their Puerto Rican heritage and their American surroundings.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Cofer'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.

From Booklist

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

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic; First Edition edition (March 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0531068978
• ISBN-13: 978-0531068977
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,557,680 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

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars about living between two cultures from an teen perspective, May 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: AN Island Like You: Stories of the Barrio (Mass Market Paperback)

This is a collection of short stories about situations Puerto-Rican American teenagers face. The setting is a New Jersey barrio, and the characters are all richly believable and intriguing. My favorite story is the first one: Rita is sent to live with her grandparents in Puerto Rico because she lied to her parents and was caught with a boy where she shouldn't have been. The way her grandparents treat her, and the good natured way Rita protests is quite realistic. She ends up being glad she was sent to her grandparents, and she seems to have gained an appreciation for her roots. In another story, Arturo must spend an hour with his abuelo at the nursing home. At first, he's not so excited, but when the hour is up, he realizes there's a lot more about his grandfather he would like to know.The other stories are equally engaging, though not always as light-hearted and humorous. One of the stories deals with Doris and her friend Rick, who is gay. Everyone in the neighborhood rejects Rick and anything he is involved with. It's a touching and sad piece that really strikes home the importance of tolerance.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Short story collection for anyone, December 14, 2004

By 

Sam Herskovitz (San Carlos, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: AN Island Like You: Stories of the Barrio (Mass Market Paperback)

A very well written collection showing teenagers who find themselves stuck in between their two diverse cultures. The twelve short stories really make you feel like you are living in the Barrio, a small area in New Jersey, with all of the characters. Though each story different, all are intertwined with a main message of showing what young people go through in a society like this. Characters come back in and out of different stories, varying from major to minor roles. The several short stories keep the reader interested, wanting to know about the next real-life situation that will come up in the next story. Each is from a different person in the Barrio's perspective, which allows the reader to see what each person goes through at one time or another. Each character is as believable as the next, and teenagers all over can relate to the realistic situations they all go through. One of my favorites of the stories is the very first one, called "Bad Influence." A girl named Rita is sent to live with her grandparents in Puerto Rico for the summer as punishment. But instead Rita has one of the greatest summers of her life. The collection is well written all around and very intriguing, especially to teen readers. I highly recommend this book to anyone.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Island Like You Student Review, May 11, 2007

By 

M. M. Ford (Bronx, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: AN Island Like You: Stories of the Barrio (Mass Market Paperback)

BRONX, NY

We're students who attend Middle School 118. The book we read in our Book Club is called An Island Like You. We would recommend this book to someone who likes to read about teenagers' lives in the barrio. We would rate this book a 4. Our favorite part is when Yolanda sneeks inside the fashion show when she is not even supposed to be there. Also, when it talks about Yolanda not liking her mom's boyfriend, Don Jose, we were extra interested. As a group, we think teenagers would fall in love with this book. READ IT!!! It's a great book!!!