Almost a Woman: Amazon.ca: Esmeralda Santiago: Books

Product Description

From Publishers Weekly

This sequel to the story of Santiago's childhood (When I Was Puerto Rican) covers her life as an adolescent and young woman when she lived in Brooklyn, New York, with her mother (Mami) and 10 siblings during the 1960s. Puerto Rican immigrants, the family suffered through periods of poverty exemplified by the author's trips to the welfare office with Mami, where she translated her mother's Spanish so that they could obtain benefits. Santiago's good humor, zest for life and fighting spirit permeate her chronicle and moderate the impact of the hard times she describes. She studied acting at the prestigious Performing Arts Public High School and, despite feeling out of place because of her heritage, Santiago was able to obtain work in a children's theater and had a small role in the film Up the Down Staircase. Mami prevented her from dating until she was 17, but Santiago details several romantic involvements, including an affair with a Turkish filmmaker. Forced to lose her Puerto Rican accent to widen her acting range, Santiago never lost her connection to Mami, her family and her heritage, and her love for them all shines through this engaging memoir.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

This book continues the life story that Santiago began in When I Was Puerto Rican (LJ 9/15/93). After her family's arrival in New York City, Santiago faced the difficult process of assimilation. As the oldest of eight children, she led her siblings in exploring the new culture and opportunities available to them. Santiago's memoir traces her personal growth through her teenage years; she describes her relationships with her family, her early dating experiences, and her first sexual encounters. In the end, she strikes a tenuous balance between her traditional, family-oriented culture and the new world of mainstream American society. Santiago's descriptive prose and lively dialog draw the reader in; we are reminded of the pains and pleasures of adolescence and wonder what happens next in her life. For literary memoir collections.AGwen Gregory, New Mexico State Univ., Las Cruces
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Customer Reviews

31 Reviews

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

Average Customer Review

3.8 out of 5 stars (31 customer reviews)

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1.0 out of 5 stars NOT AS GOOD AS THE FIRST BIOGRAPHY!!: IN FACT, HORRIBLE!!, Jun 25 2003

By A Customer

This is the biography from Esmeralda Santiago that starts off where WHEN I WAS PUERTO RICAN ends off. That is where the comparison/connection ends, because this book is horrible compared to Santiago's first biography. To sum up one part of the book that really sums up the whole: There is one "big" event that happens in this book (won't give it away) and it's 272 pages leading up to it, and when it finally happens, ONE PAGE (and barely that, it's more like half a page) is devoted to describing it. Does that make any sense? Other events are given twenty pages to describe it, and the "big" moment for Santiago gets one page? The talented way Santiago describes her whereabouts and experiences are happily evident on her first biography; in ALMOST A WOMAN, they are almost non-existent. This biography is flat, empty, boring, and just plain stupid. Hard to believe the person who wrote it also wrote the first biography.

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2.0 out of 5 stars Boring; tedious; read only if you have nothing else to read, Jun 25 2003

By	David (Hoboken, NJ) - See all my reviews

"Almost A Woman," the "sequel" to the well-written "When I Was Puerto Rican," is boring, tedious, and only recommended to hardcore fans of the first memoir from Esmeralda Santiago (and even then, your patience might wear thin on this one). While the first book, written with descriptive details and passionate voice, shows us the insights into young Esmeralda growing up poor in Puerto Rico, "Almost A Woman" is filled with uneventful happenings that won't draw the reader in as much as the first book. "My Boring Recollection of When I Became a Young Lady" would have been a better title for this book, and one wonders what the point was behind writing it in the first place. You won't come away feeling satisfied with what happens to the "characters," nor will you care halfway in. The first book captured you: you wanted to know about Esmeralda and her family; why her father did what he did; her childhood in Puerto Rico and its effect and lasting impression on her. The first book is "must reading" if you were/are an immigrant from any backround. In "Almost...", you read about Esmeralda in the US as a young lady: going on audtions; contemplating who she will give her virginity to; her future and what pain it will bring to her overprotective mother. This isn't, unfortunately, a "must read" for young ladies, or anyone who wants a good read, for that matter. This book is a huge disappointment, considering how good Santiago's first memoir was. It's useless, senseless reading and only if you have nothing else to read will you even bother wanting to read towards the end (which I might add, is predictably as boring and senseless as the rest of the book).

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2.0 out of 5 stars Boring; tedious; read only if you have nothing else to read, Jun 25 2003

By	David (Hoboken, NJ) - See all my reviews

"Almost A Woman," the "sequel" to the well-written "When I Was Puerto Rican," is boring, tedious, and only recommended to hardcore fans of the first memoir from Esmeralda Santiago (and even then, your patience might wear thin on this one). While the first book, written with descriptive details and passionate voice, shows us the insights into young Esmeralda growing up poor in Puerto Rico, "Almost A Woman" is filled with uneventful happenings that won't draw the reader in as much as the first book. "My Boring Recollection of When I Became a Young Lady" would have been a better title for this book, and one wonders what the point was behind writing it in the first place. You won't come away feeling satisfied with what happens to the "characters," nor will you care halfway in. The first book captured you: you wanted to know about Esmeralda and her family; why her father did what he did; her childhood in Puerto Rico and its effect and lasting impression on her. The first book is "must reading" if you were/are an immigrant from any backround. In "Almost...", you read about Esmeralda in the US as a young lady: going on audtions; contemplating who she will give her virginity to; her future and what pain it will bring to her overprotective mother. This isn't, unfortunately, a "must read" for young ladies, or anyone who wants a good read, for that matter. This book is a huge disappointment, considering how good Santiago's first memoir was. It's useless, senseless reading and only if you have nothing else to read will you even bother wanting to read towards the end (which I might add, is predictably as boring and senseless as the rest of the book).

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Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Soul-Searching in a Light-Hearted Memoir
After reading "When I was Puerto Rican", I was eager to read the next installment of Esmeralda Santiago's life-story. Read more

Published on April 20 2003 by Michele Robinson

4.0 out of 5 stars Esmerelda's Captivating Life
This book takes place in the run down streets of Brooklyn. The story focuses on a proud Spanish family who has immigrated to the alien United States. Read more

Published on Mar 21 2003 by Kristi Terrell

4.0 out of 5 stars A quest for independance
Almost a Woman portrays the life of author Esmeralda Santiago as a 13-year-old girl who has just moved to the United States from Puerto Rico. Read more

Published on May 15 2002

4.0 out of 5 stars A quest for independance
Almost a Woman portrays the life of author Esmeralda Santiago as a 13-year-old girl who has just moved to the United States from Puerto Rico. Read more

Published on May 15 2002