Una Isla Como Tu Book

Judith Ortiz Cofer is probably the best-known Puerto Rican author of young adult literature, and the stories in An Island Like You frequently appear in high school readers although the book itself is no longer in print. Upon seeing the title, you might think you were holding in your hands a book set entirely in the Caribbean. But you would be mistaken, for most of the stories collected here take place in Paterson, New Jersey, a place the author depicts as a kind of urban island -- a "barrio" separated from mainstream US culture by custom, poverty, and prejudice.

My favorite story and the one I would argue is most likely to withstand the long test of time is the first one, "Bad Influence." But for the sake of readers who are looking for something particular in these stories I will offer quick summaries of them all:

1. "Bad Influence": Rita's parents catch her sneaking out at night and banish her to Puerto Rico for the summer. Hilarity and personal transformation ensue as the city girl adjusts to living with her odd, spiritualist grandparents and turns her attention from chasing boys to helping a local girl escape her mother's abusive boyfriend. Like I said, this is a best story in the book, and more than any other it features Ortiz Cofer's talent for developing fast-talking, strong-headed heroines.

2. "Arturo's Flight": A "sensitive" (read: queer) boy who is bullied at school roams the streets, angry and confused. He spends the night in the church, where a priest offers him acceptance and silent companionship.

3. "Beauty Lessons": Sandra avoids the boy she likes because she thinks her chest is too flat to interest him. But when she watches her aunt paint her face and squeeze into tight clothes, she decides to appreciate her natural appearance, with or without the approval of whistling men.

4. "Catch the Moon": Luis thinks it is such a drag to have to spend the summer sorting hubcaps at his father's junkyard. Then, one day, a captivating young woman walks in, looking for a specific hubcap that only Luis has the ability to find…

5. "An Hour with Abuelo": The same Arturo who appeared in #2 visits the nursing home where his ailing grandfather is spending his last days. Expecting to find a frail, immobile old man, Arturo is surprised to see his grandfather as full of life as he ever was.

6. "The One Who Watches": Doris, a girl with a knack for disappearing into the corners of rooms, is entranced by her friend Yolanda, who is brave and brings excitement into both of their lives. But what will she do when she learns that her friend is also a shoplifter?

7. "Matoa's Mirror": Kenny Matoa, a member of the Tiburones gang and the bad guy in #2 gets his comeuppance after a bad LSD trip. The most heavy-handed story in the collection and my personal least favorite.

8. "Don José of La Mancha": Why did Yolanda steal that purse that got her and Doris in such trouble back in #6? The author doesn't answer this question, exactly, but she does give us a peek into Yolanda's home, which just hasn't felt the same since her father died. Now that her mother is seeing another man, how will her dad's memory survive?

9. "Abuela Invents the Zero": Constancia is mortified by her grandmother, who dresses terribly, speaks no English, and can hardly see. She tolerates sharing the apartment with her until the Sunday she has to escort her to church and back, all on her own…

10. "A Job for Valentín": Teresa can't swim but takes a job serving drinks at the swimming pool anyway. What had promised to be an easy summer watching an attractive upperclassman flex his Speedo takes a turn for the weird when she is charged with training a disabled man with a talent for sculpting animal figurines out of rubber band balls. Like #1, this is a story about a sharp-tongued girl who learns to embrace a change that seems thrust upon her as a kind of punishment.

11. "Home to El Building": Tired of her parents' endless bickering, Anita packs a bag with the idea of moving in with the older, Italian man who kisses her at the deli where they both work. As she walks away from the apartment for the last time, she runs into friends and acquaintances who make her wonder if she has made the right choice to leave them all behind for a man she hardly knows…

12. "White Balloons": Doris, the quiet girl from #6, steps out of the shadows to help a dying gay man find the acceptance the barrio denied him when he was a child. The story paints a dated portrait of the nelly, persecuted AIDS victim, but it also offers a wallop of an emotional punch, with the final scene bringing the story, and the whole collection, to a tear-jerking, community-affirming end.

You don't care, but I would rank the stories as follows:

1. "Bad Influence"
2. "Beauty Lessons"
3. "A Job for Valentín"
4. "White Balloons"
5. "Arturo's Flight"
6. "Abuela Invents the Zero"
7. "An Hour with Abuelo"
8. "The One Who Watches"
9. "Catch the Moon"
10. "Don José of La Mancha"
11. "Home to El Building"
12. "Matoa's Mirror"

An Island Like You was a collection of short stories all with different plots. I found all of the stories to be very realistic and some of them very interesting and entertaining. All of the stories took place in either New Jersey or Puerto Rico which was very fitting to the plot because most of the stories dealt with Puerto Rican community's dealing with problems and learning valuable lessons during the stories. The setting really helped the events of the book because of this. The characters were very believable and I think most teenagers could relate to what was going on in most of the stories. For example there were problems of bullying, death, and making good choices in the stories that many teens could relate to. The author, Judith Ortiz Cofer had mostly a positive tone throughout all of the stories. The characters had problems or struggles that they overcame and it made for some good lessons for each story. This book would be suited for those who are interested in learning about the Puerto Rican culture as well as any teenager because they could relate most to many of the stories. I thought this book was a good read and would recommend it because there were many lessons to be learned and the plot and characters were relatable and interesting.