The Blurb
Just about everyone from my country, República Dominicana, dreams of moving to New York City, except for me. On the flight to New York, my first time on a plane, my first time away from Mami, I was finally free to cry. But nothing came out. I watched as the green mountains of my beloved island slipped away far below.
Fifteen-year-old Nina Perez is faced with a future she never expected. She must leave her Garden of Eden, her lush island home in Samana, Dominican Republic, when she's sent by her mother to live with her brother, Darrio, in New York, to seek out a better life. As Nina searches for some glimpse of familiarity amid the urban and jarring world of Washington Heights, she learns to uncover her own strength and independence. She finds a way to grow, just like the orchids that blossom on her fire escape. And as she is confronted by ugly secrets about her brother's business, she comes to understand the realities of life in this new place. But then she meets him—that tall, green-eyed boy—one that she can't erase from her thoughts, who just might help her learn to see beauty in spite of tragedy.
Fifteen-year-old Nina Perez is faced with a future she never expected. She must leave her Garden of Eden, her lush island home in Samana, Dominican Republic, when she's sent by her mother to live with her brother, Darrio, in New York, to seek out a better life. As Nina searches for some glimpse of familiarity amid the urban and jarring world of Washington Heights, she learns to uncover her own strength and independence. She finds a way to grow, just like the orchids that blossom on her fire escape. And as she is confronted by ugly secrets about her brother's business, she comes to understand the realities of life in this new place. But then she meets him—that tall, green-eyed boy—one that she can't erase from her thoughts, who just might help her learn to see beauty in spite of tragedy.
My Opinion
Before I read this book I read some of the reviews on Goodreads, some were good some were not amazing, but I thought I'd give it a go anyway. As the main character is from the Dominican Republic she would speak random words of Spanish as would her mum in the beginning of the book while she was there, I found this hard to understand further on in the book it would be translated but I had to try any work out what the words where at first. I found that this was the biggest downfall for this book, apart from that I liked the book. It was a nice little story but wasn't like a fairytale it had reality added in.
It shows how things may not always be as they seem, and the difficulties of moving away from your day to day life of a small town to a big city with only knowing one person.
Rating: ***
Release Year: 2013
Image and blurb from Goodreads.
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