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thebookdragon217 · 2 years

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Book club date is fast approaching. It's not too late to join the #ReadPuertoRican months book club discussion. We are reading America's Dream by Esmeralda Santiago and I know the discussion is going to be lively. Discussion date is Wednesday November 30th at 8 pm EST via Google Meet. Let me know if you want to join the discussion and I will happily get you connected. If you want to keep up with us more regularly, our book club is now on the Book Clubz App. I will be adding the link to my bio so you can join us as we #ReadPuertoRican all year long. You don't need to download the app to participate. Everyone is welcome. QOTD: What is your book club reading? 🇵🇷 SYNOPSIS 🇵🇷 América Gonzalez is a hotel housekeeper on Vieques, an island off the coast of Puerto Rico, cleaning up after wealthy foreigners who don’t look her in the eye. Her alcoholic mother resents her; her married boyfriend, Correa, beats her; and their fourteen-year-old daughter thinks life would be better anywhere but with América. So when América is offered the chance to work as a live-in housekeeper and nanny for a family in Westchester, New York, she takes it as a sign to finally make the escape she's been longing for. Yet, even as América revels in the comparative luxury of her new life—daring to care about a man other than Correa—she is faced with the disquieting realization that no matter what she does, she can never really escape her past. #AmericasDream #ReadPuertoRican #EsmeraldaSantiago #bookclubpick #bookstagram #bookcommmunity #amreading #IGReads #bookphotos #reading #ReadCaribbean #bookish #bookclub #latinxbooks #latinx #PuertoRicanHeritageMonth #tbr #PuertoRico #bookstagrammers #boricuas #boricuabooks #books #readersofinstagram #libros #read (at Middle Village) https://www.instagram.com/p/ClRq7_4vQp0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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bibliocornio · 2 years

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Thoughts on : América’s Dream by Esmeralda Santiago

Y’all, this book has forever changed me. I don’t even really know where to begin or how to fully describe it. It was an intense read and sort of gave me the worst kind of thriller vibes at the end.

I’m not super into going into detail and spoiling books for peeps, so here are just a few thoughts on it that literally no one asked for:

1. I am incredibly impressed with the discussion of identity throughout this book. One that particularly stood out to me was the discussion about Puerto Rican identity on the island versus Puerto Rican identity stateside. As a stateside Puerto Rican myself, I always thoroughly enjoy hearing and digesting different perspectives on what Puerto Rican identity is or isn’t and whether there are several types of Puerto Rican identity.

2. I am also intrigued by Santiago’s discussion of citizenship. América encounters fellow empleadas who are from other parts of Latin America who question why she does not (in their eyes) “maximize” on the fact that she is a U.S. citizen. This is another topic that is worthy of more discussion and exploration. I had Mexican associate of mine say he had visited Puerto Rico and that it was more “modern” than most of Mexico, so he didn’t see what islanders really had to complain about. I feel like part of his conclusion stems from differences when it comes to access to citizenship and honestly, this novel has me wanting to explore the topic more.

3. Santiago covers a lot in this book, and at the center of it all is the story of América trying to improve her life and set a positive example for her daughter by working to escape an abusive domestic relationship. This book is an intense and immensely heavy read because of her story of surviving abuse, so I caution y’all to not dive in without checking the web for content warnings/

The deal is, I don’t rate books with stars (no stars, just vibes over here). BUT overall, I do highly recommend this gem!

#americasdream #esmeralda santiago #readpuertorican #nostarsjustvibes #book blog #book review #book thoughts

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