If I Could Fly by Judith Ortiz CoferRelease Date: May 24, 2011
Fifteen-year-old Doris is used to taking care of herself. Her musician parents have always spent more time singing in nightclubs than watching after her. But when her ailing mother goes home to Puerto Rico to get well and pursue a singing career there, and her father finds a new girlfriend, Doris is more alone than she’s ever been. Disconnected from her family and her best friends, who are intertwined in terrifying relationships with a violent classmate, Doris finds refuge in taking care of homing pigeons on her apartment building’s roof. As Doris tries to make sense of it all, she learns that, just like the pigeons, she might have to fly far distances before she finds out where she belongs.
-The cover says the characters are from a previous short story collection, An Island Like You. I haven't read it (yet) and I doubt I'll have time before this book comes out so hopefully it will be easy to slide right into these characters' lives. I have a love of Puerto Rico and it's culture (even though I've never been) so I can't wait to read more about Puerto Rican culture. It's been a really long time since I've read a book with a Latino main character :( I really like the warm tones of the cover and Doris' triumphant pose.
What are you waiting on this week? Are there any YA/MG books with Latino main characters that I MUST READ this summer?
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PS Why does spellcheck freak out when the word Puerto Rico pops up? It acknowledges Puerto but not Rican. Weird! They should recognize country names. Just like AOL Mail does not accept Latina. Bizarreeeee
