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Summary
Summary
One of America's most influential Hispanics -- 'Maria' on Sesame Street -- presents a powerful novel set in New York's El Barrio in 1969There are two secrets Evelyn Serrano is keeping from her Mami and Papo? her true feelings about growing up in her Spanish Harlem neighborhood, and her attitude about Abuela, her sassy grandmother who's come from Puerto Rico to live with them. Then, like an urgent ticking clock, events erupt that change everything. The Young Lords, a Puerto Rican activist group, dump garbage in the street and set it on fire, igniting a powerful protest. When Abuela steps in to take charge, Evelyn is thrust into the action. Tempers flare, loyalties are tested. Through it all, Evelyn learns important truths about her Latino heritage and the history makers who shaped a nation. Infused with actual news accounts from the time period, Sonia Manzano has crafted a gripping work of fiction based on her own life growing up during a fiery, unforgettable time in America, when young Latinos took control of their destinies.
Author Notes
Sonia Manzano has affected the lives of millions since the early 1970s, as the actress who defined the role of "Maria" on the acclaimed television series Sesame Street . Sonia has won fifteen Emmy Awards for her television writing and is the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Academy of Arts and Sciences. People magazine named Sonia one of America's most influential Hispanics. She lives in New York City.
Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In Sesame Street star and picture-book author Manzano's (A Box Full of Kittens) first novel, set in 1969 Spanish Harlem, 14-year-old Evelyn Serrano finds a new appreciation for her family and pride in her Puerto Rican heritage amid neighborhood protests. Evelyn is frustrated with her struggling parents, who cling to the old ways of Puerto Rico, and sick of the "El Barrio fart smell of garbage" that makes the summer heat hard to bear. Things hit a fever pitch when Evelyn's free-spirited abuela arrives to live with them, clashing with everyone. It's Abuela who tells Evelyn about the 1937 Nationalist uprising in Puerto Rico and how it's similar to the Young Lords who are burning garbage and occupying a local church to focus attention on the barrio. The knowledge helps bring three generations of women closer as they unite in a common cause. Manzano shines light on a little-known moment in history through the eyes of a realistically mercurial protagonist who can be both petulant and sympathetic. Evelyn's tale fascinates, ending on a hopeful note. Ages 10-14. Agent: Jennifer Lyons Literary Agency. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Set in the summer of 1969, Manzanos solid first novel deals with the political and cultural awakening of fourteen-year-old Rosa Mara Evelyn del Carmen Serrano, who tells us straight off that she prefers to be called Evelyn because El Barrio, Spanish Harlem, U.S.A., did not need another Rosa, Mara, or Carmen. Shes not particularly happy with her life: her best friend has dropped her, her mother embarrasses her, and she hates the stench of overflowing garbage cans in her neighborhood. To make things worse, she has to give up her bedroom when her grandmother arrives from Puerto Rico, and Evelyns charismatic orange-haired abuela is not an easy person to live with. Shes loud, messy, and opinionated, and she constantly clashes with Evelyns more conservative mother. Abuela becomes involved with the Young Lords, a radical Puerto Rican Nationalist group working to empower the residents of Spanish Harlem, and she shares with Evelyn pieces of her own family history relating to the 1937 Ponce Massacre, part of an earlier Nationalist movement. Evelyn becomes increasingly radicalized and joins a protest occupation of her church. Based on true events, the story develops organically through well-realized fictional characters dealing with complex family dynamics. Manzano has a gift for providing just the right amount of historical and political context for todays young readers without slowing the pace. The story has obvious parallels to Rita Williams-Garcias One Crazy Summer (rev. 3/10), and the two would make a great pairing. kathleen t. horning (c) Copyright 2012. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Starting with the title, this wry, moving debut novel does a great job of blending the personal and the political without denigrating either. Growing up in the Puerto Rican East Harlem barrio in 1969, Rosa, 14, changes her name to Evelyn and tries to be more mainstream. Then her activist abuela arrives from Puerto Rico and moves in, and Evelyn feels as if she's found an older overdone version of me. Abuela inspires Evelyn to join the Young Lords, the political activists who are working closely with the Black Panthers and fighting for Puerto Rican rights. But Evelyn's mama does not approve, especially when the activists occupy the neighborhood church to demand food and shelter for the poor. Evelyn's first-person narrative is filled with irreverent one-liners, but it never denies the realism of daily struggle: the heat and stink of our neighborhood. Rooted in the author's own experience, the teen's intense narrative is set against real-life political events (reports from the New York Times are documented in an appendix), while the family drama and revelations continue right up to the end.--Rochman, Hazel Copyright 2010 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
Gr 6-10-Fourteen-year-old Evelyn Serrano lives in Spanish Harlem in 1969. Everything about her mother bothers her, from the woman's decorations to her "beggy" tone and slavish ways. When Evelyn's grandmother moves in with them, the three generations clash. Abuela is a patriota-an activist who supported the Puerto Rican nationalist movement in the 1930s, and who left her daughter to be raised by relatives. Evelyn's mother works every day with her husband, Evelyn's stepfather, in their bodega and dreams of owning a house in the Bronx, and Evelyn struggles with her own sense of identity. She and her grandmother become involved in the Young Lords movement, which is met by resistance from Mami. As the plot evolves so do Evelyn and her mother, and in the end all three women come to a place of understanding about one another and what it means to be Puerto Rican in El Barrio. Based on historical facts, the story paints a time line of the Young Lords movement as seen through Evelyn's eyes. She brings to life the sense of cultural awareness and pride that the movement invoked as well as the human-rights inequalities that were exposed by the Young Lords in Spanish Harlem. This novel is reminiscent of Pam Munoz Ryan's Esperanza Rising (Scholastic, 2000), not only because of the strong Latina characters in a historically important setting, but also for the hopeful, coming-of-age story that unfolds.-Adrienne L. Strock, Maricopa County Library District, AZ (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Set in 1969, Manzano's first novel offers a realistically mercurial protagonist struggling with her identity in Spanish Harlem. Fourteen-year-old Rosa Mara Evelyn del Carmen Serrano is frustrated with life in El Barrio. Tired of working for her mother and stepfather in their bodega, she takes a job at a five-and-dime and hopes to trudge through the rest of the summer. Everything changes when her abuela arrives, taking over Evelyn's bedroom and bearing secrets of the family's involvement in Puerto Rico's tumultuous history. When a group called the Young Lords begins working to bring positive changes to the neighborhood, some residents are resistant, including Evelyn's mother. Led by her grandmother's example, Evelyn begins to take an interest in the efforts of the activist group. As the months pass, the three generations of women begin to see one another's perspectives, and Evelyn realizes the importance of her Puerto Rican heritage. Like most real-world teens, she changes subtly, rather than through one earth-shattering epiphany. The author effectively captures this shifting perception in the dialogue and Evelyn's first-person narration. Secondary characters of surprising dimension round out the plot and add to the novel's cultural authenticity, as do the Spanish and Spanglish words and phrases sprinkled throughout the text so seamlessly that a glossary would be moot. A stunning debut. (author's note, recommended reading) (Historical novel. 12 up)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
