Outside Text

Almost a Woman, by Esmeralda Santiago
Vintage Books: New York, 1999

This memoir by Esmeralda Santiago follows the life of a Puerto Rican immigrant through her first seven years in the United States. Esmeralda lives in Brooklyn, New York with her family. Through a variety of experiences - learning English, dates and proposals from men she is and isn't interested in, and acceptance to the Performing Arts High School - Esmeralda transforms from a shy thirteen year old Puerto Rican, to a confident and talented twenty-one year old woman.

Like most successful adolescent literature, Santiago focuses on the differences she senses between herself and her peers. While she addresses the obvious differences (she is Puerto Rican, she doesn't speak any English when she immigrates to the US, she has ten siblings), the text is still appealing to youth because she addresses universal truths. She refutes the additional responsibility she is given as the oldest child, she has power struggles with her mom and often craves more freedom than she is given, and she experiences a range of unusual encounters with men (some romantic, some lustful, some uncomfortable). While her experiences are not universal, the feelings and motives behind them are those shared by a majority of adolescent girls.

-Becky Andert