Judith Ortiz Cofer Books

This book is a must-read by writers, those who would write, and those interested in human studies. It is particularly empowering for writers who struggle for time to write, the required solitude of the writer's life, the pervasive lack of attention by culture to poetry and literature, and the lack of sympathy or empathy from family and acquaintances. These varied essays are also testimonies for the human spirit. An uplifting as well as educational read.

I highly recommend this book as a collection of strong, creative women's writing. Essential for lovers of literature.

I stumbled upon this title while reading an issue of The Oxford American and decided to give it a read. What a revelation! I am not familiar with any of Judith Ortiez Cofer's other works, but if this is any indication, I will be reading them all. A collection of essays, poems and folktales, this book blends the author's emergence as a writer with memories of growing up as a Puerto Rican in Patterson, New Jersey. The influences of the island her parents left behind, the Catholic Church as well as the emerging women's movement, combine with a Growing knowledge that the author wants to write. This is not only an autobiography, it is a compelling argument of why she has answered the call to write, and the struggles with self, that she, as a writer has faced. It examines the drive to create, the forces that pull one away from writing, and the quest to have a place of one's own. In clear, lyrical language, she encourages women to seek a life of truth, no matter the route or medium. She reveals some of the writers (a diverse group) that ignited her imagination and passion for writing. "Take what you can use and let the rest rot" is an expression used, and this book is invaluable to women, actually , to anyone who loves to read and who longs to use words to reach others. The best "writing" book I have read in years, and a treasure to keep.

I have only recently become acquainted with Ortiz-Cofer's splendid honesty and stretching creativity, yet I am overwhelmed with the power that she exudes in "Woman in Front of the Sun". Having read "The Latin Deli", I was ecstatic when I found another collection that calls her memory and lessons learned to dance for the curiosity of her readers. Aside from the traditional definition of the term, Ortiz-Cofer is powerful through the pure simplicity of her accounts of life. In "Woman in Front of the Sun", she places value on what is valuable, she learns through the grades of life, and she exposes her tender realities to those she hopes will appreciate her. She inspires readers to find the innocence in being "Macho", the same value others might call confidence. By opening the pages of this book, you'll find a comfort similar to that of your own thoughts.

This is a wonderful author who can balance the cultures that determine her character. It is a soft and warm style that brings us home to our childhood memories and that nostalgia brought by growing up. It is a well written story that will leave the reader with a longing for the magic of memories.

This tasty book is full of the smells, textures, colors and lives of the Barrio. Lively, inspiring, heartfelt and sometimes heartbreaking, Ortiz fills this book with individuals whose lives are both representative of immigrated people and yet strikingly the stories of every woman and man. Mostly comprised of short-shorts the occasional poem is also brought in. Not all of the characters are named, and there is a sense that the reader is sometimes getting both the history and the future of the same characters. Marvelously woven, this book is a tapestry of personalities, lives, tastes and aromas. Check this book out for something unique! May I also recommend that a cup of Cuban coffee goes wonderfully!

The book The Meaning of Consuelo, by Judith Ortiz Cofer, is about a 1950's Puerto Rican family. In this time period "Americanization" comes to the island and changes many people lives. The main character Consuelo is a 14 year old girl and her younger sister Mili is about 11. These two girls live with there parents in Puerto Rico. There father works at the Golden Palms hotel in Puerto Rico and there mother is unemployed. This book is the story of Consuelo, a young girl trying to find her way in life. She has always been referred to as the smart sensible one while her sister is know as the risk taking, wild child. Consuelo is just trying to find her way in life and where she belongs in her family and in society. Consuelo's best friend is her cousin Patricio who is about the same age as Consuelo. They know each other better than anyone else and hoped that nothing would tear them apart. Consuelo has a large family with many aunts, uncles and cousins who she visits very often.

Consuelo's life at home seems to be going well until "la tragedia" as she likes to call it occurs. She can feel that a tragedy will be occurring within her family but she has no idea what. The main themes of this book are family and tragedy which will have a major effect on Consuelo and her actions. Her family goes through its up and down through the entire book. The tragedy hits hard and will force them family to make one of the biggest decisions ever.

In this book you learn about Consuelo's family, friends, interests and decisions. You will see the outcome of her choices and what she has to go through for her family. I liked this book because Consuelo and I are similar ages. I can relate to the decisions that someone of that age is forced to make and consequences of the actions that one must deal with. Now is also the time that I am trying to find my way in life and seeing how someone else found there way helps.

From reading this book I have learned that all families go through problems big or small. At the end of the day, your family is still your family and will always be there to help you. Without a strong family to support you, you won't be able to make it in life and its as simple as that.

I would recommend this book because anyone can relate to Consuelo, male or female, 14 years old or 60 years old. Everyone can find similarities to Consuelo and her struggles. She is such a strong person and anyone can admire that.

Well the title just about says it all but yes it is a great novel about growing up and maturing in PR. Its different from History books in that it touches real life issues and themes from a first-hand basis such as homosexuality, losing virginity, leaving home, family tragedy, pressures and responsibilities. These are just some of the themes which Consuelo, the main character, deals with; there are plenty more. Very enjoyable and easy to read.

This book is beautifully written and engrosses you in the story as if you WERE Consuelo. The bond between the sisters in this story is incredible, as is the universal of growing up, becoming a woman and emotionally moving away from one's parents. Without giving away the story, this is a must read, and is one of the most incredible books I have read in many, many years.

Consuelo has always been the responsible one, the one who takes care of her little sister, Mili. Mili is the pretty one, the vivacious one, but she also tends to wander off or to get lost in her own head. As a child these traits were charming, but as she grows into a young woman they become more worrisome, until the family is forced to confront the fact that Mili is mentally ill.

This is a great story of how mental illness in a family affects every member, and how a child who isn't sick is often shuffled to the side. I like that this book acknowledged that fact, while not going too over the top with Consuelo's character. Her rebellions were relatively small and harmless and she never stopped loving her sister throughout her ordeal.

I didn't like the ending; I felt as though the author took the easy way out instead of trying to figure out what the next step in this family's saga would be. However, she did give plenty of advance notice that it was coming, so at least I was not caught completely off guard by the end.

The Meaning of Consuelo is not only well-written and vivid, the author manages to weave in so many things into a relatively short book. The book deals with coming of age for a young girl, a family's attempt to deal with mental illness, the difficulty of modernization, sexual identity both for heterosexuals and homosexuals, how society treats difference, and wrap it all up in the richness of Puerto Rican culture. A great book for students.

I enjoyed reading this book about the life of Guzman or rather more about the life of a Puerto Rican family. The main focus is on Guzman and his sister Ramona's family. In the second half Marisol, Ramona's daughter, continues the story to the end. Magic plays a role in the story, but it adds interest as well as Guzman's return to the family in the second half. I also enjoyed the fact that women had a strong presence in the family. I thought that latin men would be the dominant members of the family. This book demonstrated to me that either women or men could have a dominant presence in the family. While reading, I felt that I was living with them as an impartial viewer seeing a life as though it were a movie in progress. The book captures the essence of the life and the spiritual influences that I have read or heard about from other sources. Some may feel that the story is full of cliches, but to me the story is about life, a good read as C.S.Forester's The African Queen or Daniel Quinn's Ishmael.

This book begins with a colorful and exoticized portrayal of a family living in Salud, a small town in Puerto Rico. The story is a telenovela, filled with bright colors, beautiful people, undying love between the wrong people. However, we find out that the narrator is, in fact, a niece to the first main character, Guzman. Her story is far less interesting and motivating than hers and the second half of the novel- her coming of age- is so similar to Nicholasa Mohr's Nilda and Esmeralda Santiago's When I Was Puerto Rican, that it is a disappointing denoument to the novel.

This has to be one of my favorite books by Mrs. Cofer; I loved it so much I read it three times in a row. The story of the lives of Mama Cielo, her son Guazman and so forth takes you on a journey to Puerto Rico in the earlier part of the 20th century. The Characters are all interweaved into a World that will captivate you. Starting in rural Puerto Rico and then going to the barrios of New York, and back to Puerto Rico. One takes a journey through the Peasant Puerto Rican life, the mystery and magic of brujeria and Santeriia. This book has it all, a Novel that reads like one of those most loved, Spanish Telenovelas. This book is a must read for all Latino, especially to my sister Latinas as this book shows the importance and strength of the Latina woman in the Familia. Highly Recommended. I wish they would base a mini TV movie on this book, it would be such a treat. A++++++++++

I appreciated that the book came when ordered. I would have liked more notice that the requirement from UPS was get a signature but we didn't even get a notice it was delivered. I saw it was by looking up my order.
thank you

This book is the story of Maria who goes to live with her father in NYC while her mom stays behind in Puerto Rico. In poems and prose, she writes her feelings about not fitting in, her outrageous friends and neighbors, the boy on her street, and other observations in her life. I think this book was written well and really easy to read while remaining interesting. Maria has relatable feelings and emotions that move the story along.

Personally I did not like this book a lot. The first story , "La mala influencia" is really good and present a satirical situation of the problem that exists when purtorricans raise in the United States culturally clash with their roots. This is basicly thi message of the book: it deals with the new generation, the children of puertorrican inmigrants and the battle they must fight between choosing their parents culture or the popular culture of the time. This book is mainly focused for teenagers.

"An Island Like You" first came to my attention as I was searching for books by Judith Ortiz Cofer. I was drawn in by the individuality of the characters, their day to day challenges and struggles, and the strength that all characters showed in the face of the unknown. I just received "Una isla como tu" last week after deciding that I wanted to read the book in the true language of the characters, and I wasn't disappointed by the translation.

The Spanish novel is every bit as compelling and graceful as its English counterpart, and great care is taken not to change any of the details. I believe that reading this novel in Spanish makes these stories of the barrio even more authentic, and this is an excellent translation that shouldn't be missed. The reading level of Spanish should be accessible to high school and university students studying Spanish.

New Jersey Barrio young woman discovers her womanhood and sexual self through the time of the counter culture movement of the 1960s. Maria Elenita makes a stand against her Mother's traditional Puerto Rican/American upbringing, she refuses to decorate her room with angels and Saints, distaining what her parents loved and shocking her Mother. The poems, essays and recolections are beautifully written. Nostalgic for those who grew up in that time and in those circumstances and of interest to young women, particularly those of latino or hispanic background.

BRONX, NY

We're students who attend Middle School 118. The book we read in our Book Club is called An Island Like You. We would recommend this book to someone who likes to read about teenagers' lives in the barrio. We would rate this book a 4. Our favorite part is when Yolanda sneeks inside the fashion show when she is not even supposed to be there. Also, when it talks about Yolanda not liking her mom's boyfriend, Don Jose, we were extra interested. As a group, we think teenagers would fall in love with this book. READ IT!!! It's a great book!!!

This is a wonderful collection of stories about Puerto Ricans living together in a barrio in New Jersey. I found them to be truely entertaining and realistic. It's a good read!

I found the story of this 'gang' of boys to be interesting and well-written. The characters were very real, and so were the situations. A must-read for young adults, and those interested in multi-cultural young adult literature.

A very well written collection showing teenagers who find themselves stuck in between their two diverse cultures. The twelve short stories really make you feel like you are living in the Barrio, a small area in New Jersey, with all of the characters. Though each story different, all are intertwined with a main message of showing what young people go through in a society like this. Characters come back in and out of different stories, varying from major to minor roles. The several short stories keep the reader interested, wanting to know about the next real-life situation that will come up in the next story. Each is from a different person in the Barrio's perspective, which allows the reader to see what each person goes through at one time or another. Each character is as believable as the next, and teenagers all over can relate to the realistic situations they all go through. One of my favorites of the stories is the very first one, called "Bad Influence." A girl named Rita is sent to live with her grandparents in Puerto Rico for the summer as punishment. But instead Rita has one of the greatest summers of her life. The collection is well written all around and very intriguing, especially to teen readers. I highly recommend this book to anyone.

Before I read this book, I had no knowledge what-so-ever on Puerto Rican culture; but if I based my opinions on what the author talks about in this book I would come to the conclusion that all Puerto Rican kids are either disrespectful little punks or absolutley weird nerds, which is, of course, BS. I know Cofer is an excellent author, but this books just wasn't her pot of tea! It's stupid and degrading.