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5/5 🌟

This gripping and addictive book follows the journey of a 15 year old girl pressured into marriage with a much older man to help her family relocate to NYC. Young, naive, and isolated in a daunting city where she lacks language skills and support, you can't help but empathise with her and hope for her survival. It felt like I was immersed in a telenovela. I loved the audiobook, too! ❤️

Author Angie Cruz tells a story inspired by her own mother and others who had similar experiences moving from the Dominican Republic to Washington Heights in the 1960s. Fifteen-year-old Ana is the hope of her family, married off to a man much older than her, yet she still manages to carve out a life for herself in a new country. Her experiences and that of her family are sometimes hard to read about, but it's both realistic and hopeful.

I read this book for the #ReadingTheAmericas2023 reading challenge. This title was set in the Dominican Republic and I had high hopes for this one but it fell flat...and short of those expectations. Whilst I liked the characters and I enjoyed the cultural details the book didn't leave me in awe. 🌟🌟🌟 @BarbaraBB @Librarybelle

2.75/5 ⭐️ I really expected more from this book. I felt like the book moved so slow and then the ending was just rushed in a few pages and seemed abrupt. Also it was just overall sad. I did appreciate this immigrant perspective though. #FoodandLit 🇩🇴

P.S. Zola wanted to show off her fresh haircut! 💖

Ana is fifteen and leaving the #DominicanRepublic with her much older husband to live in New York. Her family expects her to conquer the city and send money back home, but Ana‘s reality is another one. It‘s a grim life with a touch of love and lightness.

In enjoyed reading it but I think it won‘t stick with me for a long time.

#ReadingTheAmericas2023 🇩🇴 #52Booksclub23 #CountryNameInTitle #FoodAndLit #pop23 #FeaturesTwoLanguages

#WeeklyForecast 06/23

Cindy I hope you‘ve had the best of times in Morocco❤️

@sarahbarnes You were so right! I am reading Familiar and can‘t put it down! I already ordered two more books by J Robert Lennon and am officially a fan 😀

I am also reading The Violin Conspiracy, a surprisingly easy #Tob2023 read. Next will be the tagged book for #FoodAndLit as well as #ReadingTheAmericas2023.

Last but not least another Japan oriented book 😍

Although I enjoyed How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water more, this was also good. The chapters are quite short which made it so I read it in one day. The characters are well developed and once again, the plot and theme of the novel demonstrate that one never really knows what goes on inside anyone else's four walls.

1965 #DominicanRepublic
Ana, 15 is pledged to Juan, a much older man who has US citizenship. Within weeks, Ana is married & shipped off to the US away from her family & all she knows. Juan is not the hero the family promised he‘d be. I thought this book would be light & frothy but it‘s quite dark & grim👇🏼

#ReadingTheAmericas23 #DominicanRepublic
Enjoying the writing but not enjoying the narration
#Hoopla

Very engaging

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️I wish I had been able to read this book in longer stretches instead of my usual fits-and-starts of reading time because when I was able to settle into it, I got lost in the story & enjoyed it.Cruz was inspired by her mother‘s story of coming to America from the Dominican Republic in the 1960s. The book shows that turbulent time and tells Ana‘s story with such isolation and care, it felt very real, which just shows Cruz‘s skill level.

The first time Juan Ruiz proposes, I‘m eleven years old, skinny and flat-chested.

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

Based on the story of the author's mother, this tells the story of 15-year-old Ana, married to a much older man and packed off to New York in the hope she will in some way help to make the family's fortune. My only cavil is that it reads more like a non-fiction account
than a novel, in that to be honest not a lot actually happens apart from a few sex scenes and it's hard to sustain much interest in her story.

I loved Ana as a character and seeing the world through her eyes! She has sacrificed so much for a better life at such a young age.

I wasn‘t into the story at first but it grew on me overtime. It‘s a story of Dominican women that have migrated to US in 1965, at least, a glimpse of life then.

Overall, it was a good read but it didn‘t leave me any lasting impression.

Reading this Dominican Republican immigrant story was interesting, and I appreciated the bits history to remind me that we were in 1965. I liked that Ana was inspired by the immigration story of the author‘s mother, but much of Ana‘s experiences saddened me because a 15 yo should be hanging with pals and studying for a math test rather than experiencing abuse and isolation.

#Pantone2022 11-0602 Snow White

Loved Ana. Loved the book ❤

Next up

It is the 1960s and 15 yo Ana is forced to marry a man twice her age, who then moves her from the DR to NYC. While I enjoyed this fairly quick read, I didn‘t love it, and it felt too much like other “immigrant goes to NYC and tries to adjust” stories for me. I wanted it to be a little fresher.

I really enjoyed this. I love first person historical novels that teach you about a place or time without preaching, which is what this felt like.

An immediately engrossing book about Ana, required by her family to marry at only 15 so that she can move from the Dominican Republic to New York with her new husband, the plan being that they make a better life in the big city and send for the rest of Ana‘s family. Except life in New York is brutal and Ana‘s husband is neglectful and abusive. A really poignant story of Ana‘s coming of age in a new country.

Based on author‘s mother story. Ana a 15 y/o person from DR, forced to married a 32 y/o man just to follow the American dream. Her mother told her that she must help her family and take them to NY. We will see her difficult cultural adaptation, living in a domestic violence marriage. A sad story😢but with hope. Ana is a resilience character❤️At the end of the audiobook, there is a short but interesting interview with the author❤️3.8⭐️

Based off her mother's life, Angie Cruz tells us an immigrant story about Ana, who marries a man twice her age to leave a politically turmoiled Dominican Republic for NYC in the 60s. But Ana's life is far from blissful as she learns to find her voice.

Ana lives in the Dominican Rep, the country is in political turmoil. Ana is forced to marry Juan twice her age and go to live in New York City. Her life in NY is hard, she knows no one, doesn't speak English. The marriage is also not without problems and Cesar, the younger brother of Juan is often around. I really enjoyed it, you really feel for Ana and her situation and hope she comes out of it well. Set in 1960s. #books

These are hopefully the books for March, plus 4 library ones too! #tbr

An immigrant story based on the author's mother's life. Ana sacrifices her own wants to help her family by marrying a much older man who takes her from the Dominican Republic to New York. There was something a bit flat and obvious about many of the peripheral characters, partly because Ana is so isolated but it left the book a bit lacking in depth. Almost a so-so but the clarity of Ana's voice and her strength lifted it. #bookspin @TheAromaofBooks

"THE FIRST TIME JUAN RUIZ PROPOSES, I‘M ELEVEN YEARS old, skinny and flat-chested." #firstlinefridays @ShyBookOwl

Dominicana is a difficult and heartbreaking book, made even more heartbreaking when you read the author‘s note and learn that the story is based on her mother‘s experiences. Unfortunately, I found the characters a bit flat and never found myself fully engrossed in the story, but I am still glad I read it. 3.5 ⭐️

This story made my heart break for young Ana and girls like her. I felt so proud as she came into her own.

Inspired by her Mother‘s life, Cruz tells an important story about immigration and what it means to be a ‘good‘ daughter and wife. A quick read that left me with much to think about.

#LatinxAuthor #Booked2021

Say something about my selection for the day.

A man doesn‘t know what he thinks until a woman makes him think it 🗽

Dominicana is a quick read told from the perspective of a 15 year old, Ana. The story is typical of a number of immigrant women. I don‘t dislike it, but I never felt suspense or anxious; it was somewhat predictable.

The story captures and details things well, it has it moments that are quite moving. Unfortunately, I feel it is not a book I will remember a few weeks from now.

I read this waaaaaaaaay back at the beginning of last year and it stayed with me. Will reread someday. #12bestof2020 #12booksof2020

Up next...our book club pick! 📚

Some parts of this were a tough listen. I felt for Ana and this shitty predicament her family placed her in. Overall, a really great read though. Showed a time and a place and a people I didn't know anything about.

I really liked this one.

This morning was rough, so I went to my local library for the first time since MARCH on my lunch break. 😭❤️

Even though the election season is getting busier, I keep getting more and more books to make myself feel better, even though it will be a miracle if I get to read them. 😂

Women's prize short list.
This is good. An immigrant story of a teen married off to a much older man so she can go to America with the hope to bring her family too. A mix of immigrate and coming of age stories, it also hints at racial conflict - and how the disenfranchised can see their economic peers as the enemy (as opposed to those keeping everyone down)
Well written, but lower on my list then a few of the other Women Prize books on the list

Our new episode of Books On The Go is up! Annie and I discuss Dominicana by Angie Cruz. 📖🎧

We reveal our tips for the Women‘s Prize. 🏆 We also discuss the books coming out in September and Annie mentions the C word. 😳

How many have you read?

Next up: Weather...

I really enjoyed this story of Ana, her move to New York at 15 and her difficult marriage. Highly engaging, the Ruiz brothers come to life as they hustle for work & try to support the family but leave Ana trapped. Some parts plodded & felt episodic or like a chronology of events lacking dramatic tension, but then it picked up & I flew through it. Would be great a great tv series.

I love to read stories about women that are rarely represented in the mainstream world. This one is a keeper.

Latest listen

One of today‘s kindle bargains 👍🏻 mixed reviews, but I‘m interested enough for 99p 😁

Here‘s my progress so far for the #summerfun bingo card! I love a good bingo card. I hope I‘ll finish one for the audio square today, and it should be achievable to get a bingo line! I‘d really like to tick off all the squares but the summer specific prompts will be harder for me to fill, I‘ll have to get thinking about those.

@4thhouseontheleft @StayCurious

Really enjoyed this one! Ana grows up way too fast, being married off at 15 to a man more than twice her age and taken from her home in the Dominican Republic to NYC. The author wrote this as a tribute to her mother's immigrant experience.

This has mixed reviews but I loved it. The story of a 15yo girl who marries a man she doesn‘t know to move to New York to earn money and help her family felt like the right mix of sweet and painful. The prejudice and colourism Ana and her family have internalised towards black people was difficult to read but better to include than gloss over. It felt like a proper classic Bildungsroman for modern America.

Day 4 of my #joysofjune readathon. I decided to adjust my goal today to include reading any books by POC or LGBTQ+ authors - it being US pride month and reading so many articles in the wake of JK Rowling‘s comments I wanted to include queer authors but didn‘t have the money for buying new books unfortunately. Gender queer and Fledgling were phenomenal, started Dominicana this evening and am loving it. I‘m doing well with my choices!

@Andrew65

Lunch and new books! My local bookshop reopened today and I had to go support it, it was pretty empty and I‘d be so miserable if it closed. It‘s a chain but the staff are amazing and I must have bought thousands of books there since I was a toddler spending Christmas money! What are credit cards for eh

Inspired by @ChasingOm and the #integrateyourshelf project here are 3 writers who‘ve been languishing at the bottom of my tbr for too long