cathsgraphs's review against another edition
5.0
I couldn't put this book down. What a life! What a journey and what words to accompany. The amount of racial violence this author faced through most of her childhood is shocking. In my mind, I think of NYC as a VERY culturally diverse city- one where I thought there would be more tolerance and acceptance- WRONG. While I have always been a minority as Latina, I haven't experienced the racial violence this author describes and MUCH of it from her own family.
I could relate to so much of what she wrote about not being X enough and not being Y enough. If I'm neither of those (which is my dna and my geographical home) then what/who am I?? I bookmarked loads of pages in here. Ms. Cepeda has further intensified my curiosity about my own background. She's an exquisite writer and I can't wait to rent her film "Some Girls" that is linked to this book.
I could relate to so much of what she wrote about not being X enough and not being Y enough. If I'm neither of those (which is my dna and my geographical home) then what/who am I?? I bookmarked loads of pages in here. Ms. Cepeda has further intensified my curiosity about my own background. She's an exquisite writer and I can't wait to rent her film "Some Girls" that is linked to this book.
k8iedid's review against another edition
3.0
The part covering Cepeda's childhood was very difficult to read (TW: abuse), but I'm so glad I stuck with it. It's incredible what she overcame in her childhood and I loved the rest of the book that covered her search for identity and that she's used her own experience to help other Latina girls in NYC
imanreads's review against another edition
4.0
I connected with this book alot, especially with being a first gen Dominican-American. Ever since my father died, I've been thinking more about where I come from...and what makes you, you. This book helped me feel seen.
karibaumann's review against another edition
3.0
I really liked hearing Raquel's story and now I better understand why she said on her podcast that she checks all the boxes when it comes to race. The DNA stuff was fascinating. I also want to recommend that you listen to her podcast, which is called About Race.
curlzymas's review against another edition
5.0
I loved the format of the book, the first half was the author's background story and the second half focus' on her journey in finding herself and her DNA roots. I enjoyed it very much!
sam8834's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars
Sort of an interesting format for a memoir. The first half tells of Cepeda's adolescence, and the writing makes you feel like you're reading a novel, which feels a bit odd and uncommon, but serves her story well. The second half delves into Cepeda's ancestry research, with commentary on the Latin-American community and being mixed race as a whole, which is interesting, but makes the book lose steam a little bit. It could have helped if Cepeda kept the memoir writing going throughout the second half as well.
Sort of an interesting format for a memoir. The first half tells of Cepeda's adolescence, and the writing makes you feel like you're reading a novel, which feels a bit odd and uncommon, but serves her story well. The second half delves into Cepeda's ancestry research, with commentary on the Latin-American community and being mixed race as a whole, which is interesting, but makes the book lose steam a little bit. It could have helped if Cepeda kept the memoir writing going throughout the second half as well.
a___ruiz's review against another edition
5.0
Amazing book, really shed a light on the Latina experience growing up in NYC as well as exploring the roots of what makes us who we are. Beautifully written.
nfinitepages's review against another edition
4.0
This was a really good if you want to learn about DNA and ancestry, basically if you are looking to find your family history.
The first half of the book tells us of Raquel's childhood, the abuse she endured from her father, the abandonment of her father and life coming from the Dominican Republic to New York. I loved that she included the hip-hop era and how it influenced and affected her life. The first half also started to become a bit too much because it's almost like there was no hope for her with the way things were go, so much drama and tragedy, I wanted to get to something happier and positive.
The second half is where you will find history. History of her family, of the Dominican Republic, about Spaniards, slaves, Tainos. Statistics are provided, new family is discovered and this was extremely interesting in seeing especially how as Hispanics where categorized as white or black dependent on your skin color. So many interesting facts are shared and I appreciated every bit of it.
Definitely a good experience in reading about things I could related to as a culture (even though I'm Puerto Rican, there are similarities), about family, neighbors, music, the land and in particular the religious and spiritual aspect of things.
The first half of the book tells us of Raquel's childhood, the abuse she endured from her father, the abandonment of her father and life coming from the Dominican Republic to New York. I loved that she included the hip-hop era and how it influenced and affected her life. The first half also started to become a bit too much because it's almost like there was no hope for her with the way things were go, so much drama and tragedy, I wanted to get to something happier and positive.
The second half is where you will find history. History of her family, of the Dominican Republic, about Spaniards, slaves, Tainos. Statistics are provided, new family is discovered and this was extremely interesting in seeing especially how as Hispanics where categorized as white or black dependent on your skin color. So many interesting facts are shared and I appreciated every bit of it.
Definitely a good experience in reading about things I could related to as a culture (even though I'm Puerto Rican, there are similarities), about family, neighbors, music, the land and in particular the religious and spiritual aspect of things.